| Author | Message | ||
     Stephen Matherne (Srmatherne) New Member Username: Srmatherne Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2004 |
Gents, First I'm thrilled to find an online resource for my Discovery. I've utilized the BMW forums on roadfly for years however haven't been able to find a similar venue for Land Rovers until recently. I have a '01 Discovery II and am confronted with the possibility of replacing the brake rotors. Some background - The car is still under warranty and during the last service visit I was informed that new brake pads were needed at all corners and the rear rotors needed to be replaced (all not covered under warranty or prepaid service). Initially I was perplexed as to how the rear rotors could wear out before the front, however my service advisor explained that the brakes were rear-biased on the Discovery (true?). Next I get a price of $600 for the dealer to replace the rear rotors and all 4 pads - to which I immediately respond with a "you must be insane." My questions are: - Is it possible that my rear rotors have worn beyond their limits inside of 30k miles or am I getting sold by the dealer? The rotors show slight wear, however I don't have a set of calipers to provide any measurements. - Any recommendations for Pads & Rotors. If I replace them I'd like to upgrade. - I've replaced rotors on several different BMWs however never on a Land Rover. Anything tricky? Anyone put together a DIY for this? From searching I've seen folks having all sorts of problems freeing the rotors from the hubs on Discovery I's as well as advice to repack the bearings while you're there - does any of this hold true for the Discovery II? Thanks in advance, Stephen | ||
| bluesman (Hywy61) Member Username: Hywy61 Post Number: 103 Registered: 02-2003 |
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/disco2brakes/ for changing the pads - very simple. If you are at all mechanically inclined...go for it. I use Fredo pads from Atlantic British - a little more expense than others but no sqeaking ($180 for all four wheels-pads only.) I have yet to do the rotors - i change my pads frequently due to the hell that is Atlanta traffic. (every 24K - probably conservative) I have seen others here that had to change the rotors way before 100K(rover tech told me this is how long they should last) - if they went too long you might have to go ahead with the rotors but i don't think it is a big deal. One screw. The pads take me around 1.5 hrs - including beer brakes. | ||
| Paul D. Morgan (V22guy) Dweb Lounge Member Username: V22guy Post Number: 2517 Registered: 02-2002 |
Stephen, D2 brakes are not up to the challenge of being long lasting. My first set of rotors were crap at 30K, at which time I had the pads and rotors all changed out. Now at 49K my brakes are fading again. The rotors look good, so technically I could get away with new pads. After doing some research, I have decided to go with DBA slotted/drilled rotors and LR pads for my next brake job. I have heard of others on this board that have them and have up 30K on a set and still going strong. Once EE gets them in stock, I will be ordering a set from them. Check out: https://www.expeditionexchange.com/dba/ Happy Reading  | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 975 Registered: 05-2003 |
Stephen, Down here we have lots of swamps and yucky mud. I got a strong lecture about how mud in engine parts and especially brakes is the equivalent of sandpaper. I was told that if I didn't get into the habit of strong post trail clean up that I would wear down my parts, especially my brakes very quickly. Most times when I come off the trail, I can't even see the brake parts under the mud. I get made fun of most of the time, but I carry a hose and sprayer with me and spray the heck out of my wheels inside and out blasting the brakes until the water comes out of them clean. It seems to be helping, I've had my D2 for almost 2 years and I'm still on the original pads and rotors. I had them check last month when I had my oil changed and I've at 50% wear until they need replaced. I'm still at low mileage, just turned over 8,000 miles on my truck, but most of that has been driving in icky stuff that is hard on my truck, not clean roads. It doesn't get much use in town and I'm highly allergic to the mall. I'm also carrying a very heavy load and it takes more umpff for my brakes to stop my truck than when it was light, but I don't know if that makes any difference in wear? Don't know if this helps you at all, just passing along the stern advice I was given along with an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Good Luck, Jamie | ||
| Ryan Graham (Ryangraham) Member Username: Ryangraham Post Number: 44 Registered: 01-2004 |
