krillbee

So,
I got my brakes inspected at a garrage the other day on my 96 Maxima. They noted the following:

Front brakes - Need new pads and rotors. Pads currently at 5%. Quote: $380
Rear brakes - Need new rotors and callipers (probably pads too? But it wasn't mentioned on the sheet). Rear caliper is currently seized. Quote: $810
I don't remember what the breakdown was for parts/labor.

That's essentially $1200 to fix the brakes on my car. My car is 13 years old, has 150,000 miles on it and it's rusting. I'm debating whether it's even worth fixing for that much. Is that quote reasonable? If not, what should it really cost?

I've never done brakes before. Our family garage is cold right now (I live in Minnesota) and has very little space or lighting in it, so I usually do my car work outside. When I have to jack up my car it's dangerous though because our driveway is on a slope. I don't absolutely need to use my car in the next month or two, so I'm contemplating waiting until it gets nicer out and then doing the work on it outside.

If any of you have some recommendations on specific parts, what they'd cost, and where to buy them, I'm all ears. I don't need to use my car much, so I'm not looking to throw a lot of money into it. If I didn't want to do the work myself, are there mechanics that I could pay for labor but would install the parts that I bought, instead of making it mandatory that I have to buy their parts?

ajm8127

iTrader: (8)

I would tell the guy at the garage exactly where to put his estimate.

Order new pads and rotors for all four corners from your favorite auto parts store, and go to a junk yard to find a calliper. DO NOT pay that much to get your brakes fixed. Brakes are a great place to get started with doing your own maintenance. Get your self a Haynes manual, and search on the forum. It's not a hard job at all. You will need a friend to help you bleed the brakes when you switch out the rear callipers.

krillbee

I have a Haynes manual and a 1500 page service manual for my car.

Could it be that the winter is the reason that my rear caliper is seized and that maybe it will work again in the summer?

Also, is there a reason that I should get the caliper from a junkyard? Are new ones pretty expensive? Can you buy generic calipers or do they have to be OEM?

I'm just a little afraid of getting under the car. I don't want to die. I'm not sure if I trust jack stands. Plus my rocker panels are pretty rusted, so couldn't the metal cave in and cause the car to crush me?

How long would this take for a complete newb? I suppose I could do front brakes one day and rears another day.

hott_nikkelzz

iTrader: (1)

Front pads (slider service... etc) should be roughly 1.6 hours.
Front rotors are put on for free since the caliper is taken off to service.
Rear pads are the same @ 1.6 hours. (some charge a little more to "turn back" pistons)
Rear rotors again should be put on for free (same reason as above).
Rear caliper should be about 0.5-0.7 hours (essentially 1 bolt + parking brake cable)
Bleed should be no more than 1.0 hours.

So all in all... your looking at about 4.7 - 4.9 hours of labor multiplied by the hourly rate. Even @ $100 an hour... your still under $500 for labor... leaving you about $700 in parts as per your quote.

Ask for a break down of the quote and repost it.
Hope this helps.

KRRZ350

iTrader: (29)

Joo made me lol hard. Good luck with finding a working rear caliper at the junkyard, very common problem.

OP: It's a tad bit on the high side, you should be expecting 5hr's of labor, which @ $65/hr (My labor rate) would be $325. Also, get BOTH rear calipers, trust me here, so there is $200 in parts, Expect to pay around $100 for all 4 pads & $50 per rotor, that's including there mark-up, which is also completely reasonable, run a shop and you'll agree. SO, that's $500 parts, $325 labor @ $65/hr = $825 is reasonable.

PLUMMAXSE

iTrader: (2)

I'll glad you brought this up because I've been getting the quotes for doing this for my 99. I've deceided to replace all 4 calipiers with rebuilt ones from Autozone. That's $72 for the front and about $100 for rear. Also Axxis/pbr ultimate pads at $95 shipped and cheap china rotors. That's because the pads are tough on rotors. Those are $46 rear and $56 front. That comes to $369. The labor is mine. Learn how to fix your Max!! This is a great time to start and she will luv u back!!

ajm8127

iTrader: (8)

haha, I guess the sentiment I was trying to express is that I would rather walk around a junk yard all day than pay some guy that much money to do a brake job + install a new calliper. If you are looking into getting a new calliper, you probably should check to see how much they are from the auto parts store first.

OP:

Jack stands have never let me down (or let my car down, depends on how you look at it). Just make sure you place them under a good solid spot (check out where the suspension attaches to the car). This job shouldn't really require you to get under the car directly, you just need to support the weight of the vehicle on the corner you are working on.

