I did the pads on my Turbo and it was pretty easy (first time doing a Porsche). I could likely do all 4 corners in about an hour second time around. I was told by the dealer that they no longer require the dampeners you put in each piston. He gave me a print out of some kind showing me this info. Again this is for a Turbo.

 

Brake job on the 997.1s is quite easy. I've only done pads, but I'm sure the rotors are pretty easy to change out too. Don't pay someone to do it.

You can read long narratives here, but YouTube is your friend.

 

Why not? Because I usually get 90K to 100K out of mine. YMMV

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

Wow! I thought getting 30-40k out of them was pretty good.

Do you run them past the min thickness or just use them gently?

 

That was on my first Porsche, a 2000 Boxster S that I got 197K on the chassis and had a bunch of track weekends on it. Back then, I relied on my Indy for advice and that was his advice so I don't know what criterion he used. My indy is an honest guy who was shop foreman at a P-dealership before he opened his own shop. Great guy. If you need a good indy around Philly, Possum Hollow Motorsports. I guess I am just easy on my brakes.... nothing conscious... I do rev match and downshift a lot but don't consciously rely on engine braking and if I know I am going to come to a full stop, I have the clutch fully depressed. I really don't know why. I also never changed the clutch.

On another note, a local Porsche club guy had a little brake clinic at his home and he noted that the Porsche spec thickness for change is way conservative and he regularly blows way past it on his P-cars... he is also a track junkie... He made some comment about just a money making metric. True? I dunno.

I never had warping or grabbing etc...

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

Our brakes are easy to work on - much easier than my wife's BMW E46 that I also maintain. From my experience:

- You will probably be able to re-use the wear sensors. If you need new, ECS sells some moderately priced third party sensors that work well.

- The minum rotor thickness is stamped on the rotor hat. The rotors are designed to wear 2 mm over their lifetime.

- If you have sufficent rotor thickness remaining and no cracks between the vent holes, the rotors can be re-used. The new pads will bed quickly to the old rotors.

- The rear brakes are immortal.

If you are flushing the brake fluid at the same time:

- I use Castrol LMA fluid, which is what my dealer sells. It may not be as good as Motul, but I don't track my car. Available on Amazon at a good price.

- Invest in a Motive pressure bleeder - it makes the job much easier. I use mine "dry", as a pressure source, and refill the brake fluid reservoir after I bleed each corner.

Good luck.

 

Anyone have a good line on slotted rotors on the east coast?

 

kcheves : thanks for the info !

 

I've done many, many brake jobs on the 997-2 , S and non-S, and 991 S and non-S. It is really easy, but to be fair the 991 has a different caliper and requires a bit more work and special tools to make it easy. Pads can be done without brake disc changes as needed, just measure and visually inspect them. Brake discs are also easy, just make sure you get proper replacement hardware, at a minimum caliper bolts. Bleeding the brakes is also very easy, especially if you have a power bleeder such as the Motive brand.


In short, if you have the desire, the time, the tools, and access to YouTube you can learn how to do it in minimal time. If you get stuck or are unsure, ask the forum.

 

Cheers guys for all your help. Got them done today very happy. All enthusiastic about the car all over again, going to give it a good detail this weekend.


Ended up just replacing the discs rather than getting them machined. They look great new discs, no corroded hubs. The wheels look brand new now as the rims are in perfect condition and just put on a set of PS2s.


They did a good job as always, resetting the brake fluid level and new brake pad sensors of course.


All up cost me $2400 AUD, inclusive of new wiper blades, that's about $1975 USD. Probably a lot more than you're used to but that's Australia for you, paid $100,000 AUD for the car last year with 35,000 kms on the clock and fully serviced, that's $82,000 USD for a 9 year old car