rotors, calipers and whatever else...

chad.helton

chad.helton

New member
If one wanted to undertake the project of replacing ones brakes, calipers and rotors would it be a recommended DIY project? My technical skills aren't the most advanced but reading the great "how-to" on replacing the pads, I think I might be able to go the rest of the way. Am I being too brave? Be honest! :lol:
 

Well, never mind. I just ran the cost of parts to do it myself and it is not a good economical choice. I would save just a few bucks IF I did it correctly! Risk vs. Reward... Risk wins.
 
Other than removing the tires, the only tool you need to change pads and rotors on a D30 is a, I think, 3/8 allen head wrench.
With mechanics charging $100+ per hour for labor and another 15% increase on the cost of parts.. I think your savings would be significant.

Rotors are about $30 per side and the pads can't be more than $20. a mechanic will charge about $300 for the work depending on how they pro-rate.
 
NO! go for it. pads easy, calipers easy, rotors a little tougher but still easy. Im guessing the toughest part you will have is to bleed your brakes after you are done. If you are not familliar with bleeding the brakes, just ask, again its pretty easy. I agree, do it your self and save a bunch.......there is enogh people on here that can walk you through it if you get stuck, its prett simple though.
 

I would agree with 69jeepcj, other than taking off the rotor, this is an easy job. The rotor is not hard to remove with the proper tools, but will require more time.
 
Not to scare anyone off of DIY but my brake job ended up costing me more than if I'd just had a shop do it. I followed the writeups here and it really was an easy job. I don't do a lot of wrenching but I have the basic tools and an understanding of how things work so I gave it a shot. Once I was done I noticed on the test drive that when I applied the brakes the Jeep would pull to the left. Great, so I took the wheels off, checked the calipers and everything looked good. I applied the southtj method of repair and health care - ignore it for awhile and maybe it will go away.:roll: Yet again, this method failed me. I took it to my local "carwash oilchange we do it all" repair shop and they bled the brakes and said all done, drives fine now. Leave the shop and nope, still pulling. Idiots. Went to a place that actually knew what they were doing and ended up replacing both front calipers and that fixed whatever I screwed up.

Moral is that yes the brake job is really easy just don't do what I did. :lol:
 
PoliceMonkey161 said:
I would agree with 69jeepcj, other than taking off the rotor, this is an easy job. The rotor is not hard to remove with the proper tools, but will require more time.
Click to expand...

When I did mine, once the calipers were off then the rotors just pulled right off no special tools required. Right? Or is my memory failing me once again.
 

^that^

Once the caliper is off, the rotor just comes off. it might be seated (rusted) to the unit bearing, a couple wacks of a mallet or mini sledge and they will pop right off.

Unless you have a reason to replace the caliper, I wouldn't bother.
 
Are you going to change brake pads once in your life, or will you learn how to do it then do 5 or 10 brake jobs? Changing the hardware is really pretty easy, it's the bleeding of the brakes that ends up getting most people (myself included when I first did it).

Are you sure about the price? Assuming you are buying the cheapest parts (if it were me I'd spring for nicer pads):
$40 ($19.99 each) for calipers:
Buy Brake Calipers at Advance Auto Parts
$60 ($30.99 each) for rotors:
Advance Auto Parts: Search Results for rotor
$14.99 for a complete set of pads:
Advance Auto Parts: Search Results for brake pads
plus some brake fluid, and rags.

You're going to be very hard pressed to get a brake job for $125. I bet you end up spending $400 - $500 including parts and labor at a shop. I say do it yourself and if you have problems then post here.
 

Alright, I am going to try it this weekend but everybody be on stand-by!!! Thanks for the support and advice... here we go!
 
If the rotors aren't too bad you can have them turned. Unless there's something I don't know about the newer Jeeps. Also, glad to see you don't have to pull the lockouts on the newer Jeeps to remove the rotors. ( Prob because the newer Jeeps don't have lock outs right? )

This is something that you might as well learn now. It'll save ya a bunch over the years.
 

Whatever you decide use good parts. Liik into black magic rotors and pads I hear a lot of good things. I used drilled and slotted for my DD 5+yrs ago and still good. Performance brakes.com I believe.
 
flatie,
YJ's and newer run composite rotors, they can not be turned. If they are not scored too bad, I will hit them with a 3M pad to give them a little tooth, but they are pretty much a one time use.

A lot of new car manufacturers require new rotors with every pad change now.
 
jps4jeep said:
flatie,
YJ's and newer run composite rotors, they can not be turned. If they are not scored too bad, I will hit them with a 3M pad to give them a little tooth, but they are pretty much a one time use.

A lot of new car manufacturers require new rotors with every pad change now.
Click to expand...

Wow, didn't know that. I hope they're reasonably priced then.
 

We sell some great brake pad and rotor kits on our website. I run them in my 04 & 97 Grand, they work great. Here's a link to the Wrangler section if anyone wants to check them out. Wranger Brake pad and Rotor Kit
 
Defiantly go for a higer end o brake pads and rotors. The parts your local napa or pep boys or any store like that are a lower quality then the ones at the dealership. The ones from your local parts store will wear faster and u will be doing brakes sooner then u would if u went to the dealer. But saving the money on labor is what's big, go for the higher quality brake pads, rotors etc. when you go to your parts store, ask for the highest quality. you will still save a lot then from going to a dealer.
 
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