Hello friends,

My 2001 S-Series has about 120K miles. Recently I noticed that when I brake, there is a "crunching" sound. It sounds like it's a metal on metal crunch. Hard to explain. Anyway, I know nothing about cars, but I'm assuming this means that my brake pads have worn away and I need to get new ones.

So my questions are: Am I right about the break pads? Could it be anything else? If I go to the mechanic, how much would it cost to repair the brakes? (ball park). If it's too much I may just decide to buy a new car. Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

Cost will be dependent on:

(1) the honesty of the mechanic;
(2) whether your car has 4-wheel disk brakes, or a disk/drum combination;
(3) just how bad your "crunching"

Could run to as much as $100/wheel, or more. Remember service brakes in pairs, not just one wheel at a time

 

Most of the regular users on this site do their own repairs. Even if I had a shop in Phoenix do a brake job on my car would the shop rates, parts and taxes be the same in Chicago? You also have to understand that what parts your car needs because of wear and neglect may not be the same as to what my car needed. So here is an idea for you. Call around and ask a few "local" shops what it would cost for front pads and rotors installed. Then, you'll have an idea what it'll cost for front pads and rotors. Seems all to easy to me.

If you don't have any idea what local shops to call, ask friends, co-workers or relatives that live in your area for a little advice.

Remember, you can't fix stupid.

 

You don't work on your own car, bend over and grab your ankles. Ask for a kiss and some KY before you get the bill.

 

One thing you can look at is the brake fluid level in the master cylinder. The cylinder is see thru so you don't have take off the cap to do this. It is located on the firewall just in front of the driver, under the hood.

Typically, if no puts any brake fluid in as the level drops, then the fluid level is a good gauge of how much pad life is left. When the brake fluid gets down to the minimum level, the pads are about due.

As the brake pads wear down, the piston in the caliper has to come out further to keep the brakes properly adjusted. To do that, it draws brake fluid from the master cylinder reservoir. If you are someone who maintains your car for you keeps adding brake fluid, then you won't know when the pads are worn down. Some of the quickie oil change places are bad about that as the charge you for the brake fluid (over charge usually).

If your pads are worn down to the point of making a sound like dragging something through gravel, you have already damaged the rotors, but don't take that too hard, most of the time, when the pads have worn down, the rotors have to be changed anyway.

At the age of this vehicle, I would not be surprised to find that at least one caliper will have sticking pins, and for some reason the pins and their seals are not sold separately no do they come with caliper rebuild kits, so the caliper must be replaced and like every thing else, they should be done in pairs.

Brakes are expensive, especially if done right. A DYI brake job in your case could run you $50 for the pads (Wagner Ceramic OEM, my favorite), $50 - 70 for rotors (pair), $35 ea for reman calipers, $10 ea for new hoses (optional) and $5 for brake fluid. So you are looking at a little over $200 just in parts and supplies.

For a shop to do all this, you can figure about 60% more for the parts, except pads will be double. Add about 2 hours labor plus environmental fees and you are looking at $500, maybe more in a high cost area. If the calipers are OK, you will still probably look at $400.

The important thing is that is be done right. A brake job can last anywhere from 40k to over 140k miles depending on your driving so you want it done right. Brakes done right are not cheap, but your life may depend on them.

Be sure that the brake system is flushed. Many times shops will leave this out in order to offer a lower quote, but it usually isn't that much when included in a brake job and it will help extend the life of your brake calipers and wheel cylinders.

 

what i would do is buy a set of pads and 2 rotors cause the shop wiull charge u twice as much they pay and than taker them to a shop and ask them to install them for ya here in houston its 80 for the labor for both wheels

 

I agree with the above member about buying your own parts and finding a garage that will install them for you. Where I live, there are a lot of places that will do this. Since you're in a suburban area and not in BFE, like me, I don't know if you'll be that lucky.