Manbird wrote: 
Sometimes a good shot of water gets dust and miscellaneous debris off of them enough to kill squeaks.
Sometimes.

Drive on down.
It's an easy fix really.
I work cheap for people I know.

 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote: 
Thanks!  But I really just wanted to spray something on the disks. 

 Manbird wrote: 
It's a harmonic problem.
You need to call John Popper... he's really good with them harmonicas.

Or you could get your calipers off their mounts, remove the pads, clean everything really good and apply a thin coat of what I use... High Temp Ultra Copper Silicone, to the back of each pad.
And also a thin coat where the pads fit against the calipers themselves.
Let them dry a little bit.
Then assemble in reverse order.

That little cushion stops the harmonics.
Just as good as cheese in the harmonica.

 JrzyTmata wrote: 
no

 Manbird wrote: 

My brakes squeak. A lot. How do I fix this? 

 cc_rider wrote: 

 
Yeah I don't really care all that much so I was thinking about looking to see if they still sold that "tape" that you put over the hole(s) and it melts and seals off the hole. Because that's wayyy my speed. 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
No, the number of times rotors can be turned only depends on their final thickness. Which is usually cast into the rotor somewhere. If they only took off a small amount at each turning job, they could be turned several times before hitting the minimum thickness.

BUT.

Most newer cars use pretty thin rotors. To save weight in a critical area, which improves mileage (and performance). Reducing rotating mass makes a FAR larger improvement than reducing 'static' mass. The downside is, some rotors start out so thin they can't be turned more than once, and if you let them go too long, they're ruint anyway. The good thing is, rotors are not really that expensive for regular cars, so replacing them isn't as bad as it sounds. Again, www.rockauto.com has a decent selection. And no, I don't get any kickbacks or anything like that. I ordered those brake pads, and they were delivered the NEXT DAY, with no special shipping. Nice.

I'm all about heavy duty rotors. You want 'vented' if possible. Drilling and slotting is more chi-chi than any normal person needs. But I'm rarely accused of being normal, so YMMV.

Another chi-chi trick is cryogenic treatment. This actually works. The rotors are chilled with liquid nitrogen or something, and the extreme cold changes the grain structure of the metal (cast iron). It can make the rotors last 2x or 3x longer, without significantly increased pad wear. As you might expect, it's $$$.

If you want to go full-on, you can get two-piece rotors. These have a cast iron friction ring, and an aluminum 'hat' the ring bolts onto. This cuts way down on your rotating weight. It's a totally trick setup, and $$$. But before you do that, you'd also be upgrading to aluminum two, four, or six-piston calipers (Brembo or Wilwood, usually), stainless lines, carbon/ceramic pads...

Exhaust? You don't need any stinkin' exhaust. Cut off the rusted part, clamp a dryer hose on the end. Use a couple coat hangers to hold the hose off the ground. Done.

I couldn't catch a brake if I was under the car and it fell on my chest.
See what I did there?

 cc_rider wrote: 
Brakes were turned some time ago; I'd like to put on heavy-duty rotors if that's an option, but just turning them again? I assume it's a one-time fix. 
 
The muffler will take some research re: welds. Your basic googling indicates it's a driveway repair so maybe it doesn't need welding.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
I used to loathe muffler work with the busted knuckles and rust in your eye, but I have developed a process that works pretty well for the vehicles I have (mainly Hondas that don't get driven every day, and tend to rust out the muffler from the inside)

I find the least corroded connection between the header and the rest of the exhaust system (usually  it's either the B-pipe to cat connection or the header to cat connection), undo the hanger hooks from their rubber mounts, and pull the whole assembly out from underneath so I can work on it standing up.  On my Honda, for example, the connection bolts and nuts between the B-pipe and the catalytic converter, for some reason, seem to not get very rusty and dilapidated looking (it's a spring-biased joint).

Thus:


With the connection or connections you actually need to disconnect to replace the necessary component now sitting out in broad daylight, you need have no fear of even the rustiest nut/bolt connection.  Use a six point socket and a propane torch, and even the most stubborn-looking, rusted tight screw connection will yield (use MAPP gas if you want to get really aggressive with the heat, but I've never found that necessary, even on a 20 year old vehicle).

