Just Brakes

[akarol]

Well, looks like my brakes need to be replaced and I am really not willing to pay the $500+ that the Audi dealer is asking for. I was considering doing it myself, but after doing it on my 2001 Mustang years back, I vowed to never do it again. It was too arduous of a process to do it again. Some friends have had some positive remakrs about the $99 Just Brakes service. I was wondering what were some of your experiences with them.

Thanks in advance...

[Exanimas]

Get some Hawk HPS pads and bring it to a local shop. I know that wasn't a direct response to what you asked, however, I haven't heard anything bad (only very good) about those pads and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to throw a little bit of money into the system on your car that stops you from hitting walls/pedestrians/cars. Goodluck with whatever you do.

[kwimberly]

Just Brakes F*CKED my Jetta a few years ago!!! I know nothing about brakes, so I'm not accurately describing what happened, but it took them several increasingly larger hammers to open(?) a caliper or piston or something. When they finally got it unstuck(?) the car pulled to one side and creaked when I applied the brakes. They tried to fix it and ended up having to replace a caliper. I then took it to another branch because I didn't trust the location that originally did the work. Well, that location screwed up something else. I think they didn't bleed the lines right or something because when I left THAT shop, I noticed that my car was smoking (big time) out of the same wheel that they were banging on. So, I drove about half a mile back to the shop, and they tried to tell me that it was normal for them to be a little hot as they "break in." I insisted that they take the wheel off and see what the hell was going on. They took the wheel off, and the tech touched the caliper and burned the sh!t out of his hand. They finally fixed it, but I'll never go back to that chain.

Long story short - I will never go back to Just Brakes. I hesitated going to them in the first place. My Audi will only go to someone who knows Audis.

[kwimberly]

Whoa - I didn't even notice you are from Orlando. The two shops I'm talking about are 1) Semoran at Pershing, and 2) East Colonial at Dean.

I go to Shannon at Full Throttle VW for general maintenance things now. He handles pretty much any Audi VW up to the B6/Mk IV models.

[B6480Avant]

is it really that hard to replace the pads? scale 1 to 10? how hard ive done pads on cars and trucks

also does the caliper have to come off to change the pads?

[B6newb]

Whoa - I didn't even notice you are from Orlando. The two shops I'm talking about are 1) Semoran at Pershing, and 2) East Colonial at Dean.

I go to Shannon at Full Throttle VW for general maintenance things now. He handles pretty much any Audi VW up to the B6/Mk IV models.

Lmao! I'm from orlando too and I had problems with the shop on Semoran and Pershing too. BIGGEST MISTAKE I'VE EVER DONE!!! I took it in this past June to get that $99 service and what did they end up doing? First thing I noticed 2 days later was that they didn't put the cap back on the brake fluid container and they STOLE my battery cover cuz they didn't put it back on and they "don't know what could of happened to it" Also after two weeks of my car making this weird clunking noise, I take it to have it checked out at the dealer and they found out that Just Brakes didn't tighten the bolts on my front caliper when they did the service... WTF!!! I would never recommend anybody to use them again.

[Papachristou]

Well, looks like my brakes need to be replaced and I am really not willing to pay the $500+ that the Audi dealer is asking for. I was considering doing it myself, but after doing it on my 2001 Mustang years back, I vowed to never do it again. It was too arduous of a process to do it again. Some friends have had some positive remakrs about the $99 Just Brakes service. I was wondering what were some of your experiences with them.

Thanks in advance...

two points here

1. its not an arduous job, i did all four friday night in about an hour and a half...

2. please go eat a pistol for even considering taking your car to a $99 place


ah i see the above poster.... yeah so what kind of super bright employees do you think these places hire? the best mechanics? um no....

oh and what kind of quality pads will you be entrusting your life too?hmmm im sure they are using good ones there arent they?


i know german auto service is pricey but it comes with the car... i knew it before i bought it and i dont bitch when i gotta pay more for nice tires, ferodo pads or premium gas... its not a honda civic

[Papachristou]

is it really that hard to replace the pads? scale 1 to 10? how hard ive done pads on cars and trucks

also does the caliper have to come off to change the pads?

its about a 2

and how the hell else would you get the pads off without removing the caliper?

ok im sorry ive been mean

[pondside36]

The rear caliper bolt are the hardest part and can be a deal breaker if you strip one.. have the right tools and you should be fine.

