Hey guys.. so the other day I notice my e-brake light on the dash starts to flicker while I'm driving.. It would sort of flicker as I hit bumps and then go off. So today as I'm driving home it flickers on and stays on so I head over to my dealership. They took a look and said the fluid was a little low and they topped it up and my rear brakes were down to 1mm.. so I dont know if it was one or the other or a combination of both that made my e-brake light come on, but it's off now.
Anyway, they quoted me $209 for a rear brake job and recommended a brake fluid flush for $99 (or $79 if done during the brake job). How hard is changing the rear brakes (on a non-ABS ZX3) and should I just do it myself? Also, what is the general opinion of a brake flush on a 2002 ZX3 with around 46,000km?
I'm looking for opinions since I've never done a brake job before..
are they the discs or drums.
i'm guessing they are drums, in that case its not that hard to change the shoes and you could just get by with machining the drums. i did the brake shoes on my old ZX3 and it took me and my uncle about an hour to do both sides. the hardest part of doing a drum are the springs that are used, you almost need 3 hands to get everything together.
if your comfortable with it, find and read a manual to do it.
Yeah , rear drums are a bit of a pain in the you-know-what, and certainly take longer than doing the fronts , you need to rent a puller from canadian tire , so you can get the old drum off and i would suggest picking up new drums , they are 80 bucks each , brand spankin new and that includes the rear drums bearings and studs . get em for 80 bucks at a partsource. Getting the rear drum back on is easy so yeah , also remember to mark the nut some how , i used a punch cause technically those should be replaced every 4 times they are removed.
Happy trails
Well I think this time I'll just pay to get them changed (at my uncles shop, should be much less than the dealership) since I dont feel like messing around in the semi-cold weather.
So what is the opinion of a brake fluid flush? Sounds like another one of the excessive maintenance things that shops like to push on people..
Theres a seller on ebay right now who sells replacement drums and shoes for the zx3, they are $170 Shipped for everything. I'm buying a set on Friday, its the best price I've found so far
guilty,Oct 17 2006, 07:54 PM Wrote:Well I think this time I'll just pay to get them changed (at my uncles shop, should be much less than the dealership) since I dont feel like messing around in the semi-cold weather.
So what is the opinion of a brake fluid flush? Sounds like another one of the excessive maintenance things that shops like to push on people..
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If you want hit me up I've changed drums b4 on my topaz. Same setup as the focus sorta, drums in back, discs up front. Good learning experience.
guilty,Oct 17 2006, 09:54 PM Wrote:So what is the opinion of a brake fluid flush? Sounds like another one of the excessive maintenance things that shops like to push on people..
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To be honest (and anyone who knows different, please correct me), at 46000KM, I would hope you wouldn't need to do a flush of ANYTHING (except engine oil of course :lol: ). I've owned many a ford vehicle, and never done a b-line flush of any kind. I think it's just as you say, another expensive thing the stealers like to put on the list...and will probably charge you for it but wont even do unless you stand there and watch :angry:
I mean, think about it...the lines are designed for brakefluid at pressure, and the brake fluid is designed not to corrode those lines. The only place it comes into contact with anything non-metal is the resevoir....so if you've always put in fresh fluid....where is the need for a flush? :rolleyes:
Has anyone ever seen this recommendation from Ford??
Oh, and Phantom has given you a great offer there...it's a great learning curve.
Scorp
The flush is not a must but I think its not a bad idea, all fluid get old and dirty.....I do mine every 50km or so. I also do it myself since I am a tech....
The reasoning the service advisor used was that brake fluid can take on moisture from condensation or something.. so the flush would be getting rid of any moisture.
Anyway, I just dropped my car off at my uncle's place and he's doing it for $50 plus the shoes which I think were around $70. That's worth my while to not have to do it myself I'd say.. I'll leave my amateur mechanicking to the warm summer months so while I'm pissing around trying to figure it out I dont freeze my ass off ;)