Rep Power: 260

Ok. I have a few questions and hopefully someone here can help me.
I took my car (volvo s40) to sears to have them put new brake pads on the rear, b/c I have had a little grinding sound from the driver rear for the last week.
Well they call me and tell me that I need 4 new rotors and all brake pads replaced, with a whopping price tag of 687$!!!!

My question is how do you know your rotors need to be replaced? They look fine to me, no knicks or blemishes.
I haven't lost any braking power, like I can't tell that the brakes are worn out, there is no noise from any of the other brakes. I've had other cars and I can always tell when the brakes are going.

Second question is how hard would it be to do the work myself? I've changed the brakes on my civic but I normally don't work on the volvo since it's still under warranty.

Any info would be greaty appreciated! Thanks
Emily

 
Rep Power: 424

There's a minimum thickness of the rotor before they need to be replaced. You take a set of micrometers and measure from one side to the other on the face. If there's less than spec, then the rotor is too thin and needs to be replaced. I'm not surprised at that price. Despite it being a Ford, I'm sure european car prices apply and the rotors are probably $60-100 a piece + pads + labor. It shouldn't be too hard to do yourself. There's a few common ways pads are held in to the caliper, most are pretty easy to figure out. I wish I knew a Volvo forum, I don't... but there's gotta be one.
If you're second guessing them, just stick your head in there and look at the pads, see how much is left on them. If its a lot they may be jerking your chain. If they're starting to look low, you may be hitting the wear indicators.

 
Rep Power: 0

Boilermaker1, How do you know so much about brakes? Oh and BTW i get my Brembo Blanks and Hawk HPS pads today

 
Rep Power: 424

^^^ didn't mean to hit the edit button. I fixed it back.


Its just one of the many joys of tracking a car, I have them apart a lot.

 
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Boilermaker your no joke, you really know your **** when it comes to suspension and brakes. Your the first one I would go to if I ever need help with any of these subjects.

 
Rep Power: 289

You can always try finding a volvo recycler and buy 4 rotors($?) then just get them resurfaced($10 per rotor) then bring those to sears. On my sis' focus they were going to charge 400 for the front 2 rotors and pads. we got it all done for under 70. Find out what cars use the same rotors from volvo that way when you call a recycler you arnt just asking for 1 model.

 
Rep Power: 260

Thanks for the info Boilermaker. Hopefully, if it isn't raining tomorrow I can get out there and really look into it. But, if I do need to get new rotors would you suggest new ones or is it ok to get some off of a wrecked car? I can get new ones for 57$/piece for front and 28$/piece rear new or 15$ a piece used and turned to spec.
There is a volvo forum that I found a while back, but it's not very active and it's not as informative as here.
Once again thanks.
EMiLY

 
Rep Power: 424

I am in no way a fan of pulling junkyard parts. I've done it, but before you go for used rotors, find out if yours can be turned. I'd honestly spring for new ones, just cuz the thicker they are, the better they stand up to heat.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hi,

I am down on repair stores doing brake jobs, they tend to exagerate to their favor, probably for liability reasons, but here is my story. And by the way, we need to know how many miles are on your car, and I do agree that your price seems to be reasonable for the work--if they actually do the work they quoted, and if in fact you need that work done.

My wife took her rx300 to the dealer for 60k service, they called us and called us about the rear brakes, [we didnt answer the phone] they wanted to replace the brake pads and the calipers because they said they were worn and frozen, for a total cost of $1084.73. We declined the service and when it was brought home I reinspected the rear brakes and confirmed there is under 1/4" of pad left, in my estimate about 20k miles of wear still on the pads. THen, while inspecting, i took a screw driver and pushed each brake piston into the caliper, guess what, they werent frozen at all. I have had other unscrupulous encounters with this dealer before so I wasnt surprised. AND THEN, I check the oil level and its overfilled. Do you know what that equals? Yes, blown rear main oil seal. So I proceeded to drain 1/2 quart of oil to bring it within spec.

You are probably looking at about $60.00 per rotor, with all pads being about $40.00, for a total cost of parts of about $280.00.

You can do one of two things, or both, to ease your mind. Take the car back to the place and ask them to show you the worn rotors and explain how they determined they are bad. If they can not show you the measurements, as previously indicated by boilermaker, then they may have just taken a guess at it. Or two, you could take it to another brake house like midas or to a local garage, and ask for an estimate, then compare estimates. It all depends on your time too, do you have time to do all this running around to different garages? If you know someone who does their own car repair you could ask them to verify the Sears estimate. I am suspicious that they told you that 4 new rotors are needed, that is just unheard of unless you got 150,000 miles on the car.

Since your car is making that noise, you might want to have the brakes repaired within one month to prevent further damage to the rotors.

 
Rep Power: 0

feel the outer lip of your rotors, it should be pretty small. if its like 3/32" big, thats a sign your rotors are worn. yeah its pretty unlikely that they all need to be replaced.

the hardest part about changing break pads/rotors is pushing the brake cylinder back into place. you can use a big c-clamp for the front ones, but the back ones may require a tool to turn them back in.. or just use pliers i guess. other than that its a peice of cake. just use a good jack on a flat surface so ur car doesnt fall onto its rotors while the wheels are off! very bad!

 
Rep Power: 260

The car only has 65xxx miles on it. In April I will have had the car for 2 years. Before I owned it, it was a lease car and was maintained by the dealer. But I live 2 hours away from the nearest dealer so I save those trips for something big.
Damn me for moving away from home. I could have just had my daddy deal with it! lol... anyways.
Thanks for all the replies and tomorrow since I'm off work I'll have something to keep my occupied.
EMiLY

 
Rep Power: 0

My [estimate] is that at 65xxx miles you probably dont need new rotors all around, turning them would be an option. I have changed dozens of brake pads without turning the rotors or replacing them. My [estimate] is that you can do this brake job without changing the rotors, but the next job you will likely have to change the rotors because they will be too thin at that point.

The other thing you might want to check into a little about your car is, are any of your rotors bent? Does your car pulsate when braking? It is not uncommon for a front passenger side tire/wheel/hub to hit a curb now and then like during the winter and this can create a bent rotor which might accelerate wear on your brakes. If you got a bent one then the dealer might rightfully suggest a new rotor to replace that one, and possibly all 4 at the same time for security.

Its all about money and safety. You got to be safe. You got to save money.
****** the stone from my hand weedhopper. Now you decide what to do.