I would do exactly as you suggest and tackle the front brakes first. Since you are just doing pads and rotors up there, it will be a little simpler. Honestly, though, if you don't feel comfortable working on your brakes, then don't. You have some good advice in this thread so far as to how much it should cost. However, this is not that complicated, and I'm sure that if you give it a shot, you'll find it a good learning experience.

Finally, make sure you go easy on your brakes during their 'break in' period. The rotors and pads need to wear into each other.

T Keck

just letting you know what i paid for the same thing,

i bought rotors and ceramic pads from autozone for about 250 (maybe less idr). i was going to install my self but i started on the back and found the frozen caliper so i took it to a shop, for install of all the parts as well as the new caliper i was charged about another 250 (i think it was even less). anyways, your getting riped off

krillbee

Here is the breakdown

Front Brakes:

2 Front Brake pads: $63.20
2 Front Rotors: $147.82
Shop supplies: $14.22

Labor: $142.22
Environmental fee: $2.50

Total (after tax): $384.20



Rear Brakes:

2 Rear Loaded Calipers: $426.36
2 Rear Rotors: $94.26
Shop supplies: $22.97

Labor: $229.74
Environmental Fee: $2.50

Total (after tax): $810.97


Those calipers are expensive! Do I really need 2 of them if only 1 is seized?

J RO 9

iTrader: (2)

dude, no.

in the group deal sponsors forum, importrp has good pads.
get the deluxe plus for $31 front/$29 rear ($60)
on the website, get the brembo blank rotors:
$36 each front/$35 each rear ($142)
a rear pair of loaded calipers is probably around $250 at your local autozone after you return the core value
the total is roughly $452. it'll be a bit higher because i didn't include shipping prices from importrp.
so for about $500, you'll have new rotors and pads all around, and new rear calipers. i kept in mind that you said you don't want to throw a lot of money into the car. i'm suggesting items that are equivalent to OEM. even if you decide to have a mechanic install them, it shouldn't be more than $300 for everything (4 hours of labor IMO).
$142 to change front pads and rotors? jesus christ. shouldn't be more than 1 hour of labor at $75. i'm only 17 and definitely a noobie (driving for less than 1 year) but i changed my front rotors & pads myself. took me about an hour and a half. i had them checked out by a mechanic a few days later, and they said that they were fine. i spent $~100 shipped on brembo blanks and got a set of $29 pads from tirerack. same quality as OEM.

talisman311

Wow.. just wow. go buy yourself a socket set and download the manual (search) replacing front pads and rotors take less then a hour for the experienced. Expect about 2 hours if it's your first. The rear calipers are common for locking up on the maximas. You only need to replace the side that's frozen, but if the other side hasn't been replaced, I guarantee you it will lock up as well. 200+ for a loaded caliper.. good grief, plated in gold?

95Maxima719

Ya man brakes are not but not $1200 hard get some basic tools and a Hanes manual. Research and educate urself so u can save more than half of that. The only problem u may encounter is machining the rotors

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

go to importrp.com

2 front brembo blanks = $72 ($36 each)

2 rear brembo blanks = $70 ($35 each)

PBR/Axxis metal masters front set = $36

Pbr/Axxis metal masters rear set = $35

totalling $213 + Shipping (aroudn $40-$50 depending on where you are) =
around $260 for all the regular brake parts.



rockauto.com

I would suggest to get A-1 Cardone remanufactured calipers with mounting brackets.

$126 for both rear calipers ($63 each). Shipping is probably another $10. There is a core charge of $75 each caliper that will be refunded to you once you ship the old calipers back, so that's probably another $10-$15 for shipping it back and having insurance on the calipers.

So totalling around $150 for the calipers and $260 for the brakes = $410 total for ALL the parts that you need.

If you can wait till its warmer, then do it yourself. If you cannot wait, find a warmer day, put extra layers on, use the saved money and buy yourself a nice camera.

but if you are going to let someone else do it, i would keep in mind what the other op has posted about taking however long it takes by the book. Brakes are one of the easiest things to do. The back ones can be a pain if you don't have the right caliper tool which can be rented from autozone, but since you are replacing the rear calipers anyways, you don't have to worry about turning them back in. For the fronts, i just use a big c-clamp to push the pistons back in.

I am sure if you post in the local forums, an org member is willing to do your brakes for a significantly lower price. I know if i lived closer, i'd drive a little to make some money

95Maxima719

Man is right ^^^^^. Try to do it yourself u will save a redic amount of cash

trand71

iTrader: (3)

Try E-Bay on the Rotors. If you find a good deal and decide to tackle it yourself, if your scared of the jackstands giving way, then place the tire under the car - that way if the car falls then you won't be totally crushed....only half way - joking-
As for me when i had my front brakes redone (new pads and rotors) i only paid $600. I also had a front end alignment and oil change included. So yeah you are getting ripped.

