More brake woes

[skivskiv]

I have a 98 SHO that has some brake problems. I took it to a shop because of a whining noise from the rear after driving on the highway for a while. The shop told me that the rear calipers needed replaced; the rear pads need replaces; and that the rotors are slightly warped, but are within spec so they *could* be turned.

My front rotors are warped causing some pulsation when braking; and that the front rotors are too far out of spec to be turned. The shop also told me that the pads need to be replaced *very* soon since I have total rear brake failure and I'm relying completely on the front brakes. (I have noticed my stopping power is pretty crummy)

My question is two-fold. They quoted me a very large sum of money to fix this for me. I want to know if this is a job that I can do myself. I have a bit of mechanic experience, but not a ton of SHO experience.

And secondly, I've seen a ton of auctions on ebay for SHO "performance rotors and brake pads." Are they garbage? Or are they worthwhile? Are there reasonable alternatives and where can they be found?

I'm willing to invest a little bit more money for performance rotors/pads since one of the best upgrades to a car is better brakes.

I just ordered the Chilton manual for the SHO, so I will have that at my disposal when attempting to do the repairs myself.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[kikkinasphalt]

Im sure for what they quoted you to do the front you could upgrade to Cobra brakes.

this is the path ill likely take.

yes, you could do them, everyone does them for the "first time" and usally have problems, but thats how you learn.

just take it slow. do your research ahead of time.. and have the internet handy.

good luck and report back

oh and heres some good reading..

http://www.v8sho.com/SHO/modifications.html
(scroll down to brakes)

 

[Exitwound]

Even with limited mechanical experience brakes are a super simple task to tackle. The only thing you will need that isn't in everyones home tool kit is a tool to compress the rear calipers. I use a pair of needle nose pliers but some might disagree. If you get all new rotors pads and caliper rebuild kit it is a job that should take a couple of hours at most. Also be sure when you replace all of this stuff to pull the pins out of the caliper brackets an clean and regrease them. If one of those pins is frozen in place a brand new brake job can go to shit quick.

 

[SHOZ123]

And don't take the rear ebrake springs off.

 

[Silvapain]

And don't take the rear ebrake springs off.

That's how I pull the ebake cables off I've gotten good with the vice-grips.

 

[pascofan92]

Just a quick question. I got new front brakes and rotors on my 97 from Pepboys. I know the brake job is still new but whenever i turn the wheel extreemly to the right or left or stop extreemly quickly the brake pedal seems to pulsate or lose power very quickly and return. What could cause this? is it because the job is so new???do the new pads need breaking-in??Thanks!---Alaric

 

[SuperHO]

Paul....what's the trick to compressing the ebrake spring in order to replace the cable? Them damn things took me longer on each spring than it did to replace everything else on all 4 corners.


and to the OP....if you've ever done brakes on anything else, a SHO is much the same. If you get brand new rear loaded calipers (a lil over $100 after core from Advanced Auto), it's very straight forward....just don't get frustrated when that e-brake starts owning you.

 

[pascofan92]

??? Anybody

 

[kikkinasphalt]

??? Anybody

UMM, faulty ABS?

 

[SHOZ123]

What I do is open up the crimp on the caliper that holds the cable in. It can be pried open and shut fairly easily. Just prise it open and lift the cable out. When reinstalling, put the cable in and recrimp with a channel lock or vise grips.

 

[Mr. SHO]

To the OP:
The Haynes/Chilton type manuals have pretty good instructions for brake maintenance, and as mentioned here the SHO brake system is not exotic or anything so most of your previous experience will apply. If you are handy with a wrench you can replace the front pads & rotors, rear calipers, and rear pads & rotors in an afternoon and I suspect that will satisfy all the issues you have.

Go to AutoZone and pick up the following:

Valucraft rotors for all 4 wheels (Fronts - two of p/n 54030B @ $26.99 each, rears - two of p/n 54025B @ $26.99 each) IMO, more expensive rotors are a waste of money 90% of the time.

Rear brake calipers - C378 and C379 - $42.99 each plus a hefty core charge that you will get back later (do them both, not just one side!)

Brake hardware kits for all 4 wheels - this should include new slider pins w/ boots, and new bolts for the slider pins. I think they run about $10 each wheel. You could skip this, but IMO, sticking sliders account for a lot of issues and I'd rather replace them during a brake job than just clean and re-**** them and hope they don't bind up later.

Pads of your choice - Performance Friction Carbon-Metallic are a good bang for your buck and are usually stocked at the 'Zone. The correct size pads are 598 for the front (NOT 601 which is what many parts catalogs will say!) and 610 for the rear. Check the boxes, they should have these numbers somewhere in the part number. If you see 601, tell the parts guy that they are the wrong ones (they are for the regular Taurus, not the SHO).

Silicone di-electric grease for lubing the slider pins and the areas where the pads contact the caliper.

Brake fluid - I use the Valvoline Synthetic stuff. One of the big bottles will probably do the job, but I usually get a second one just in case.

You won't even need the caliper tool for the rear calipers if you are replacing them... they almost always come with the piston already pushed all the way in.

Grand total for all the parts should be $500 or so, and you'll get about $100 back when you return your rear calipers. I'm confident you will be very happy with your ~$400 investment once it's all said and done.

As far as the e-brake springs on the rear calipers, I didn't have any trouble with mine but I could see how they could launch out at you when you are loading them to get the brake cable "nub" into the slot. Be careful when you do this and wear gloves and face protection.

 

[myloth]

I just needed 2 pairs vise grips and the ebrakes are a snap.Took it off with visegrips and put it back on with them.Did not seem too painful.