Or you can make a "Wyoming Service Lift" by having your kids dig a small watering hole in your driveway, put wheel ramps on all four sides, and drive your vehicle up onto the ramps, and crawl into the dug out hole.  You'll feel just like a professional mechanic!

 cc_rider wrote: 
You get enough sparks flying you can ignite anything.
Ask my son the fabricator, who has set himself on fire numerous times.

 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
 
How do you light your cigarette with a cut off wheel?

 cc_rider wrote: 
I like cut off wheels.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Brakes should be pretty easy, as long as nothing is screwed up. There are still a few places that will turn rotors and drums. I got the new pads from www.rockauto.com, they have lots of options, from 'too cheap' to 'are you insane?'

Mufflers can be a PITA though. Most commonly, the old bolts are rusted solid. Muffler shops just cut 'em off with a torch. And some exhaust systems need welding, depending on the design. But if it's a straight bolt-on, and not rusted up too badly, why not try it?

Helpful tip: 'PB Blaster' is great for rusted bolts. So is an oxy-acetylene torch...

 aflanigan wrote: 
That's how I learned to do things myself.

 aflanigan wrote:
  The new chariot still has a little warranty time left on it, so we figured we'd get a record of the dealer looking at it a couple more times before the warranty expires. Not sure if it would help anything, but if something goes bad, we have the service record saying 'Your guys looked at it on this date, and this date, and this date'. Otherwise I avoid dealerships too. I can get the same parts cheaper, and can pay a lower shop rate if I need labor.

 aflanigan wrote: 
Like anything else in the world, just having the brand name on it does not make it quality. Sounds like your dealer's shop isn't competent AND they're trying to pad their numbers any way they can. Our Chevy dealer has a great guy as their main mechanic; he's worth seeking out. They do upsell but it's not very sincere
 
I've about talked myself into putting brakes and muffler on myself, tho. As much as I hate doing my own service, I hate paying for those kinds of shenanigans even more... 

 cc_rider wrote: 
I religiously avoid dealerships, because my limited experience with them has confirmed what you point out.  They even try to wrangle money out of you when you take the car in for a free recall repair.  Most recent was when our van got coolant lines for the rear heater core replaced under a recall warranty (the old ones were made of steel coated with a polymer; they had rusted out and were leaking.  I was about a month away from the expiration of the recall period).  The cretins called me to say they were having problems getting the electric radiator fans to come on, and wanted to charge me money to diagnose the problem.  I said, if you turn on the AC the radiator fans should come on automatically.  "Oh, yeah, I know that, but they don't come on by themselves".  Have you properly purged air from the system after installing the new lines?  "Oh, yeah, we did that, but the fans won't come on".  The shop manual procedure for replacing the rear heater unit includes the step of purging air from the system, which is to be done by running the engine with a load (AC on max) until the coolant fans turn on at least two or three times.  I told them I'll come and get it before you can damage it.  I eventually did get the air purged out by parking the van on an incline and running it up to temperature.  Turns out the motor on one fan was kaput (the one that should cycle on first when the engine reaches operating temp); the second fan motor died about six months later.   Replaced both with a unit that cost about $125 and included a new shroud and fan control module. 

You typically pay about 1/3 the cost of going to a garage or dealer when you do it yourself.  So you can mess up the first part you buy completely, buy another, and still come out ahead.

Helped our mechanic put new pads on the bride's fancy ride this weekend. After the stealership said they were 'in the red'. And quoted her $300 or so to do the brakes.

- The pads were low. Worth mentioning, sure. But not 'in the red'.
- Four-page inspection report listed all the things they checked. One was the 'cabin air filter'. If they actually had checked it, they would have discovered it was DIS-GUS-TING. Fortunately I'd already bought a replacement, so it was nothing to put the new one in.
- If they missed something as simple as the cabin air filter, what else did they miss? It makes the entire checklist suspect. And reinforces the stereotype that dealerships are full of crooks.
- Final tally on the brake job, including parts (ordered online, and not the crappy ones either) and labor? A pinch over half what the dealer wanted.
- They get you in for an oil change and 'multi-point inspection', at a price most mechanics can't match. Then the fun begins...