T Keck

Ebay on rotors?

i've had some friends get screwed on that, i've heard it's because some ebay shops don't store them correctly so sometimes when they get to you they are already warped, you can get some duralast ones for just as cheap at autozone, and better yet just shell out a little extra for the brembos

nafddur

This is great advice. I replaced my right rear caliper - with 138K miles - in 7/02, and the left rear froze up exactly 2 years later. Then the RR froze again 10/05 and the left went again just under 3 years after that (last Aug.). So they definitely are prone to freezing up on our cars. The 4 I've replaced ranged from $90-$120 (after the core refund), depending on which aftermarket store had them on the shelf and was easiest to get to at the time. And, if I remember right, the first two I replaced came loaded, while the most recent two weren't. But even if you are replacing only one at a time, you'll still want to put new pads on both wheels.

So even though your brakes will work fine if you replace only one caliper, you're likely to need to do the other one within a couple of years anyway. That, and to ensure a totally professional and thorough job, is why most mechanics (like Kevin, above) would recommend - or insist upon - replacing two calipers at a time. Plus, once you have your tools out, one brake apart, and you're ready to bleed them anyways, you might as well do both (and, if you do them yourself, it only costs an additional $100).

Oh yeah, a word of warning on rotors. While theoretically it should take only a couple of minutes (including unbolting the caliper) to change a rotor, if they are rusted on, it can be tough getting the old ones off. I know the original front rotors on my 95 SE that were almost 10 years old (in 7/04) and had 148K miles on them, were so rusted on that they were a real pain to get off. At 202K miles, I'm still on the original rear rotors.

ballinboosi

DO NOT pay that much that's almost legally rape! Even if it's your first time with breaks it should take more than a afternoon as it's about 1 hour to replace the front brakes and rotors. An you can search to find everything you need for the job. It shouldn't cost for than $350 for all parts and that's using good breaks. Plus it's the perfect time to upgrade your breaks and rotors. But you will need a friend to help you bleed the breaks. GOOD LUCK@!

talisman311

For what it's worth.. I've been using autozone blanks since 2004 and have put about 100k miles on them. No vibration to date.. I've been using PF carbon metallics for probably 70k miles and they suck until they're hot (which is like never for regular driving), but they're great on rotors I suppose.

myschyf

iTrader: (2)

Rip off............tell that mechanic to shove his wrench up his @$$

AndrewR2442

iTrader: (1)

HOLY ****!!!! Check the prices i showed you. You can deffinately do that for under $350 vs. wasting 1200 and letting a shop do it.

tm96max

I totally agree. Last summer I did my entire front brakes: rotors, calipers, pads and it cost me about 250 or so. I had my brother-in-law help me out and we had it done in under 2 hrs. easily and then went golfing for the afternoon. If I went to a shop I'm sure it would have easily have cost 600 - 700.

1blualti

iTrader: (2)

i just did my g/f's 98 maxima brake job. i changed the front rotors $55 for both, fron pads $50, rear pads $30. for another $50 i couldve done the rear rotors but she really didnt need it. so for about $150 and an hour and a half worth of time i was able to do almost what you need done.

you should be able to pick up a new caliber for less than $80 and should only need 1. so if you do it yourself you should be able to do it for less than $250 easily.

wcs1885

I just got my brakes fixed on the 23rd. The first quote I got from Dobbs (the local auto repair shop) gave me to replace my front & rear rotors and front right axle was $850. I ended up going to a smalled local auto shop that did the same quality work for $575. I dont think my rotors have ever been changed since 1996. They were soooo rusty. I think $1200 is a major rip off. I hope you havent gotten them done by them yet.

omoran2958

hell no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!changeing brakes calipers rotor is eazy as 123..........

fishforlife2007

tell him to take a hike, and look elsewhere.

plaf713

definitly something you can do on your own, im sure theres tutorials, pictures and a step by step process on how to do it. Think about all that money you save you can use towards quality parts

krillbee

I haven't done them yet. I'm going to wait until it gets warmer out and try this on my own. Thanks guys. I knew I smelled something funny. I've heard of people getting major engine work done in that price range.

I guess the only downside is that I won't be going many other places besides work until my car gets fixed, but the upside is that I'll save a lot of money.

Spring please come. It will be -5 degrees tonight in Minneapolis, lol.

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

Get a light and work one side of the car at a time in the garage. Work in 1hr shifts if it's cold. Try lubing and unseizing that rear caliper. Replace just front pads now and bed them in using jackstands instead of the street. For $100 you can drive safely until spring.

I didn't know much either years back and learned the hard way. Good luck!
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...tips-pics.html