Replacing rear Brakes

[Bradley Walker]

Hello all,

When I had my oil changed at the dealership (can't beat the $15 cost) I was
told the rear brakes need to be replaced via the multipoint inspection
lookover. I was quoted $450 for rear brake rotors and brake pads.
Obviously that is waaaay overpriced for my wallet so I'm considering
replacing these myself. A friend of mine who lives up the road and works on
Honda's, said it's not hard. In general it's a matter of jacking it up,
removing the wheel, removing 2-3 screens on the caliper and taking a rubber
mallet to gently tap the caliper or rotor off. Being I'm fairly technical
minded even if there is more to it than that, I wouldn't mind buying the
parts at autozone and doing this myself. Does anyone here know exactly what
brand Subaru uses for rotors/brake pads? Also what is a good place for
looking at instructions for doing this? It doesn't appear too hard and I
would like to enjoy learning this.


Bradley

 

[bj]

usually, a piece of cake....pick up a haines book for your
year...$15...look at it

then make up your mind....usually about an hour job...$30 for
shoes...auto zone,,napa

your need metric sockets..an impact wrench is handy...
a jack and some blocks..to lower it down on before you start tuggin
a 4-6 inch clamp to compress the caliper to allow room for the new
shoes
a piece of wire to hang the caliper on so you don't break the brake
line...

better yet...get your buddy over to do 'em

don't work on the car with just a jack!..lower it down on some good
solid blocking

use you head and be careful

 

[Edward Hayes]

Unless your having problems with pulsating brakes then the calipers
should be good. Do sand the braking surface of the calipers to remove
the glaze. I use an electric drill with a 3 inch sanding pad. I think
the first time I would set aside maybe 2 hours to complete. One other
suggestion is to remove some brake fluid from the master cylinder so
when you push the caliper piston back it will not overflow. Remember
that brake fluid is very bad on paint so wipe off any spilled ASAP.

 

[bj]

Don't sand the calipers...they hold the piston and press on the new
shoes...ED, i think what you mean is to lightly sand the rotors. The
rotor is the big shiny disc that the pads press on. If the rotors are
deeply grooved then you may have to replace those.or the pads will wear
out faster....aftermarked $40 a set for rotors

just be careful with that jack...lower the car down on some good
blocking after removing the wheel

 

[Bill Pelka]

Is this for he '95 Legacy or your Car? I have a '95 Legacy. Went to the
dealer and was told all shoes needed to be replaced. I bit the bullet and
bought OEM. Cost was more but there have been no noise. I also went to do
the rear and after 114K miles, they were still more than 50%. This was the
second time the front have been done. Remember, the fronts do most of the
work stopping the car.
If you have been following the NewsGroups, as I know you have, there was
another Sub Owner who went with NAPA shoes and has a lot of noise. SO, as
they say, pay me now, or payme later...
I did my job real easily. As has been said the Haynes Manual has a real
good proceedure. Lots of good pictures. Worth the $15-20. I stripped a LUG
STUD and had to buy a new Stud and Nut. Even this was no roblem. AND if the
rotors need to be replaced they just pull right off. No need to mess with
wheel bearings, like on my '84 Mercedes...What a pain...

Bill

 

[Bradley Walker]

Thanks for the great advice. Actually this is for my `01 Outback Wagon.
The `95 Legacy is my mom's Subaru that I'm also working on when minor things
come up. I definately heavily refer to these newsgroups for both vehicles.
I will definately purchase me a Hayne's manual.

When it comes to the brakes, outside of looking at them, is there any
official way to tell on average how much they are worn? Is there a guage to
measure milimeter thickness of the rotors to know that they are worn down?
Or if they are heavily grooved? I first off want to make sure they do need
replacing before repacing them.

