Sorry if there is an older thread on this somewhere, but I am a newbie to the thread... I have a 2003 S Type R that I have sunk a small fortune into over the past year... Needless to say its a labor of love otherwise a new one might be a good idea ;-) Here is my question for you all:

Car is up on the lift right now getting all new Brakes (Dimpled / Slotted Rotors and Pads all 4 corners - thank you brakeperformance!) anyway shop called is saying I need new brake hardware (pins and clips for the pads) of course NO ONE stocks them but Jaguar and they want $420 for the hardware kit!!! Is this a must, cant I just reuse the old pins and clips? We arent talking about the caliper bolts here just the pad pins and clips, $400 bucks !!!

Any ideas or suggestions for the vets out there?

Thanks!!

 

They should be reusable. I just did mine all around, and only 1 pin out of the 8 was damaged (bent, difficult to remove) but I straightened it out and reused it seeing how expensive replacements are.

I polished each pin while I was at it.

Same with the spring-clips, they should be okay to go another round unless for some reason broken...

 

A lot of mechanics will try to sucker you into new hardware. 9/10 times its not necessary, I'd ask for proof that it's damaged. They tend to shut up after I ask for physical proof I need new hardware.

 

Thanks guys! It seems like everytime I roll that spaceship into the shop the service guys eyes start flashing $$$

I told the shop to just reuse the caliper pins, they argued and of course said they would not take responsibility nor would they warrant the brake job... blah...blah...blah

They did of course find that the right front wheel bearing was loose, of course they followed that with the fact its a "sealed hub" so they did get me for an extra $380 for a complete front wheel hub assembly...

Hopefully this will be the last trip to the mechanic for a while...

 

Well the old girl is back from the shop today another $627 (labor only) to refit her with all new rotors and pads and a new front hub as the old one was shot had over a 1/4" of play in the bearing!! Caught that just in time!!

Anyone out there looking for replacement rotors for the STR definitely check out brakeperformance.com those guys know their stuff and these new dimpled and slotted rotors really make a difference in the brake performance - She will stop on a dime now!!

Did find out too that for some odd reason the pads on the emergency brake were shot "feel apart as soon as the pins came out" was what the shop said. I didnt know these were really a wear and tear part do these things actually wear with mileage? I did have a brake motor go out wondering if that didnt leave some tension on the caliper when it failed and caused some extra drag until it just wore out the pads...

With a clean bill of health from my mechanic new shoes all around, new brakes, several new sensors, a new thermostat housing, EPB motor, 3 new hub assemblies and bearings a fresh belly of 5W-30 Mobile 1 Full Synthetic she is ready for our summer cruise down Route 66!!!

Not a bad looking girl for being almost 10 years old and 137,000 miles on her!!! Heres to my next 130K miles!!

 

Your brake shop sounds a little...