Brake job...part 1...
 

Well the Chevy's brakes were making all kinds of neat noises so I figured it was time for brakes, all around. Did the fronts today, and I love working on relatively young vehicles! Suspension parts come apart! Not like on a 20 year old car where its all torching and cutting!


So since the calipers bleeders were messed up and the brake lines due to GM's piss poor design were slowly cutting themselves, I figured I'd do everything. Disc, rotors, pads, hoses. Drivers side is done...pass side was going good until I put the rotor on and spun it...hmm that doesn't sound healthy. Turns out the wheel bearing was just starting to go bad. Wouldn't have heard it going down the road for awhile. So now that's off and I'm waiting for Carquest to get me the part. Which I hope they can get because I don't want to put it all back together and than have to do a wheel bearing in a month or two when it starts screaming.

I love working on GM's so simple, and parts are so cheap. A new hub assembly is like $100. Since modern vehicles have sealed wheel bearings now... On my dads F150 its over twice that, Ford rapes you.

Later this week I'm doing the rear brakes, which are drums, and suck.

Hmmm, it's amazing how a couple of snow-bound and Scotch-less days will motivate you. :P

Self-cutting brake lines?

We shouldn't have bailed out Generic Morons, and turned Deeee-TROIT into a nuclear testing ground for hire when we had the chance.

Part 1?


My step 1... Drop it off at the shop. My step 2, return when complete pay bill. My step 3, drive home.

Step 4, break down on the side of the road cause you took it to a shop that didn't know what they were doing ;)

Nah, I sell it before I even get close to step 4.... :eek:

I don't like doing brakes. If I mess it up and wreck because the brakes didn't work, I'd only have myself to blame. Paying someone else gives me the protection that they'll do it right, or I'll have them in court and cause them as much damage as they caused me.

This logic is flawed.

Any shop will test drive the vehicle and be sure the brakes work when the vehicle leaves the shop.

If their poor workmanship causes a failure 30 or 60 days from the date of the work, you'll NEVER prove that their work was the cause of the failure. You'd need a professional engineer with complete knowledge of a vehicle brake system and you'd have to pay him thousands of dollars for his testimony.

I do not know of a single person who prevailed against an auto mechanic on any work done. It's a simple matter of your word versus the mechanic and the mechanic is the professional.

I always laugh when people are afraid to work on brakes (one of the simplest vehicle systems) and trust the "mechanic" to do the job right. If he does (which is likely)..........terrific...........if he does not..........you'll never prevail unless he's a total and complete idiot and the brakes fail on the way home from the shop.

I trust myself more than some mechanic. I have more of an interest in doing it right. I can end up dead or killing someone I love. A mechanic can end up sued or in jail at worst.

I'll stick to doing it myself considering that the other day I saw a "mechanic" attempt to remove a battery terminal by SQUEEZING it with channel locks... :eek::rolleyes::D

I like brake work.... simple and easy. Can even do most of the job sitting on your ass.
Of course I use the Hattie plan, buy all new stuff and put it on.
I will change pads once or twice (maybe) before doing the rotors and calipers.
(American cars. I believe my new calipers on the SD will last considerably longer)


Even brake lines, ever since I discovered spools of copper/nickel brake line...;)
Bends and flares like a dream, and won't rust.

When it comes to bleeding them, I just leave the bleeder open, lid off, and a pan under it. Come back in 20 minutes and it's dripping steadily. Bleed and new fluid. Just make sure you don't run the reservoir dry or you have to start over. Generally, I do one corner at a time and one side bleeds while I'm working the other.

My wife's car (Chrysler) came with new front brakes put on by some shop or another. Looked fine when I inspected them.
Months go by, and she complains to me that they don't work in the rain....
So, I take them apart to look closer....
Idiot had not cleaned the waxy s**t off the rotors. Was oozed all over the surface and edges of the pads.
Took the better part of an hour to scrape the pads and rotors with a razor and get everything clean and functional.

Then it occurred to me that we bought the car with a light hit in the front where the PO's wife had hit someone that cut in front of her.... in the rain.

Mechanic was likely the reason she could not stop for the DB.

i did sue a mechanic and win in the past...it was a oil pump replacement on a Ford 302. The mechanic didn't check the pump prior to installing it. There was a crack in the pump drive shaft, which snapped on the first start up. The mechanic started the car, took it for a drive on the highway the morning after the work was done (temperature was in the single digits) and ended up needing to call a tow truck. They claimed that it wasn't the oil pump, because it was new. When they were ordered midway through the trial to drop the oil pan while a second mechanic was present, it was found, snapped in two.

The garage ended up doing a bottom end rebuild and pay for a the rental car I used during the trial, and during the work, as well as pay for my attorney fees. It doesn't take much, just the right people and time...

why bother doing the drums, they are probably fine

TheDon may very well be correct, but you won't know until you pull the drums.

Drum brake work is not as quick and simple as discs but as long as you have a pair of brake spring pliers and the retainer spring tool it's not bad. In the old days the problem was the mess. Since the widespread availability of brake cleaner this is much easier and safer. Pull the drum and just spray it all down top to bottom and let all that crap fall down onto a few layers of newspaper and you're ready to go to work without fear of mesothelioma and a much cleaner job.

The people who do not put the self adjusters back on are screwing up badly IMHO. Put the adjusters back on and lube the rub points with white grease. Then when you back out of the driveway or parking space bring it to a moderately hard stop and let the vehicle then rock forward. Do this and they will stay adjusted.

Also a good brake shop after completely finished should ALWAYS be tested by sitting in the drivers seat with both hands on the steering wheel and both feet on the brake pedal if possible then stand on that pedal with all your might! If anything is going to blow that is where you want it to happen, NOT on the road.