Howdy all. I've been remiss in keeping up with my experiences with maintenance with my LR3, so I figure that this a good place to get a late start.

It was really a pretty standard brake job, at least there were no surprises and absolutely nothing that I would consider to be "difficult." Unless you consider the weight of the rotors, as I am weak and pusillanimous.

So, what I did this weekend was:

• changed the pads, front and rear
• change the wear sensors, front and rear
• changed the front rotors
• bled the brakes (as best as possible)
• cleaned the negative battery terminal
• gave myself the obligatory 3mm x 3mm bleeding scratch (good for my 8 yo girl to become nurse and assist with band-aid and ointment)

I found this resource to assist me, and I'm sure that it's been circulated about, here and there, but I'll post it again:

Bodsy's Brake Bible

The front sensor seems to be subject of concern, but if you've ever changed an oxygen sensor on a mid '80's Golf, this is a piece of cake. Bodsy's guide shows how to get to it. It really isn't bad.

I was worried about the torque of the bolts that attach the caliper bracket, but I turned the wheels slightly for better access and used a cheater bar along with my breaker bar, and they came loose without bodybuilder effort. As far as reattachment, the specification is for an ungodly 200 ft/lb of torque, so I set my cheap-butt wrench to max (150 ft/lb), then gave them an extra push with my breaker bar and cheater bar afterward.

Changing the fluid was really the worst part. I wore my fingers down pulling my Autoz*** pump that I swear that I can see bone through them. It took forever, even with my wonderful assistant and master pedal-pusher (my wife) pumping the brakes. The fluid never did become as clear as I would like, so I may take it in to someone that has the necessary computer. Or I may eventually buy one of those darned things...who knows.

The only "scary" part was when I got back in the car, the display stated that there was a parking brake fault, according to the all-knowing HAL like entity. It also ran a little rough, so I assumed that the computer was playing catch-up to reality as it didn't have power for the 3 minutes that it took to clean the negative battery cable. I could hear the parking brake engage and disengage, and it would certainly stop the car if I were slowly rolling backward and then let it go when disengaged.

After a test drive to Adv***e, it was running better and the parking brake fault stopped showing up when the car was started.

I have to say, that for as much effort as it took to bleed the brakes, that's the only part that I'd farm out if I were feeling particularly lazy for a day.

So I hope this provides some reassurance if you're considering purchasing a used LR3 and want to do your own maintenance.

 

Good write up and Congrats on all the money you saved!