Stupid auto question - is it worth it to change my own brakes?

[Luke]

Does this vehicle have ABS? I do believe you need a special tool for ABS or you will damage the valve.

Negative ghost rider

[LittleLebowski]

Apparently I'm very cheap

Vehicle's jack with wood underneath it, clamp, wire coat hanger, little bit of grease, my sockets and wrenches. Been doing it that way for years.

[NEPAKevin]

Yea, the HF ones are still about 15 bucks. The biggest issue with them is they seem to be a 1-5 time use tool, the bits aren't properly hardened usually and end up destroyed.

Never had to do one but I would think either a cordless impact or an air impact would be the way to go.

[Luke]

Never had to do one but I would think either a cordless impact or an air impact would be the way to go.

The way to go is the snap on impact hammer driver

[Greg]

Are you positive the rotors need to be replaced?

I often just replace pads and regrease all the slide pins.

[pr1042]

I did my wife's RX350 last year.

Pad change at the Toyota dealer was $199. I ended up getting OEM rotors/pads/shims from Sewell Lexus (local and has a Club Lexus discount) for $240 in parts.

I used to change my own oil and rotate tires but not worth it to me anymore. I don't mind doing brakes though as I can save a decent amount of money and/or get better parts for not much work.

[Corey]

I have never paid anyone to service the brakes on any of the cars I have owned. Brakes are just too quick and easy to do yourself, if you have the right tools. I have replaced master cylinders and even worked on drum brakes (not fun). But I have always been mechanically inclined and when I was growing up my father always fixed our cars himself, and did some work for friends and neighbors. The older I got, the more his repair technique was to tell me to do it. Nothing wrong with taking it in either as long as you know a good shop.

It really comes down to time vs. money. When I was young and broke, I replaced head gaskets and did other major repairs myself. Now that my time is worth more and I am not broke my new Honda goes to the dealer for an oil change. Dealer only charges $30 for an oil and filter change and doesn't take much longer that the quick lube places. Working on my own cars is like reloading ammo to me. I don't like it, but I will do it if it comes out on the right side of the time/money graph.

[Nephrology]

Are you positive the rotors need to be replaced?

I often just replace pads and regrease all the slide pins.

I've gotten a little brake shudder here and there so I at the very least need to hit them with brake cleaner... but either way rotors are cheap enough that I'd rather swap them both out at once as long as I'm going to the trouble. On my RAV4 the rotor just pops off so it doesn't add a lot more effort once you're there...

[Edster]

I changed my own brakes once. Now I can't stop.



(rimshot)

[Corey]

I've gotten a little brake shudder here and there so I at the very least need to hit them with brake cleaner... but either way rotors are cheap enough that I'd rather swap them both out at once as long as I'm going to the trouble. On my RAV4 the rotor just pops off so it doesn't add a lot more effort once you're there...

When I replaced the rotors on my 4Runner, I had originally planned to just have them turned. Then I found out that getting them turned cost more than buying new ones.