4Runna

Hi All,
So my 4Runner is doing the shimmy/shake when braking and searching the forum tells me that my rotors are probably warped.

I priced a couple places out here in the Seattle area for brake jobs which includes resurfacing the rotors and yielded a price of $200.

I'm not totally incompetent when it comes to doing repairs. But the oops factor when messing with my brakes is a bit to risky for my liking.

Is this a fair price? Also, I read that instead of resurfacing, replacing rotors is the way to go. Replacing the rotors would add another $250 to the job.

Is resurfacing really that bad?

thanks in advance!
4R

EDGE

200 bucks ain't bad but seems way low, 4Runners are easy all you gotta do is pull the calipers and the rotors fall off, put new rotors on put calipers back with new pads and your good to go.

I could be wrong, it's been awhile since I touched brakes but I've read enough on here.

What about your fluid

bamachem

HELL NO. That's REDICULOUS. The rotors can be bought online for about $50-$60 each (for OEM stuff or for knockoffs at your local napa) and the pads from the dealer (only pads you should consider) are $46. That's about $170 for the parts and NO MORE than $50 to put them on. That's for NEW stuff. Don't waste your time with resurfacing when you can get new one's so cheap.

Unhappy99

Regardless of cost, there is no sense in turning crappy Toyota rotors as they will just warp again. Get Brembos from Tirerack and a decent set of pads like the Satisfied Pro Ceramics. Less cost, less hassle, much better quality.

Yoda

What year truck?

Labor rates vary drasticly across the US. I think about $80 hr in Seattle area.

bamachem

It's a 20 min/side job to change the pads AND the rotors AND clean everything while you're in there...

Mohamed

Not quite, the new runners are a floating disc true and so is the Tundra (thank god, otherwise a really messy job).

The older model Runners had a built-in hub with bearings, so pulling off the rotor requires you to pull the hub off, not hard, just messy and more components to take off, especially with packing grease back in.

If any of you ever have done the ones on an older Ford Explorer make sure you check the rear diff seals, 75% of the time I did the fronts and just went to the rear to adjust them, the seals where bad and leaking.

midiwall

Usually yes, but it depends on how bad the rotors are "welded" to the hub with corrosion. My truck spent 4 years in the Chicago salt and snow and it took a LOT of banging and PB Blaster to get the rotors off: http://www.midiwall.com/4Runner/brakes.html


And I second the statement about the "value" of turning. I paid $32/each from Napa for rotors - at that price it's just not worth it to turn 'em.

midiwall

4R's profile says he has a '98, so it should be a breeze...

rimpainter.com

I agree with basically everything that has been said. Do a search on rotors and my thread will pop up - some good info at the end.

Basically, via Autozone and my own skillz, I got new rotors with a one-year warranty and Performance Friction pads for about $160 (if I remember right). I love my set-up. No more shimmy while braking.

Mohamed

In that case it is a breeze, that's a floating disc setup. Take off caliper, the disc comes right off. Just make sure you clean the surface of the disc with brake cleaner. Discs come with a protective layer atop them for shipping purposes, so simply take brake cleaner and spray both outboard and inboard surface areas to clean the layer off, and wipe off.

4Runna

Thanks all. Do you remember your first major maintenance job on your rig? That's pretty much what I'm facing here. I've done oil changes and swapped out antenna masts, but that's about the extent of it.

I just have the fear of finding an extra bolt or something when putting it all back together.

I'll search for the links as well as info on Brembos.

Thanks!

midiwall

That brake job I linked to above was the first time I'd replaced rotors (but I'd done pads); this past Sunday was the first time I ever did my rear brakes... (and I'm still alive!)

It's all about moving slow, looking CLOSE at what you're doing and how things come apart and even taking pictures if you're not sure you can get them back together.

When I did my rear brakes on Sunday, the right one came out and went back in just swell. I got interrupted in-between taking the left apart and getting it back together, so I had to pull the right drum off again to see how a spring went back! oops.

There's a first time for everything - it'll be okay.

Mohamed

DAMN! You ran right through to the rivets Midiwall...alright!!!

Last time I dealt with something like that was my friend's 2002 Wrangler Sport, he gave it to me and it just sounded absolutely horrible, metal to metal and it dug a substancial amount into the rotor. And he's like "you think it's bad?" lol...

The problem I had was I went all around town to find a rotor because he was gonna sell it in like a month (and he did and got a Ford Lightning) so i didn't want to pay for a dealer part, but no one in town had the correct rotor....I gotta admit Napa Auto Parts was the only one in town helping me find a correct rotor for my friend's Wrangler...I give them props, don't know about the quality of their parts, but I hear fair to good is a proper label for their stuff.

jimbo74

a shop inst going to charge you 1/3 of an hour... you better bet on getting nailed for the whole hour of labor..... at the repair shop i work at we charge $85 an hour, Newark, CA

Yoda

The price quoted to have a shop do it is right on. Shops charge the full retail price on parts. It is a part of the profit of the business. (you can make a cheeseburger for less than macdonalds charges, but you still go there even though you can do it yourself for less) In town here, the tire store charges $20 a rotor to turn them, quality pads have to be about $50

Flat rate shows 1 hour for r&r pads, .8 for machining rotors

1.8 X $80 = $144

$144 + $50 pads = $194

Are they wrong to charge that? No, its their business, they give you an est and you decide if you want it. As long as they don't charge you for things they don't do, or for things you didn't agree to.

Can you save money by doing yourself? Yes!
But have someone mentor you on the job. Brakes are critical. I have seen what I consider a stupid thing, but he didn't know you don't paint the anti-squeal on the friction surface. The parts guy sold it to him just said "you put it on the brakes to make them quiet".

Dealer shows rotors are $95 each, NAPA should be less. They have to take them off to turn them, so replacing shouldn't be much (if any) more labor. I usually just replace them on my own vehicles.

I do remember there is a place near Boeing Field that does brakes cheap. "Golden Rule Brakes" or something like that.

Mohamed

lmao..., okay that's just plain stupid.

Yoda

He's an expert on concrete and construction, but I cringe watching him work on his truck, gun, boat, almost anything else. He has a large selection of BFH's

midiwall

tee-hee... I know. And the REAL stoopid thing is that I had gone out wheelin' two days before on those brakes.

I'm usually MUCH better about dealing with my brakes, but I didn't even hear the squeelers this time.

GRNTACO

WOW! "Who needs brakes, there is always the car in front of you"