Llamacide

I'm in need of a complete brake job on my 2001Cherokee. Besides new pads in front and shoes in back I'll also need new rotors in front ( was told last time they can't handle another turn on the lathe). I don't have the space, tools or trust my own skills to do it myself so I am wondering what is a good quote/ price to get my breaks completely replaced with new rotors? I live in Los Angeles.
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Tbyrd

Cricket

I've never done rear drum brakes myself, I took it into a shop and paid out the A$$ for it. Next time I'll try to do it on my own..

But I did the front myself. It's really really simple! The "toughest" part is just making sure you bleed 'em out properly. You'll want a 2nd pair of hands for that though, just to make it easier on yourself.

Mmurdock

If you do it yourself you are looking at about $130 for pads, rotors, shoes and a big bottle of brake fluid.

Standard rate for shops these days is $75 an hour and you can expect them to bill for at least two-hours, plus a 10-20% mark-up on parts, tax, and some kind of disposal fee for the old brake fluid. Expect at least $300-$350 possably more.

Find a friend, relative, neighbor, co-worker, or forum member and offer beer and pizza for help on the project. Then buy a service manual and some nice tools with the money you save.

One more thing take a look at YouTube, you'll find lots of videos which will help take the mystery out of brake repair.

Cricket

YouTube is great!! It's how I learned to do my front brakes (mind you I also had my moms semi-mechanically inclined neighbour lend me his garage and tools, and extra pair of hands if needed). It's also how I learned how to grind out and repair some rust on my Jeep

Bustedback

You don't need to bleed the brakes if you don't open the hydraulic system up to air. Just pry the caliper pistons back with a pry bar or large screw driver. Don't pry directly on the piston, pry between the old pad and rotor.

Mmurdock

I prefer to use a large C-clamp to press the piston back in.

89Renix

X2 for c-Clamps

dbcox

Its not that hard. Brake jobs are one of the last great automotive rip offs out there. They will have u replace everything but the brake pedal and charge u out the a$$. The rear drums do one side at the time so you have a reference on the other side to look at to get it together if you forget something. The front is the easiest. Study up on it some and save a bunch of money. If you dont have any pulsing or pulling u dont have to replace or turn the rotors

PatriotGT

If you decide to do this yourself, do one side at a time. That way you'll have
something to compare with. And once you're done -- PUMP the brake pedal
until in feels back up to normal. Failure to do this will result in no brakes when you
hit the brakes the first few times. We had a seasoned mechanic fail to do this with the
Company's CEO car and he hit a pole when first backing it up. Gues he had a brain fart
and was in a hurry.