[Angry German]

Anyone out there have their competition brake upgrade package installed by the dealer? There are 3 BMW delaers near me and here are the prices they quoted:
$801.59 (how they came up with such an exact number I do not know)
$610.00
$600-$700 - these guys told me it should take 6-7hrs
Does this sound right? I need to find some indy shops and ask them as well.

[Shimmy23]

thats spendy... is there a reason you can't do it yourself? Do you belong to BMWCCA? I'm sure there's some locals that can help you out.

[tropicatango]

dont pay for that, the prices they told you are a joke, do it by yourself, it's easy or have somebody do this for you, should take less than 1h30 if you take your time or do it with somebody and learn but dont pay 500$ and over to have this done,

[m3816]

I agree and disagree.

Never do your own brakes if you have not partnered with someone who has done a brake job in the past to do it with you. But dont pay does stupid prices either. If you are in Nova/MD I may be able to send you to some one who will do it for half that price.

[M42boy]

It's relatively easy to do it yourself. A few things you need to be aware of...

First off, you will be draining your entire brake system of fluid, since the calipers are coming off. I'd reccomned now as a good time to upgrade lines to StopTech or some other good DOT-Approved stainless steel braided line.

When loostening the lines to the body, use a flare nut end wrench, and dowse the nut on the end of the hard line with PB Blaster or some other penetrant a good hour or so before you try to turn it. This will ensure it will come loose easily and won't strip the nut. (May want to soak it a few times before turning it) They are typically brass or some soft metal, and can strip easily if you are not careful. The flare end nut wrench allows you to get contact with all surfaces of the nut and apply more torque than a standard wrench and won't allow it to 'slip'.

Once it's all back together, you have to evacuuate the system of air. You will need to push a lot of fluid through the vehicle to get the entire brake system rid of air. I'd reccomend buying or borrowing a pressure bleeder, like the Motive Bleeder. Good time to upgrade to a high-performance brake fluid. The BMW fluid is fine, but a lot of people use SuperBlue or Motul.

That's probably the hardest part of the job. The actual replacing of brake hardware (calipers and rotors) is EASY!

Well, I say that, and there's always something that can bite you in the arse. I found that the rotor locating screws on my front two rotors are stripped out and need to be dealt with. That can take some time. Anyone reccomend the best way to get those things out??

[maveric23]

Originally Posted by Angry German

Anyone out there have their competition brake upgrade package installed by the dealer?...

It's not necessary to have a dealer do this procedure. Call Indy BMW shops for estimates instead.

[vndkshn]

Originally Posted by M42boy

It's relatively easy to do it yourself. A few things you need to be aware of...

First off, you will be draining your entire brake system of fluid, since the calipers are coming off. I'd reccomned now as a good time to upgrade lines to StopTech or some other good DOT-Approved stainless steel braided line.

When loostening the lines to the body, use a flare nut end wrench, and dowse the nut on the end of the hard line with PB Blaster or some other penetrant a good hour or so before you try to turn it. This will ensure it will come loose easily and won't strip the nut. (May want to soak it a few times before turning it) They are typically brass or some soft metal, and can strip easily if you are not careful. The flare end nut wrench allows you to get contact with all surfaces of the nut and apply more torque than a standard wrench and won't allow it to 'slip'.

Once it's all back together, you have to evacuuate the system of air. You will need to push a lot of fluid through the vehicle to get the entire brake system rid of air. I'd reccomend buying or borrowing a pressure bleeder, like the Motive Bleeder. Good time to upgrade to a high-performance brake fluid. The BMW fluid is fine, but a lot of people use SuperBlue or Motul.

That's probably the hardest part of the job. The actual replacing of brake hardware (calipers and rotors) is EASY!

Well, I say that, and there's always something that can bite you in the arse. I found that the rotor locating screws on my front two rotors are stripped out and need to be dealt with. That can take some time. Anyone reccomend the best way to get those things out??

Not true.. IF you do it right. When I swapped my calipers, I probably dropped 4 drops from the hard line out of each side.

The trick, take a broom handle and wedge it between your seat and the brake pedal. You only need to press the pedal down an inch or two. This will move the piston in the master cylinder past the port that allows fluid to leave the reservoir and enter the master cylinder, making its way to the lines.. which are disconnected! :-)

Do that, you will lose very little fluid (although a good flush is a good idea) and more importantly, not introduce alot of air into the system.

[jph28]

Originally Posted by tropicatango

dont pay for that, the prices they told you are a joke, do it by yourself, it's easy or have somebody do this for you, should take less than 1h30 if you take your time or do it with somebody and learn but dont pay 500$ and over to have this done,

That's a pretty ridiculous assertion given that he's asking about replacing the pads / rotors / calipers / carriers

I'm not surprised that a shop would quote ~6 hours many places charge one hour per axle just to replace brake pads and one hour to flush the brake fluid. That said, pads and rotors alone can reasonably be done in less than two hours on stands in the garage.

Also remember that if you let too much brake fluid drain out while replacing the calipers that you'll need to take the car to a shop with a GT1 tool to properly bleed the ABS portion of the system.

[vndkshn]

Yeah, an hour and a half if you have done it before and are using airtools.

Good point on the drain.. which is why the broom handle trick is such a huge help.

[02CBM3]

dont ever.. EVER let the dealer touch ur car.. im having mine installed for $250