[jursch2211]

[QUOTE=Papachristou;2816594]two points here

1. its not an arduous job, i did all four friday night in about an hour and a half...

2. please go eat a pistol for even considering taking your car to a $99 place



^x2 on this. DON'T ever take your car to a fix all type of shop. They don't put the time and care into your car because they have to get everyone else that needs something done in. I learned from this when I needed to get new tires on desperately and took it to a one stop shop. They ended up scratching and banging up my 19" rims and not even a day after I had the job done, three tires went flat. Take the time to schedule an appointment with the Audi dealership if you don't feel comfortable doing the job yourself, or take the time to learn and do it yourself and you will feel so much better afterwards because you saved yourself $$$ and you can say you did something yourself. Just my $.02

[mdzaudi]

haha, just brakes and their "$99" replace. They fail to mention that they charge $30 more dollars over the top of that $99 because it's a "foreign car fee" or some shit like that. I called them just to get quoted out and that's what they told me. But when i actually went to change them myself, i found that they were easier to change than my explorer pads. Just spend an hour or two and do them yourself. I know there's a DIY out there somewhere.

[B6480Avant]

its about a 2

and how the hell else would you get the pads off without removing the caliper?

ok im sorry ive been mean

on my toyota tundra you take 2 pins out and they slide out the front, open the fluid cap and cmopress the pistons and slide the new ones in it takes 15 min each wheels haha thats why i asked

[akarol]

Wow guys. I didn't expect an unanimous negative feedback from everyone. I guess I should take your advice and steer clear of them. I was skeptical to have them touch my foreign car anyways, but I just wanted to make sure. As far as tools go, what tools am I going to be needing? You mentioned the rear calipers being difficult to remove. What made them so difficult and what do I need to make my job easier? I remember changing my Mustang's brakes and it taking me almost the whole day. I have found a couple of DIY online that I'll use as reference. While we're at the subject, what brakes should I get? I am not willing to spend too much on them but I want something that is going to be reliable. I will purchase the tools and supplies necessary and have at it this weekend. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

Thank you guys so much for all your advice...

[kwimberly]

After reading these posts, I'm excited about trying my own pad replacement. I read the DIY's - doesn't look too bad. Might order some Hawk HPS pads. I hate to ruin the wear sensor wires though.

Let us know how it goes by posting back in this thread, akarol. If I'm on Colonial and see an '03 3.0 Cab with smoke billowing out the wheel wells, I'll honk and wave!

[jbrown7815]

After reading these posts, I'm excited about trying my own pad replacement. I read the DIY's - doesn't look too bad. Might order some Hawk HPS pads. I hate to ruin the wear sensor wires though.

Let us know how it goes by posting back in this thread, akarol. If I'm on Colonial and see an '03 3.0 Cab with smoke billowing out the wheel wells, I'll honk and wave!

lol

[Papachristou]

guys,

forget the wear sensor wires... how many of us have ever had a car before this one with wear sensor wires... ??? i sure havent... i just cut mine off and looped it together... (just installed ferodo pads which are the shizznit BTW.. i still dont have as much initial grab as i wanted but once they bite, they bite HARD!)

the two things you need to know about the rears..

1. you need the piston retract/turn deal (can be bought from harbor freight (same one ECS sells) for $15 i think) or you can rent it for free from any autozone/advanced auto parts

2. for the rear bolts they were talking about...have an allen head socket set/and allen key.. i had to use a socket with a wrench to turn it on one side, the other side a regular allen key worked just fine (dont forget to put locktite on them)

[kwimberly]

Thanks for the tips. Harbor has these - the kit specifically mentions Audi. Necessary (for the twisting motion)? The single tool is only 4 bucks (vs. 40 for the kit).

[pondside36]

Removing the lower strut bolt on the rears will make removing the lower caliper bolt 100% easier also, you can then push the strut enough to get the ratchet in there. You will understand when you get to that point. Also note that the bolts aren't the same length, I believe the top it shorter and the bottom. Good luck

[akarol]

kwimberly, so you're planning on replacing the pads yourself? Why don't we try it together than. I am probably going to do it over a friend's shop since he'll probably have all the tools and advice I'll need.