Don't know about the DII but newer cars generally come with "softer" rotors to eliminate noise concerns. As far as being "rear biased" it sounds a little off to me, but could be. The proportioning valve (or combination valve) is designed to send fluid pressure to the rear wheels first to ensure they do their share of the work and eliminate nose dive from overactive front brakes. Does your rover feel like its dragging in the ass when you brake? Anyway, rotors at 30k is entirely possible. | ||
| andy coleman (Andy0826) New Member Username: Andy0826 Post Number: 37 Registered: 11-2003 |
The rotor is held on with one screw, which you might need an impact driver for, most people do. And I use a rubber mallet to pound the rotor off once the screw is out. I got my rotors and pads at www.motorcarsltd.com They were the cheapest I found, Mintex I think for the pads... | ||
| Erik G. Burrows (Erik) Senior Member Username: Erik Post Number: 313 Registered: 04-2002 |
Stephen, I've done the pads and rotors on my DII several times, (rotors twice). It's an easy job, as long as the rotors haven't corroded onto the hubs. My personal observation is that front pads and rotors wear at about 2x the rate of the rears, so I would be very suspicious as to your dealer's assessment. Get yourself a micrometer, and measure the rotor thickness for yourself. The minimum thickness should be in your owner's manual. Whatever you do, don't buy the pads and/or rotors from the dealer. Go to GBR, EE, etc. I swear, dealers make 50% of their profit on brake part markup. | ||
| Stephen Hawkins (Madmole) Member Username: Madmole Post Number: 44 Registered: 07-2003 |
The D2 has dynamic brake Biasing as part of the ABS setup, so the bias changes based on conditions, grip and and braking force etc On modern cars the rotors are much softer and normally you'd expect to get through a rotor every other set of pads as for $600 bucks for a swap, thats ridiculous. You could upgrade to grooved performance disks front and rears and higher quality pads and fit it your self for half of that | ||
| Greg P. (Gparrish) Senior Member Username: Gparrish Post Number: 1585 Registered: 11-2003 |
Yeah, $600 for that job is about par for dealer pricing I think. My dealer quoted me $989 for just rear rotors and pads. I told them the same thing you did and replaced them myself. I used genuine parts and did it for about $240 I think. Be sure to inspect the calipers too and make sure you check the caliper slides for corrosion and rust. Especially if you live in the north east where there is salt on the roads. You may need to grease the caliper slides during your pad/rotor install. | ||
| Randy Maynard (Rans) Senior Member Username: Rans Post Number: 770 Registered: 08-2002 |
What nobody has mentioned to him is the extra abuse the rotors and pads take because of the ABS and the ETC. I think I had my first set of rotors done around 35k so you're in the park. I sucked it up and let the dealer do the first set while the truck was still under warranty so they were not armed for any disputes during the warranty. Since then I do my own. Coming up due on pads and rotors myself. | ||
| Roger Sinasohn (Uncle_roger) Member Username: Uncle_roger Post Number: 47 Registered: 06-2003 |
Just for comparison, we're getting front and rear pads and rotors done (at 56K miles on a '99 dII) and the dealer (LR Rocklin) is quoting $624 for the front and $585 for the rear. (Or maybe the other way 'round, but I think that's right.) If they weren't going to be replacing the engine and a bunch of other stuff (*hopefully* under warranty!), I would take it to one of the local non-dealer LR shops. (I am lucky enough to live in an area where there are at least 2 really good LR shops, plus a number of independent mechanics.) | ||
| Kai Dussling (Kai) Member Username: Kai Post Number: 116 Registered: 06-2002 |
Do it yourself for about $300 overall. See the links below. It is what I installed and they work fine. http://www.motorcarsltd.com/epcProductDetail.epc?subcatid=0645&cookieID=16D0IKPZ M&clientid=motorcars http://www.motorcarsltd.com/epcProductDetail.epc?subcatid=0652&cookieID=16D0IKPZ M&clientid=motorcars | ||
| Stephen Matherne (Srmatherne) New Member Username: Srmatherne Post Number: 2 Registered: 01-2004 |
Gents, Thanks for all the guidance. Based on the feedback I get the feeling that the rear rotors might actually need replacing. Furthermore, if I'm going to replace the rears I might as well do the fronts while I'm at it - I've just received the workshop manual and it looks like an easy job. I ended up ordering the "high performance" kit from atlantic-british: http://www.atlanticbritish.com/ProductList.asp?Category=BRAKES&Vehicle=D2&PerPag e=1&ListType=DETAIL&PartNumber=9542HP My rationale here was that if I'm going to replace something, I might as well upgrade. Plus - the $600 dealer quote for the rear certainly helps to justify the upgrade! Thanks again. |
