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brakes advice

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CJ2000

New CEG'er
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
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Well, I have a '00 SVT with 80000 miles. It's getting up there in age and I'm probably going to replace it within a year or so.

Of course, i can't get away unscathed and now my brakes are making that wonderful scraping noise indicating they need to be replaced.

So, here's my thing. I'm hoping I can just replace the fronts and then just the pads at that. What is the harm in not replacing/turning the rotors if the mechanic (taking it to a dealer so I'm sure he will) recommends it?

Also, any estimates on cost?

Thanks all!
 
CJ 2000 said:
Well, I have a '00 SVT with 80000 miles. It's getting up there in age and I'm probably going to replace it within a year or so.

Of course, i can't get away unscathed and now my brakes are making that wonderful scraping noise indicating they need to be replaced.

So, here's my thing. I'm hoping I can just replace the fronts and then just the pads at that. What is the harm in not replacing/turning the rotors if the mechanic (taking it to a dealer so I'm sure he will) recommends it?

Also, any estimates on cost?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

just replacing the pads wont hurt anything as long as there is material left on the rotor. only thing that will suck is the brakes will pulsate if the rotors are not straight/smooth, especially if the pads are warn down to metal. feel the rotor, if its nice and smooth you can get away with not doing it but it wont last long (pads will wear a lot faster). getting the rotors turned only costs like $8 a side at murrays. i would just get a haynes manual and do it yourself. the dealership might not even let you just do pads btw, because they know if they dont do the rotors too they will most likely pulsate.
 
It is always best to machine the rotors (if they are machinable).

That said, I have seen a few cars during my auto repair career with badly worn and even badly grooved rotors that the owner continued to replace only the pads. On some of them the brakes even seemed to work reasonably well.

One of the biggest risks is that you may (highly likely) get brake shudder (warped rotor syndrome). It also takes the pads longer to seat in so you tend to have a low pedal.
 
Bored with the car?

No, I love the car, but it's showing age, i.e. the steering wheel leather is worn down the rubber in some areas, it gets about 17mpg average, the body needs some damage repair and paint, now the brakes need some work, the transmission still sticks occasionally (always happened), the fog lights were fixed four times in the first month of ownership and I've since given up on...

Basically, it's just aging and and cars are cheap (relatively) now, so now is the time to at least look into a replacement.
 
And SVT Contours have different brake parts than standard Contours, correct?
 
Big Jim said:
It is always best to machine the rotors (if they are machinable).

That said, I have seen a few cars during my auto repair career with badly worn and even badly grooved rotors that the owner continued to replace only the pads. On some of them the brakes even seemed to work reasonably well.

One of the biggest risks is that you may (highly likely) get brake shudder (warped rotor syndrome). It also takes the pads longer to seat in so you tend to have a low pedal.
Click to expand...

i actually went through 3 sets of pads in a old truck i used to own without rotor problems whatsoever, just wears the pads faster (plus cheap pads dont last long anyway). just made sure to replace the pads when they got thin.
 
CJ 2000 said:
And SVT Contours have different brake parts than standard Contours, correct?
Click to expand...

the rotors are bigger, not sure if pads are the same but the rotors and caliper mounting bracket are different. the calipers and hardware are the same i believe. maybe someone can confirm.
 
On a 2000 SVT front brakes the brake pads are the same as on a non SVT. The rotors are bigger. The caliper brackets are different to move the caliper out further to clear the larger rotors. The rear brakes are the same as non SVT.
 
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