1995 Lumina Brake Problem

Tiny
SHADOWANGEL
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 CHEVROLET LUMINA
Starting about Monday, my girlfriend's 95 Lumina has been acting up when braking. It brakes just fine, but makes a thumping sound, and you can feel the brake pedal pulsing underfoot. I was thinking that it was at worse a warped rotor, but she took it in to a local shop today, who is quoting her nearly a thousand dollars for the repair. I plan on taking it somewhere else myself tomorrow to get another estimate, but I was curious if anyone here might have an idea as to what could cause this.
Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 4:29 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
If you tell us what kind of parts they wanted to replace, we could target it better, but a warped rotor can cauase pulsation. Any grinding noise or feel?
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Saturday, September 29th, 2007 AT 11:58 AM
Tiny
SHADOWANGEL
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Found out it's the rotors. The rear rotors were pitted very badly and need to be replaced, the front ones were warped. Got the front ones resurfaced, but didn't have the money to get the back ones done. How complicated is it to replace the rear rotors and brake pads on this car? The parts seem to be dirt cheap, so it must be the labor that's making the costs so high. The second place we went quoted $490 for front and back, we paid $150 to get the front brakes resurfaced, and new pads.
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Monday, October 1st, 2007 AT 4:27 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
If you haven't done brakes, I don't recomend you learn on your girlfriends car! Some rear calipers require a special tool to turn the piston in, to allow room for the new pads, If the parking brake cable is attached you need the tool, if the cable goes to the backing plate, you can just push the piston in with a screwdriver wedged btetween the rotor and the inboard pad. Don't let the caliper hang by the hose! Tie it up to the strut somehow. If you don't open the hydraulics, you wont need to bleed them, just gently pump the brake pedal till it's firm! Do this BEFORE you try to drive!
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Monday, October 1st, 2007 AT 5:50 PM

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