[ANTHONYD]

having their brakes done.

Where do you go? How much has it cost you? and if you do them yourself.... can you help a brother out?

Mine are finally due. 108K on the stock pads and rotors and they JUST started grinding yesterday.

I'll be calling for quotes today.

Crappy Tire quoted me 445.00 a few months back.

Just doing research.

B)

[NikiterZTS]

i do mine myself.....not that hard at all......$445 is waaaaay too much for this job.....no way

[ANTHONYD]

NikiterZTS,Oct 10 2006, 09:28 AM Wrote:i do mine myself.....not that hard at all......$445 is waaaaay too much for this job.....no way
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Oh yeah?
Is there a focus hack for it?

[NikiterZTS]

i've changed front brakes on focus and taurus and the main thing when u change it is to use a "C clamp" to push the master cylinder back in (you won't be able to do it with your hands the preasure in brake lines is too high) then put the new pads on let the clamp off....you might have to push brake padel a couple of times so the cylinder goes agains the inner pad

when i went to Ford and asked them for a quote on Ford Taurus pads to be chanded...it was only $85...what a difference eh

[Oscar The Grouch]

I bring it to my trusty mechanic, Dad.

Oh s***, speaking of which, I gotta order up some pads too today and do the brakes when I change tires.

[OAC_Sparky]

If you are planning on keeping the Focus and are at all mechanically inclined, invest in the Haynes Manual.

http://www.amazon.ca/Ford-Focus-Revised-th...5/dp/1563925869

Disk brakes generally aren't that difficult, drums are a little trickier, but doing them yourself can save $200-$300, which will pay for a C-clamp, a set of sockets, etc. if you haven't got them already.

It would be helpful to have someone knowledgeable with you the first time, though. At 108k you may have a few seized items that you'll need to pay special attention to (caliper sliders, drum adjustment wheels, etc.).

[ANTHONYD]

OAC_Sparky,Oct 10 2006, 09:44 AM Wrote:If you are planning on keeping the Focus and are at all mechanically inclined, invest in the Haynes Manual.

http://www.amazon.ca/Ford-Focus-Revised-th...5/dp/1563925869

Disk brakes generally aren't that difficult, drums are a little trickier, but doing them yourself can save $200-$300, which will pay for a C-clamp, a set of sockets, etc. if you haven't got them already.

It would be helpful to have someone knowledgeable with you the first time, though. At 108k you may have a few seized items that you'll need to pay special attention to (caliper sliders, drum adjustment wheels, etc.).
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My worries exactly.
I'd love to them myself, but there are some serious kms on these puppies. I'd hate to get in over my head and not beable to drive the car. Or bugger up something bad.

[kamilk69]

honestly the fronts are REALLY simple to do its two bolts and the whole caliper comes rigth off, but the thing is that the bolts are a wierd hex that i couldnt find in my garage.

but saying that the rears are almost impossible. i tried taking the damn drums off and they wouldnt budge, broke two screw drivers trying to get them off

[NOS2Go4Me]

It was 250-300 for my brakes last time they were done, but that was new rotors and pads. They came with a nice 1 year warranty and I managed to use that up with Ford once in the spring because the pads were wearing real fast... for some reason... :unsure:

Especially if your drums have never been inspected since you got the car new... dealer, for sure.

[ANTHONYD]

^^^good point.

[OAC_Sparky]

kamilk69,Oct 10 2006, 10:33 AM Wrote:i tried taking the damn drums off and they wouldnt budge, broke two screw drivers trying to get them off
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#1 rule of what NOT to do. I've seen more twisted backing plates that way.

Brake drum shoes wear a small groove at the edge of the drum, which forms a lip that keeps the drum from sliding off. You have to reach up inside the adjustment access port with 2 screwdivers and back off the adjustment wheel. And soak the face area between the hub/studs and drum with penetrating oil and let sit for a couple of hours. A couple smacks with a hard rubber mallet and the drum pops off 90% of the time.

[Flofocus]

Take a day off and learn how to do this. It is very easy to do, day before, soak your bolts in wd, or whatever you use. I tap rusted out bolts with a hammer and punch to losen the rust. This has worked for very well for me, I've only had to bring the car once to have a seized bolt removed.

Very worth it to learn this procedure. Saves you a lot of money down the road.

I just did the fornt and rear brakes on teh accord....all disc, so they were pretty easy.

$120 for the front rotors
$100 for the rear rotors
$40 for front pads
$30 for rear pads
About 4 hours labour, I ran into some seized bolts. :D

So, for under the cost of having a Honda dealership do the fronts, I got all 4 corners done.

[habmann]

Front discs on the focus are really easy to do. Like was mentioned to hex bolts on each caliper(8mm i think) and the caliper comes off. Slide the old pads out, push the piston back into the caliper, put the need pads on, replace the rotor, and slide the caliper back on. I think it took me about 1 1/2hr the first time i did them. As for the drums, I had mine done in the spring, i wasn't gonna even bother trying to do them on my own. Brought it to my mechanic, i think it cost me about 250, and thats with have some other work done at the same time.

[reldridge]

I swapped pads only on the Focus about 2 months ago. Took me about 1 hour to do it. Would have been quicker if it was still light out while I was doing it!

If you choose to do them yourself, invest in a good brake lubricant. I like the Permatex stuff from Crappy Tire in the green tube. Seems to work well, and allows the caliper to slide on the pins nicely.

Ryan

[habmann]

Did my brakes today, wasn't all that bad. Definately make sure you've got some liquid wrench handy, my rotors were rusted to the steering knuckles. Otherwise the job went fairly smoothly, prolly about 1.5 hrs work to do both sides.

[dBlast]

habmann,Oct 15 2006, 11:58 PM Wrote:Did my brakes today, wasn't all that bad. Definately make sure you've got some liquid wrench handy, my rotors were rusted to the steering knuckles. [right][snapback]211723[/snapback][/right]

Liquid Wrench or a rubber deadblow mallet to pound those rusty rotors off!

[PIGEON1]

Did my front brakes about 2 months ago, I bought the pads at crappy tire. They were about $60.00, the instructions were in with the new pads...(thats how I learned that day.)

When you do do it have the anti seize paste for the calipers (one of mine was seizing,) It isn't that hard of a thing to do on the front. The best advise is penitrating lube and a rubber hammer will help with anything that is seized as long as your patient and let the products do there job.

Don't know anything about rear brake changing......and good luck with your endevor.

[habmann]

dBlast,Oct 16 2006, 06:43 AM Wrote:

habmann,Oct 15 2006, 11:58 PM Wrote:Did my brakes today, wasn't all that bad. Definately make sure you've got some liquid wrench handy, my rotors were rusted to the steering knuckles. [right][snapback]211723[/snapback][/right]

Liquid Wrench or a rubber deadblow mallet to pound those rusty rotors off!
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Those were my 2 best friends yesterday when i was doing the work.

[Drivesthebeast]

I just had my front ones replaced and installed at a dealership, along with some other stuff. It was more than $445.00........

[ANTHONYD]

^^

That's what crappie tire quoted me!