tsamuel80

So, my '02 es300 has about 69,000 miles on it. It's time to change the rotors and brake pads( the Lexus technician said the rotors are warped) so, Lexus was going to charge $1100 for the job!! which is absolutely ridiculous! I am looking for some good replacements on-line and came across this Pilenga brand rotors and Akebono Pro-Act pads...

Has anyone used the Pilenga brand? I know they are a Italian Brand and they are moderately priced..about $38 for the rear and 52 for the front. Akebonos are supposedly the OEM pads...

Trexus

Wow, the dealership is charging a lot of money. In this current Great Recession it's going to be way cheaper if you buy the parts and either install it yourself or have a friend do it and buy him lunch or dinner. You can order the rotors and brake pads from Carson Toyota or Lexus of Sewell.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...?siteid=214915

Carson Toyota's phone number is 1-800-908-6968

tsamuel80

Thnx Trex, I also checked out irontoad.com...yea I'll ask a buddy install it. Just to be on the safe side, i'm staying with OEM'S.

GEORGE_JET

So what was the diagnosis on the Shaking over 50? They are not telling you the brakes / rotors are causing a shake only over 50? What else did they say?

llcoolpass

i think waht george jet is getting at is that your calpier was seized or locked up and now you need all those brake parts.

i recommended high quality rotors [oem or tire rack source]
and akebono pads. and find out what caused the caliper to seize up [pins or piston?]. it may be fixed with less parts or cheaper than dealer is thinking. get a 2nd opinion on the job, of course, and mention you think one of the parts might have seized and they will see which did.

understand?

GEORGE_JET

The thing that concerns me about the post is that he has not really even mentioned any of the other symptoms of a brake problems that you would normally expect to see. If there is a problem with locking /seizing, then replacing the rotors and pads will not fix the problem. It sounds like he is just interested in getting better performance out of his brakes, and if so why not just state that up front?

tsamuel80

I'm sorry, yea the mechanic who originally checked the brakes stated something about something being seized/locking....I'm not looking to get better performance out of my car, she is not a racer or nothing...I just want some quality parts and not does not want to pay an arm and a leg...I was just asking which would be a good combo to have as a replacement, not paying the dealer price.

GEORGE_JET

If the are warped, or the calipers are sticking the symptoms would be much more pronounced when you are braking. I would expect that it would pull to one side or the other, and or vibrate much worse. If while braking hard, it stops without pulling or vibrating, I would look at other things, (like tires).

llcoolpass

well i had a piston seize up and the symptom was suddenly at high speed the front end would vibrate and it would even go away at certain higher speeds. you can imagine how lucky iwas that i had qualiy rotors and pads that were succesfully dissapating all that heat. hhahaah and i remember ocrrectly, it was over 40 mph that after like a minute i would notice a vibration. also, on hard acceleration, there would be weird torque steer. car was more sluggish but the vibration was most noticeable aspect. i wont use dot4 brake fluid when rebuilding calipers again, instead i will syn brake grease, on the piston seal and piston. if the manual calls for brake fluid i will use dot 3 on those parts. it turns out lexus FSM says use grease. i disregarded that and learned my lesson the hard way. so i cleaned the rust off the piston [cant afford new piston] greased really good and moved it in and out and lubed up the slide pistons [freshended up] and did the same for the nonsticking piston on the other side of the car, and she's been great since. rolling resistance is very low. easy to tell with stick shift as you come to a stop because you are in neutral stopping from say 40 mph and right as youre going 1/2 mile per hour let off the brake and you roll slowly coming to a stop . thats how you know your brakes are not dragging. you appreciate these things after all that work and greasy mess!