pacinitaly

Hello friends,

I have a 2003 LS430 ultra, 78,189miles 2nd owner
I got the car with 40,270 ( still orig brakes !!!!!!!! )

Lexus wants $1150 for a bake job?????
Toyota wants $440!!!

lexus said they have to change a bolt.
toyota said only if ness. (extra $100)

lexus wants $700 for just a timing belt job and another $100 for the sepertine belt.
toyota wants $425 and that includes the sepertine belt

lexus wants $500 for a water pump ( as they're working on the timing belt)
toyota wants $275 while working on timing belt

lexus wants $192 to change the plugs ( I have the parts )
toyota will change them free as they do the timing belt but will not guarantee the plugs I supply.(iridium)

If you're like me that went from $2900/mo in the pocket after ins/taxes
to $1050 with no ins ( big retail ) have your work done at Toyota


what have you paid for the same work?



stay well all,
~Carmine

AlexusAnja

The brakes are $92 installed (Toyota/Lexus pad I change myself)
The plugs are $125 installed (also change myself)

Belts and pump I have not done yet, but will have my local Toyota specialist do that when time is up. Should be around $250 for belts and $200 for pump.

The pads on the LS are probably the easiest ever. Remove the retaining pin holding the pad on, slide the pad out, slide new ones in, return the pin... done. For Lexus to charge $1100 (hopefully that is for all 4) is robbery.

bigcory

From what I read before, those bolt do indeed need to be changed each time. They are torqued down to a certain lbs inch and this causes the bolt to lose it's integrity.

I would look into it more as if there is one thing you certain don't want to fail on a car, it's the brakes.

pacinitaly

again... 2 schools of thought

thanks guys

AlexusAnja

I BELEIVE that the bolts only need replacing if they are removed. They can't be reused because they are torqued to the point of almost stretching, so by removing and installing again, you may over-shoot that torque, even with a torque wrench.

If they are not removed, then you're fine. Many on the forum have replaced their pads without removing the bolts and have not heard of any failures.

If would say if it makes you sleep better, then replace them but make sure you have a torque wrench to torque them to the right torque and not the "just right and tight" method.

pacinitaly

thanks again guys!!!

CG lover

I just did my fronts and it took me 25 minutes start to finnish and I'm 68 years aged,, as mentioned just pull the small keeper clip and tap the rod out and the pads and shims slide right out,, you do have to compress the cylinder heads (two large screwdrivers work fine) back into their home position to insert the new pads since they are thicker,,

when doing the right front where the wear sensor is located, be sure to see how it is clipped on before removing,, is made of brass,,

if I was doing these all day long I bet I could get the front done in 15 minutes or less,, lug nuts off and back on take longer than the pad changes,,

I paid $70 for the same OEM front pads and it came with the bolts that I did not use,, I checked the back of the pads and the new ones had all the same mfg stampings with Toyota's name as the pads I was removing,,

Derry

pacinitaly

awesome!!!

is this where you got the parts from ?http://www.factorylexusparts.com/ser...ONT/Categories

CG lover

sure was,, had purchased the $71 pack with the bolts which were certainly not required for the front pad change,,

four bolts for sale (low price)

Derry

et1490

I just looked at the brake pad replacement procedure from the dvd based service manual. It says just remove the pin and anti rattle clip and then remove the pads (just like the posts above say). doesn't say anything about having to remove the bolts to do the pads.

I now suspect the bolts only have to be replaced if you disturb the the originals for something more invasive that just the pads.

MERKEDLS

You absolutely need to change the front bolts everytime you do a front brake service. I have yet to see a real brake service consist of just slapping new pads on there. Doing front brakes without cutting the rotors is like doing an oil change without the filter. There is no possible way of getting the rotor off the car to be resurfaced without removing the caliper, and therefor needing new bolts....I am probably the youngest/poorest person on here and it still amazes me how people will try anything to save a few bucks on their 30, 40, 50K+ car.

et1490

Sorry, but the way I read the oem svc manual, "cutting the rotors is not required or even recommended as a default. Now it DOES say to measure the runout, which of course if your out of limits, then turning the rotors would be appropriate. I'm sure your experience may say otherwise, I'm just reading and interpreting what Lexus manual says for a LS430. just my .02

MERKEDLS

I understand that, but i find the service manual a waste of time considering that in my 5 years working for Lexus I have yet to see anyone at my dealer (including my shop foreman) do a brake service without cutting the rotors . But at the end of the day it doesnt matter to me...i cut my rotors EVERY time.

et1490

ok. fair enough. as an aircraft mechanic, I'm generally conditioned that the engineers who wrote the manuals are usually smarter that the mechanic. of course there are exceptions to this rule. Just out of technical curiosity; 1) I assume "cutting" the rotors is the same as turning the rotors or giving them a fresh surface? and 2) what is the benefit of this or better yet the caveat if you don't?

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Says who? There is no need to turn (assuming this is what you mean when you say "cutting") the rotors unless they are worn in such a way (uneven) that they need truing or replacing. Even then, I won't turn them -- I'll buy new ones. I've seen way too many cases over the years of turned rotors being not quite right, or going bad relatively soon thereafter. The dinky devices that many shops use to turn rotors don't give the same true results as a new rotor, and many times it's isn't even as good as the "old" rotor was beforehand. But if we're making unfounded analogies here, I'd say that turning the rotors is like washing out your old oil filter and reusing it.

There is no reason to "cut the rotors" (turn them) unless they need it, so it's not necessariliy about saving a few bucks. As I said, turned rotors often result in poorer performance than if you leave them alone since they are usually perfectly well within spec. But if you're all about not cutting corners, why don't you buy new rotors instead?