i have an 2004 endeavor ls with exactly 30000 miles on it. my firestone service center told me that my front brakes were 85% worn and my rears were 50% worn.

they recommended to do the front ones including replacing the ceramic pads & the rotors as well as the caliper servicing. total estimate including tax and labor for front only was $496.

do the rotors usually need to be replaced this soon? can i just replace the pads?

and does the endeavor require ceramic pads?

theyre full of crap.

no, your rotors do NOT need replacing. We usually machine them until they are at minimum spec, which will probably last you 3-4 brake jobs.
and ceramic pads? no, they shouldnt be ceramic.
caliper servicing is a load of bull too. all they should need to do is compress the piston. Nothing else will need to be done.

frankly, if you dont detect any type of brake pulsation, you really dont need to machine the rotors, either (although its a good idea to do it).

you are getting ripped off. Hell, at most you should be paying 200 bucks per axle, and thats only if you get your rotors machined.

I also suggest ONLY mitsu pads. Aftermarket pads are frequently cheap, hard, noisey pads with poor feel and poor stopping power. Ive yet to see an aftermarket pad as good as the factory set.

wow. thanks alot for the advice. i was going to schedule an appointment. with firestone.

i am going to buy the original pads myself and then ask a shop to install them and patch up the rotots (if needed) and compress the piston.

i truly appreciate this manybrews.

do you know a place where i can get original parts cheaper than the dealer?

FYI...

Disc brake replacement is probably the easiest maintenance you can do short of an oil change... I just changed my front brake pads, it maybe took 30 min from start to finish... All that is needed is a jack and a couple stands, a lug wrench, socket/ratchet, and a c-clamp (to compress the pistons). I only machine rotors if there is vibration at the pedal, otherwise all your doing is shortening the life of your rotors by cutting away good metal!

I use ceramic pads from my local auto supply store, they perform quite well, (can't tell diffrence)

Yeah, dealers, at least my local Mitsu dealer, charge an arm and a leg for pad replacement. They quoted me $375 to replace the front pads and machine the rotors. I spent $45 on pads at the local auto parts store and did it myself. Of all the cars I have owned, the Endeavor may have the easiest brake set up to replace.

Good luck.

I tried doing my front brakes on my Endeavor, but found it hard to remove the phillips screw holding the rotor in place. Any ideas on how to remove it? anyone have a hard time? I need to machine the rotors as they are not true and I get a large pulse.

Thanks everyone. :)

Paul

What you need is an impact wrench. it should be anywhere from $12-15 from any auto parts store. Its basicaly a screwdriver that you hit with a hammer to create enough torque to loosen the screw.. a few whacks and you will be set..

I had that same problem with the Phillips screw - one side of mine I was able to drench with PB Blaster and it solved the problem. The other side ended up just drilling of the head and then removing it with a pair of pliers and then replacing the screw. They made those doggone screw heads so cheap that the screw driver will strip it out, so be careful.