# Newbie: Needs Help with B14 Brakes!!



## Wyldstyle (Sep 10, 2003)

Hello All,

This college newbie needs help. I own a 1995 Nissan Sentra GXE, and I need new brakes. I took my car to the shop to get a quote on how much new front and rear (drum) brakes were going to cost. The estimate was 667.75!! 

WOW!!! I was blown away!! So I have searched on this forum about Big Brake kits and NX2000 kits and "this and that kit" to were I am totally confussed. I figure if I have to pay 667 for new drum and fronts I might as well see if I could upgrade for the same price if not cheaper. 

After reading about the kits, I still could not tell you if my GXE has ABS or not. So what should I do?? Should I just shall out the money for stock or try to upgrade the front and rears? Please keep in mind I have to do both now. Why? because I am running a minimum!!

I totally need help right now.....I am so lost. By the way if anyone knows of a better shop in Northern California (Bay Area) please advise?

Thanks everyone.

Nissan Sentra GXE
Year: 1995
HS CAI
16' Rota Sub Zeros
16' Yokohama AVS 100
UR Pulley


----------



## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

you can do an NX upgrade and get loaded calipers at autozone for 81.99 / pair + 93 dollar core charge but u can take your stock calipers off and give to them and get a refund back on the core.

also for the rear go to the junk yards and see if u can find a full 200sx se-r rear beam complete with everyting and might as well do a rear disc conversion .. im guesstimating that would be approx 100 bux or so at the junk yards


----------



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

Wow, $668 for brakes. Yeah I would also be checking out my options for that price. My advice to you:

1) Download the Sentra FSM and check out the brake section. Spend a little time becoming familiar with the brake system. Check out the front disc assembly and rear drum assembly drawings.

2) Do some more research on brake upgrades. Use "B14 brake upgrade", "rear disc conversion", and "AD22VF" in your searches and you'll come up with a wealth of information. There are many ways to accomplish the upgrade, by either getting the parts used or new. Keep in mind you might spend some time junkyard hunting or waiting for parts to be delivered.

3) Consider doing a "regular" brake job. By regular I meant buying new rotors and pads for the fronts, and new shoes and drums for the rears. Go to sites like Kragen , Autozone, or NAPA to get a rough estimate on how much this will cost. You can do this brake job from about $200-250 depending on what type of pads and shoes you buy.

If your calipers are good and your cylinders are not leaking, this is pretty much all you need to replace. You might even be able to save a couple of bucks if you can resurface your existing rotors and drums. If you got a written estimate of the $668 brake job, they might have listed what needed to be replaced. You might be able to use that as a guide.


----------



## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

wtf! $668 i have seen big brake kits for that much


----------



## LIUSPEED (May 29, 2002)

dude sent you an email i found a great deal for ya


----------



## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

LIUSPEED said:


> dude sent you an email i found a great deal for ya


share the wealth


----------



## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Break that $668 quote down. What is he quoting you for?


----------



## Honest Bob (Nov 7, 2002)

Here is my thread from a while ago.

http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=61814


----------



## Wyldstyle (Sep 10, 2003)

Ninety-Nine SE-L said:


> Break that $668 quote down. What is he quoting you for?


$667.86 @ Big'O Tires in Vallejo for 1995 Nissan Sentra GXE will get you the following:

QTY.............Description..................................Parts............Labor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............... Disc Pads .................................. 71.30 ......... 60.00
1................Brake Fluid Disposal.......................................... 2.50
1................Reline Brake Shoes (LR/RR)............ 41.10 ......... 60.00
1................Brake Hardware Kit (LR/RR).............24.00
1................Brake Fluid Flush/ Bleed....................................29.95
1................(RF) SPEC:630.....ACT:632.............61.10...........15.00
1................(LF) SPEC:630.....ACT:641.............61.10...........15.00
1................(RR) SPEC:7.126..ACT:7.132...........78.30...........15.00
1................(LR) SPEC:7.126..ACT:7.130...........78.30...........15.00
1................Brake Kleen...................................5.00

Price for Front and Rear Brakes: $667.86


----------



## lshadoff (Nov 26, 2002)

O'Reilly sells the front pads for $15.99 and the rear drums for $14.99 (rebuilt) and the hardware kit for $8.50. I don't know what the SPEC things are, but you don't need them.

They are not difficult to replace yourself.

Lew


----------



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

I'm guessing here, but I think the SPEC stands for the specified minimum thickness of the front rotors and rear drums. I know from memory that the MIN for the front rotor is .630 and the drums are 7.13. The ACT must stand for the actual measured thickness of the rotors and drums....too close to the min values, they can't be resurfaced, so he needs new rotors and drums.....


----------



## lshadoff (Nov 26, 2002)

Wufaded said:


> I'm guessing here, but I think the SPEC stands for the specified minimum thickness of the front rotors and rear drums. I know from memory that the MIN for the front rotor is .630 and the drums are 7.13. The ACT must stand for the actual measured thickness of the rotors and drums....too close to the min values, they can't be resurfaced, so he needs new rotors and drums.....


That sounds right to me, although I wouldn't trust them to assess whether they need resurfacing. They probably just do it every time. Also it appears that they are charging the cost for replacing rotors and drums from scratch even though they have to remove them to replace the pads/shoes which they are already charging for. It's double-dipping. 

Anyway O'Reilly front rotors are $26.99/pair and rear drums are $43.99/pair. 

Lew


----------



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

Yeah I noticed the double-dipping also. If he was to do the work himself, he could save $400-500.....and that is including getting new rotors and drums, in addition to the pads and shoes.....extra cash for happy hour :cheers:


----------



## Wyldstyle (Sep 10, 2003)

Wufaded said:


> Yeah I noticed the double-dipping also. If he was to do the work himself, he could save $400-500.....and that is including getting new rotors and drums, in addition to the pads and shoes.....extra cash for happy hour :cheers:


\
Well I just order new NX2000 rotors and fully loaded calipers. What else will I need?


----------



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

Wyldstyle said:


> \
> Well I just order new NX2000 rotors and fully loaded calipers. What else will I need?


Check out this write up:

http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/august01/brake.shtml


----------



## Wyldstyle (Sep 10, 2003)

lshadoff said:


> O'Reilly sells the front pads for $15.99 and the rear drums for $14.99 (rebuilt) and the hardware kit for $8.50. I don't know what the SPEC things are, but you don't need them.
> 
> They are not difficult to replace yourself.
> 
> Lew


Where can I get O'Reilly parts?


----------



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

O'Reilly is a chain of auto parts stores, mostly located in the East & Midwest....

http://www.oreillyauto.com/B2C/vehicle.ecatalog


----------



## lshadoff (Nov 26, 2002)

Wyldstyle said:


> Where can I get O'Reilly parts?


Try any auto parts retailer. I found the O'Reilly web site and looked up the prices. Auto Zone or Pep Boys, or... should have similar prices.

Lew


----------



## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Wufaded said:


> Check out this write up:
> 
> http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/august01/brake.shtml


and mine:
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/february04/brakes/


----------

