Changing brake pads - Do it myself or pay mechanic?

[theslippery1]

Like everyone else has said to do on the safety side is good advice. I would also firstly jack up the car & remove a wheel & check for grooves on the disc if there are any & they are deep(2mm) or so & if there's a lip on the disc I would get new disc's they are not hard to replace there will be plenty of how to's on this site for doing this . There's no point doing the pads if your disc's are worn. You will find new discs on the net are the cheapest just make sure they come from a good supplier ( DBA) or the like.
Happy learning the art of home repairs
theslippery1

 

[bogan_vk]

id say have a crack at it its a very easy job only takes about 10minutes a side once you know how to do it, as already stated buy a manual and stands and once youve learnt you will never have to pay to have it done again.if your discs need doing theyre easy too just follow the manual.

 

[Skrewdriver]

Another thing you'll need to know if it's your first time,is that you should bleed your brake system of any air that might have got into system.There's how-to on this forum somewhere (i think!!)with pictures to help you better understand each step .Good luck mate

 

[fod8u]

The best advice you can get will be this

1. Go and buy yourself a GREGORYS manual for your car.

2. Also buy or borrow a set of car stands they are usually around 50 to 70 dollars a set, NEVER NEVER work on a car just sopported by a jack.

3. When you remove the wheel slide it in approx halfway under the sil of the car, This is a safety safety if the stand fails for some reason the wheel under the car will stop it from crushing you and or damaging the car.
4. NEVER WORK ON A CAR THATS JUST SITTING ON A JACK ALWAYS USE A CAR STAND.


See here for car stands
NEW AXLE STAND JACK STANDS 6 TON CAR STANDS (eBay item 370482610982 end time 09-Apr-11 14:17:35 AEST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats

Definitely invest in a gregory's, money very well spent.

 

[justbad4you]

i agree wuth reaper( if you have to ask get some one who knows to do it for you.....brakes are somthing you should get done by those in the know

If you have to ask then yes - pay somebody to do it for you. At the very least have somebody who knows what they are doing to guide you thu it. It's an easy job but the downside is pretty horrendous if you screw it up.

Reaper

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

People are too scared of brakes, I say do it yourself only if you have some mechanical aptitude. If you don't know a hammer from a screw driver, then at the very least, have someone there that has done brakes before.

I wouldn't bleed them though, there is no need to bleed them after a pad change. It can cause more problems if you don't know how to bleed brakes correctly and know what you are looking for.