I am also considering the Hawk HPS brakes. Now, what is this I heard about the brakes sensor? Is it inevitable that they'll be ruined? I wouldn't like for that to happen.

[JMRQuattro]

i did my own brakes at home once before on my VW and it was really easy, despite the auto parts store repeatedly giving me the wrong size rotors. Install was easy, just had to remove the anti vibration clip with a screw driver, remove a couple bolts on the back of the caliper and then the top half of the calipers come right off of the bottom half that's left sitting on the rotor. Then to take that off all it took was just pulling it off. So from there it was simply putting the new pads on and reinstalling it once i changed out the rotors. And while i was waiting for the right part to be ordered i took the time to remove the calipers all together and have them sandblasted clean at a local shop so i could paint them. Must say it was very easy and i'm very happy with the result, i will never take my car to the shop again

[JMRQuattro]

oh yeah and i forgot to mention you have to bleed the piston. Wasn't hard though.

[kwimberly]

kwimberly, so you're planning on replacing the pads yourself? Why don't we try it together than. I am probably going to do it over a friend's shop since he'll probably have all the tools and advice I'll need.

I am also considering the Hawk HPS brakes. Now, what is this I heard about the brakes sensor? Is it inevitable that they'll be ruined? I wouldn't like for that to happen.

I'll probably be several months before I tackle this one. Saving my pennies for APR flash at the end of September.

The wear sensor is what is wired up to your dash display to tell you when the pads are worn. From what I understand, Hawk HPS pads aren't wired for that as some other pads are. If you get pads that don't have that feature, you have to short the sensor and get the wires out of the way.

[mdzaudi]

I'll probably be several months before I tackle this one. Saving my pennies for APR flash at the end of September.

The wear sensor is what is wired up to your dash display to tell you when the pads are worn. From what I understand, Hawk HPS pads aren't wired for that as some other pads are. If you get pads that don't have that feature, you have to short the sensor and get the wires out of the way.

Pad wear sensor wires? Wish mine would've had them instead of using my own sensor (my ears hearing the grinding of metal on the rotors).

[kwimberly]

Pad wear sensor wires? Wish mine would've had them instead of using my own sensor (my ears hearing the grinding of metal on the rotors).

Wear sensor wires on Mintex reds:

[pondside36]

You can cut the harness from your old pad and short that end out so you don't ruin the harness which is connected to the car.

[kwimberly]

You can cut the harness from your old pad and short that end out so you don't ruin the harness which is connected to the car.

dude - that's smart. keep the two pieces hooked together. I knew there was a reason I didn't go into engineering...

[pondside36]

Good thing I did and read it on someone elses post as well...lol happy wrenching.

[akarol]

Are the Mintex reds good? How much am I looking to spend on the whole set?

[milehighpilot]

you can rent that tool from autozone for 0 i repeat 0 dollars. you pay 35 bucks and take the tool back and they refund you the money. and i second dont forget to bleed the brakes and they make a self bleed kit at autozone for 5 bucks so you dont need anyone else!

[pondside36]

If you are just doing pads and rotors, you don't need to bleed the brakes. Just retract the pistons and reinstall everything. Bleeding only required if you are changing brake lines or flushing and changing the fluid.

[Papachristou]

you can rent that tool from autozone for 0 i repeat 0 dollars. you pay 35 bucks and take the tool back and they refund you the money. and i second dont forget to bleed the brakes and they make a self bleed kit at autozone for 5 bucks so you dont need anyone else!

i rented a pilot bearing tool from them, even had to grind it down to work on the audi and they took it back, then refunded my money


why would you cut the connector on the car anyway? you dont need an engineering degree to figure it out once you look at it

[Elliott]

There is so much dumbassery in this thread.

[akarol]

Why do you say that Ellitott?

[kwimberly]

Guess he's cooler than us because he already knows about the info expressed in this thread. whatever.

[JMRQuattro]

elliot's always ass-holing up threads lol. It seems like every time i see a response from him it's sarcasm or belittling someone because they don't know everything about a topic. He must be the great all knowing wizard of oz or something. And if that's the case he must know that everyone's gotta start somewhere. That's called learning.