Looking For Brake Pad Deal

[Hilbe]

My wife's P5 has about 35k miles on it and I think its coming close to being due for new brake pads. The question is, where is the best place to get brake pads? I've never had to replace them before on any of my cars, since my father previously maintained our cars. I was thinking Midas or something similar since they have brake pads for life. How much do they usually run?

 

[TheMAN]

"life time" brake pads means they're the shittiest ones that dust and overheat like noneother... they also squeal like a tied hog

with only 35k on the car, there ought to be plenty of life on the pads left! you just need to have them inspected by a reputable place like the dealer

 

[Hilbe]

Just called the dealer...they want $42.50 to do the "1/2 hour check out"...nasty.

 

[AlturredMP5]

i went about 80k miles before i had my pads replaced.

 

[mickeyreategui]

a mom and pop shop would probably the best.

 

[AlturredMP5]

if i remember correctly, i was charged $170 for the best shop in town to do it. and the best shop in town is usually a mom and pop shop.

ill trust anybody with a fully built 9 sec turbo ford pinto out front, but then again im a *****.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

Just called the dealer...they want $42.50 to do the "1/2 hour check out"...nasty.

ever tried to change brake pads yourself? not too hard to learn actually, epecially on a Protege5

 

[AlturredMP5]

not too hard sure, but i always think its nice to have some kind of warranty from a shop. in case something goes wrong, most shops will replace the parts free of charge. if you do it yourself, you better do it right the first time.

 

[njaremka]

the protege brakes are NOT that hard to do - to check the pads, just bend over and look at them. (at the most, take the wheel off)

 

[AlturredMP5]

the way i see it, though, its best not to take chances with this stuff. and the shops will usually rotate your rotors, which might be harder to do. especially if you dont have the tools. those nuts and bolts can get pretty tight.

 

[njaremka]

whatever - i'd rather NOT let someone else do something like brakes on MY car - they get paid by the job, so the quicker the better; i can take my time

 

[Kansei]

whatever - i'd rather NOT let someone else do something like brakes on MY car - they get paid by the job, so the quicker the better; i can take my time

Agreed. Only the back brakes are slightly less than straightforward because of the retraction allen bolt thingy. To change the front pads, it's 1 bolt after you take the wheel off. To do the rotors, it's a couple more (which are probably pretty tight if it is your first time). The only weird tool needed is a big C-clamp to retract the piston with so the new, thicker pads will fit on. There's a good how-to on here that I used my first time, it makes it easy

 

[Hilbe]

Agreed. Only the back brakes are slightly less than straightforward because of the retraction allen bolt thingy. To change the front pads, it's 1 bolt after you take the wheel off. To do the rotors, it's a couple more (which are probably pretty tight if it is your first time). The only weird tool needed is a big C-clamp to retract the piston with so the new, thicker pads will fit on. There's a good how-to on here that I used my first time, it makes it easy

I couldn't find the How-To, maybe I'm not typing the right search terms. Do you have a link?

 

[Kansei]

here's for the front pads/rotors:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43890

maybe there isn't a how-to for the rear. it's basically the same, but there's a rubber cap that covers an allen-head bolt .. a 5mm if I recall correctly. You have to use that bolt to retract the piston.