Idiot car question

daveleau · 04-04-2003, 08:53 PM

Hi everybody!

I have a 90 Mercury Sable that is in need of brake work. I have never done brakes myself and don't have the time right now, so I have to take it in. I have only had the car about a year and drive it very little. My friend that practically gave me the car as a wedding present said it would need brakes soon and the drums and rotors were not able to be turned since they were almost gone. He said his mechanic said that it would be best just to slap some brake pads on it until the car dies, since it has either 140K or 240K on it (the odometer only has 6 digits (XX,XXX.X) and he doesn't remember if it had turned over once or twice). The brakes are starting to make that sound when they need to be worked on, so I was going to take it to a shop and have pads put on. I know when I get there they are going to try to get me to do the entire thing, but I don't have the money or desire to do so since we won't have the car THAT much longer. Is there any danger in doing just putting pads on it? The car does not lurch when it stops, which is the only sign I know of that tells me the drums and rotors need to be turned.

Thanks for your help and for reading my long post.

Dave

no1_vern · 04-04-2003, 09:18 PM

I think you can get another 10, or maybe 20 thousand out of that old clunker. Replace the pads, and pay attention to the handling, when the rotors finally need to be replaced you will get the lurching you mentioned. Dont replace until then.

Vern

RedFury · 04-04-2003, 09:58 PM

Most reputable shops may refuse to put shoes and pads on your car if the rotors are too far gone for liability reasons. You might be able to get them to do it only if there is enough material left on the drums/rotors for the wearing down on the new brake material. Otherwise you're stuck doing it yourself.

Worst case scenario: front rotors wear through to the cooling veins and cause potential brake lock up ( although you should know something is terribly wrong before that happens ), rear drums could potentially disassemble themselves if the drum gets any kind of taper to it ( Currently dealing with a Spirit with this problem, and had an old Tempo that would launch the brake shoes every other day on one side until I just disabled that brake ).

Depending on what/where you go, see if there is a possibility of swapping out your unturnable drums/rotors for something usable out of a scrapyard since you don't plan on keeping it long term.

Personally, if the car runs well, and hasn't given you any indications that it is going to give up the ghost anytime soon, it might be worth fixing on your own. Brakes at the shop cost $$$, home repairs are dirt cheap and quite easy to do with a chiltons/haynes manual. Anyone with a handful of tools would most likely have most of the tools needed to accomplish a pad/shoe change.

Oh, and one more thing and then I'll stop rambling...
If you don't feel that the rear brakes are making any noise, just get the fronts done first. My assumption is that this car nosedives pretty good during braking and most of the stopping is done with front brakes ( the discs ). The rears on most cars are more for vehicle control than anything...they seem to last forever on front wheel drive vehicles. I went through 3 sets of front pads before I touched the rears on a car I delivered pizza's with to give you an idea.

You can get brand new rotors for 20-30 bucks a piece for that car, which is cheap considering my 77 Wagon rotors will run me about $75 a piece because my front wheel bearings are part of the rotor. As I suspected, you have extremely easy front brakes to work on. A rotor and pad change could be done in 2 hours tops by someone with no brake experience. Seriously.
prices were checked at CheckerAuto.com, the most expensive rotors listed were Raybestos for $45 a rotor.

daveleau · 04-04-2003, 10:12 PM

My biggest fear with doing my own breaks is getting air in the brake lines. Do you have to disconnect the brake hydrolic lines when replacing pads/ rotors?

alivin · 04-04-2003, 10:45 PM

When I did the brakes on my wifes car (95 vw jetta I call it hitlers revenge) there was no need to bleed the brakes, I turned the slave piston clockwise and this screwed the piston back into the caliper, don't forget to take the top off the master under the hood as the brake fluid displaced by the screwing of the piston goes back into the master cylinder . I had a friend who is a mechanic show me how to all this. Home mechanics is pretty fun and saves beaucoup bucks.
Should be no need to bleed unless the brakes are spongy after.

Brainchild · 04-04-2003, 11:00 PM

Quote:

My biggest fear with doing my own breaks is getting air in the brake lines. Do you have to disconnect the brake hydrolic lines when replacing pads/ rotors?

No but you may want to rent a caliper tool to press the calipers back in so the new pads will fit. Not hard,and on the front most of the time a C-clamp will work. Just place the old pad on the piston,and use the clamp to depress the piston all the way back

On the back if it has rear disk,You'll need the tool

Ed_S · 04-05-2003, 12:43 AM

Dave, if you do wind up needing to buy rotors or drums, be sure to ask the supplier if they offer a discount to servicemen. We do it all the time, no problem.

Here's a tip if you tackle the rears yourself. Take off both wheels & drums, but do NOT disassemble the shoes on both sides at the same time. One at a time instead. There are several springs involved, & the best way to get them correct is to refer to the (assembled) opposite side.

And please, if the rotors are actually bad rather than just worn, replace them. Regardless of the car's value or how long you'll have it, it needs to be safe!!

THRUSH · 04-05-2003, 12:50 AM

Yep give it a shot yourself dave, very easy. I'm far from a motorhead and have done it a few times no problem. The last time the only problem I had was getting the *&*(@*@$! wheel off! Warped my tire iron pretty good, finally had to drive it to a shop and have them crack the nuts for me quick. After that, it was nothing!

Gomer · 04-05-2003, 01:05 AM

Go here for online manual

http://www.cybrrpartspro.com/Manual...odelLookup.html

nunyadam · 04-05-2003, 01:15 AM

I have done brake jobs with nothing more than a pair of vise grips,allen wrench, screwdriver, and a c-clamp.

the drums should be turned with each new set of pads. they will wear faster if you don't.
as stated most shops will not do the work if the drums/rotors are out of the size limit.
new rotors should be turned before use. (they seem to come rough cut.) also clean the surfase they are lubricated to prevent rusting.
if you do the rear drum brakes as ed_s suggested just remember that the two sides are mirror images.

and my last thought on the subject . even if you are going to part ways with the car soon, do the job right. If the engine were to blow up on the new owner, that would be one thing. If the brakes go out because of shoddy work you did /paid for., thats quite another story.