Need a lesson on brakes

[stateofidleness]

So I got a dumb question for you all...
I'm getting new rotors and pads, but I see they have shoes available for the 2000 box as well. Do I need to replace these as well? Is it a DIY? Front and Rear? I'm a little confused.

[gschotland]

The shoes for the rear are for the parking brake. Change them if they're worn. Ditto for the rear pads and rotors. Generally rears last a lot longer than fronts. No sense in spending the money if you don't have to.

For the fronts you should also replace the pads sensors. They don't come with the pads.

Yes, the brakes are a very easy DIY. This is a very good source for step-by-step instructions:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/49-BRAKES-Replacing_Brake_Pads/49-BRAKES-Replacing_Brake_Pads.htm

The book's well worth the $23.95. One job and it's paid for itself.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by gschotland

For the fronts you should also replace the pads sensors. They don't come with the pads.

Is that true even if you haven't worn the pad through to the sensors?

I tend to just look at the pads from time to time...that being the case, I'm not sure I'll replace the sensors at all (unless they're dirt cheap---which hardly ever happens with these cars ).

[ekam]

Don't replace the sensors if they're not set off.

[gschotland]

The front sensors are $10.75 apiece @ Pelican. On a rotor/pad job that's already costing ~$400 in parts, I didn't see the point in "saving" $22.

[The Radium King]

for the $40 that you'd pay for four you can buy a bottle of scotch and look at the brake pads to tell if their worn.