You bring up a good concern that I was about to mention regarding the NAPA
shoes. I know the one subaru mechanic I trust said that certain brands of
pads/shoes/rotors cause lots of brake dust and cause lost of high pitches
squeaking noise when stopping. This happened on my mom's `95 Legacy several
years ago when a local mechanic put a name brand pad/shoe/rotor on.
Everytime I drove her car I dare not step on the brakes unless I want to
have everyone in a mile radius stare at me. Although it didn't affect the
quality of braking.

 

[Bradley Walker]

There are definately no pulsating brakes. First of all i want to verify
that they are still good. The only thing I have remotely noticed is that
sometimes on a steeper grade, I may have to press a bit harder and hold
slightly longer to slow down compared to 6months ago. There is no shimming,
pulsating, or vibrating coming from any brakes.

So 2 hours just for the sanding of the rotors? What grit sandpaper?

 

[Bradley Walker]

Does anyone have the ISBN # for the haynes manual for 2000 and newer Subaru
Outbacks? I checked Amazon and other online outlets and the only Haynes
Manual they have is the one for the 1990-1998 Subaru Legacy series.

 

[mulder]

Does anyone have the ISBN # for the haynes manual for 2000 and newer Subaru
Outbacks? I checked Amazon and other online outlets and the only Haynes
Manual they have is the one for the 1990-1998 Subaru Legacy series.

There are no aftermarket manuals for your car. The only source is
direct from Subaru. You can get the print version of the manuals but
they're expensive, or you can go to the Subaru tech website at
http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/index.jsp and sign up for the 72 hour
subscription. It costs $34.95 and allows you to download whatever
sections of the manual you need in individual files. It is a bit of a
pain as there are many files and there's a 20-file-per-hour limit. But
it's a very good deal. You can also get TSBs that apply to your car.
Just be sure to do this with a broadband connection, it won't work out
too well with dialup.

 

[Ross Shue]

I picked up a service manual on CD off Ebay. Just print out the pages you
need for the job.

Ross

 

[Bradley Walker]

Is it fairly safe to assume that the 2000-2004 Outbacks where nearly
identical in regards to their service manuals? I'm not seeing but a few
2001 Service manuals (most in book form) but also `00, `02, `03, and `04
manuals as well in CD form.

 

[Fred]

Actually you can purchase a 1 year subscription to the ALLDATA manual
set (very complete) at http://www.alldatadiy.com/

Its great!!

DMR

 

[mulder]

Is it fairly safe to assume that the 2000-2004 Outbacks where nearly
identical in regards to their service manuals? I'm not seeing but a few
2001 Service manuals (most in book form) but also `00, `02, `03, and `04
manuals as well in CD form.

The CDs you'll see on Ebay are unauthorized copies people are making
and selling, and most of those are for the WRX. I'd suggest spending a
few more $ and going to the source, you'll know it's the right manual
for your car with the latest updates.

 

[hippo]

Does anyone have the ISBN # for the haynes manual for 2000 and newer Subaru

Outbacks? I checked Amazon and other online outlets and the only Haynes

Manual they have is the one for the 1990-1998 Subaru Legacy series.

Hope this helps. Haynes site shows a listing for a joint Impreza/Legacy
manual to be released this month. Have a look here:

http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/...10001&storeId=10001&productId=37157&langId=-1

BTW, I *think* Ed probably meant allow two hours for the whole job first
time you have to do it.
It's all pretty quick and easy with practice BUT
safety first and make sure you understand what you read *before* you find
out you didn't! (Gee
we've all made some expensive mistakes learning that one haven't we???)
Goes without saying that brakes are something you have to get right first
time. Rotors should be fine - especially rears - unless you've been
driving round on worn out noisy brake pads for a while. You'd probably
know! Have fun. Cheers

 

[Bradley Walker]

One interesting note. I did a search for that ISBN # on amazon, only to
turn up the Chilton manual for `00-`06 Subaru Outback/Legacy & Forrester
models (paperback). Is amazon selling the same book that hasn't been
published yet with the same ISBN # as another book or what?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...11-1/ref=sr_11_1/103-8937150-0342262?n=283155