I don't know anything about cars, but I've always wanted to learn. I took my 02 WRX in to have it looked at for a couple things and they said that first and foremost I need to get the brakes done which I guess means possibly replacing the rotors and quoted me around $700 for the whole thing. The car has 55,000 on it. My questions is this... Could I [with help?] replace all of the rotors myself with a better product and save all of those dealer charges? How hard is that? What should I do? Would anyone help me? It's tough to get started working on cars when you have no tools/no mentor/not a lot of money to spend on them. Any help would be appreciated. Matt
They aren't TOO difficult. If you haven't weared down the pads completely, you should be able to still use the same rotor and just buy new bads. They do recommend that you replace the rotor which isn't a big deal in itself. You can watch a vid on brake maintenence here: http://videos.hspn.com/?videoid=44&catid=14 It goes through the steps of replacing your brake pads as well as lines. You can ignore the lines part and just replace the pads. I believe the '05s WRX brake setup is the same or at least similiar to the '02s. I, myself, have replaced pads once, but not on a suby before. Pretty sure at least one of the guys here would be willing to help you do it
Brakes are super easy on subies. there are 2 bolts that hold the caliper on (should be 14mm) once the caliper is off you can just pull the rotor off, and slide the new one on. the pads just clip in, there is a 3rd bolt on the caliper. remove this one and it wil pivot open for an easy pad change. over all not very difficult. I am sure that if you decide to do it yourself someone will help ya.
It'll be easy if his rotor didn't rust on Might need a rubber mallet just in case it did. It is 55,000 miles. Oh, not to scare the crap outta you or anything mcblum, but some brakes in this day and age contain Abestos, so just be careful if you do this by yourself and even with another person. It was awhile back that car companies would say they wouldn't have any in it, but there are reports that it's still around in brake pads and crap. I'd used a respirator when doing the job just to be safe
brakes on these cars seem pretty easy. i had never worked on a suby before and did all the pads on my STi in about an hour and a half by myself
its easy... asbestos... we do brakes all day everyday and no masks.. you are in more danger from cigarette smoke... for $700 I hope they are replacing rotors, calipers, pads on all fours cause that is friggin ridiculous price... unless everything is fubar
You can do it! Not sure? Buy a Haynes/Chilton book and a 14mm wrench and maybe have a c-clamp handy and your'e pretty much set.
I think when I did my wrx, it cost me about $900 and that was with cryo/slotted/plated rotors, bobcat pads, h6 rear upgrade w/brackets, and ss lines all the way around. Then it was just a matter of fluching out the old fluid and you are ready to go. Talk to Mark link at Frozenrotors.com. Tell him you are part of mnsubaru and he will hook ya up with some good rotors. the price will be a little high (compared to stock stuff), but they will outlast the stock rotors probably 3:1. Russ
Might want to have someone you can trust look at your brakes before allowing any sort of significant work on them. Might just need pads unless your looking at upgrades.
I'm going to do it. Why not right? If I want to upgrade the rotors, get good pads, etc... which would people reccomend? This will be my first upgrade, and my plan is to upgrade whenever something needs to be fixed. Any suggestions for rotors/pads/anything else?
Not the best plan, it's good to know where you are going with your mods so that you can avoid wasted time and money and end up with a much better build. Not sure what your looking to get from your braking system but I think I am going with frozen rotors, Hawk pads and braided brake lines. This seems to be a good match for street and moderate performance driving. Don't forget brake fluid.
^^^that's my set-up minus the rotors. I love it. the lines and pads are a great upgrade for the price. BTW- jscspeed.com has the goodrich lines for 88 I think, that's what I paid with free shipping. They always give me great prices and free shipping!
I haven't shopped around for prices much so far, I usually don't until I am ready but the rotors from the frozen site are $440 and i think somebody on here said there is a contact who will give us a discount. Maybe we can do a group buy even?
definately do it. probably one of the most basic do it yourself projects you can do. and an easy way to get a little better performance out of your car. do the brake pistons have to be screwed into the calipers? or just pressed with a C-clamp? I don't remember if that was just for the older ones with the ebrake as part of the caliper or not... also, doing brake lines at the same time is a bit more complicated...but still not too bad. biggest thing is bleeding the brakes, which you'll need another person for (unless you get speed bleeders, which would be real sweet!) anyway, I've got all the tools, and would be more than happy to help if I'm around. just pick a date, and let people know, and I'm sure someone would be happy to help you out! WRX1 sets up a group buy pretty much every spring for some stuff from frozen rotors. I'll be getting some stuff from him this spring if he does it again!
Besides the wheels, replacing just the pads is only one bolt on each side. If you want to inlcude the rotors, that means three bolts a side. W/calipers, 4. Like others have said, brakes are cake.
