Just got my 2008 LR3 back from the dealer after just having the catalytic converter replaced and the drive shaft replaced. Both were under warranty (thank God), but at 48K miles I don't have much time left.

When I picked up the car the dealer told me that they checked the car out and found the front brakes were worn 2-3mm and needed to be replaced very soon. They quoted me $775 for this job, which I thought was outrageous, even for Land Rover. This was just the front brakes mind you.

When I asked why it was so much, they told me that they replace the pads and also install brand new rotors. I've had rotors turned before, but never replaced. The dealer says they never turn them as Land Rover always recommends replacing them.

Question. Is this normal? I'd much rather take this to an independent store and have either new pads installed or new pads and turn the existing rotors, but don't want to do something I'll later regret. For a supposedly "tough" SUV that's built to handle the worlds roughest terrain, mine seems surprisingly prone to stuff breaking even though it has rarely left the pavement.

 

Not sure where your dealer is, but I'm not surprised. With the old Disco's, the brakes were very undersized, and they went through rotors like crazy. The dealers like to do that because they can assure you that you will get smooth braking, etc., but frankly, with the LR3 rotors, they usually can go much further without turning or replacement, unless the rotors are unusually worn. I would get a 2nd opinion from an independent.

 

I got my brakes and rotors done at LR Princeton yesterday to the tune of $1300 for all four brakes and rotors. I tried to go the route of brakes only but, they refused to do so. At 53K miles ('07 LR3) it was time to have both (first time changing either). That price hurt SO BAD!

 

i was quoted $785 for all 4 wheels with pads and rotors, and I thought that was bad, I had the rotors checked at a local high preformance shop here in Atlanta that does tires for Ferriari, Lambo, Bently, LR and so fourth and they said they were fine and that I just needed pads, I went to autozone and they ordered OEM pads from Europe and it cost me $110 to do all for corners and took me about 45 min, they are very easy to change, takes longer to take the wheel off, than it does to change the pads

 

I just did the wifes HSE. Rotors were around 50 bucks each from partsgeek.com, pads were 170 for all four wheels with better EBC green pads. Sensors are 16 bucks a pop. It is worth getting one or two because you will likely damage at least one removing the pads.

So all in I paid a little over 400 bucks for better quality replacement parts. Really this is not all that bad, my GTR has a quoted dealer price of a bit over 7 thousand dollars for a brake job. That is not a typo.

It took me about 4 hours to get all of the rotors and pads replaced, I took it slow as it was my first time. The only difficult part was getting the front calipers off. I ended up making a breaker bar tool that was about 3 feet long which allowed me to get enough leverage on the bolts. They were really, really, really on there. Also make sure you have your torx set handy, I believe the rotor retainer screw is a T-45?

Our LR3 had 36,000 miles. The pads could have gone another few thousand miles but the rotors were shot. I was actually quite surprised at the rotor wear and intended on maybe just doing the pads this time and the rotors next but there was no way I was going to let the wife drive that vehicle with those rotors. Could it be done? Sure. Is 200 bucks worth piece of mind when she and my kids are in the car? Yep.

 

rbelz
What symptoms were you having to get your catalytic converter and the drive shaft replaced? Do you drive it hard or just live in city traffic?

blobbin
I can't belive a Skyline costs that much for a brake job, my god what are the brakes made out of -- GOLD ?? Also where did you order the pads and sensors from? Is there any reset or computer/ecu involved when changing brakes? What year is your LR3?

 

The GTR just has regular ol' organic brakes. Brembos but still. Along that vein I recall the Brembo pads for our old V70R were insanely expensive too, something like 400 for the front ... the caliper was used on a whole two cars, the STi and V70r so limited numbers made for pricier parts.

I ordered my pads, sensors and rotors from partsgeek.com. Shipping was cheap / free depending on the part and FAST. Just don't be a dumbass like me and only order 1 front and 1 rear rotor. They don't come in pairs ...

The sensors are reusable so long as they have not been "tripped." There is no reset procedure. The car oddly uses three sensors on all wheels except the drivers rear. If you end up being a dumbass like me and breaking a sensor in the process the replacement procedure is not hard just a pain in the *** because of where they run the wires to (think never never land). In the front you end up having to take some of the wheel liner out and it would help if you had someone to hold a light and someone else with tiny little hands to order around.

Also, the sensors can be plugged in both ways but as it turns out only one way is correct. You will quickly understand the error because the brake light service light on the dash cluster will come on, and then you get to take the wheel off again and .. well you get the idea.

I took the opportunity while the rear rotors were off to inspect the parking brake shoes which in my case looked just fine and required no fiddling.

I would strongly suggest a breaker bar and hammer to anyone looking to remove the calipers, or as I did making your own extended breaker bar and planning on pretending to bench a couple hundred pounds before that sucker moves. I have the torque specs around here somewhere and will post them later.

The EBC green pads so far have been great. I did the old quick bed for track cars trick we used to do when swapping during endurance races -- one foot on the brake the other on the gas and 30 - 40 - 50 mph for a bit, backing off to let them cool then repeating another time. Less dust on these pads and great stopping power.

 

I bought two new rotors and OEM brake pads from the dealer and replaced them myself for $446. The sensor is quite a pain in the butt but I got it after playing with it for about 20 mins. I don't recommend the OEM pads for the LR3, it is a heavy bitch and eats them up quickly. I am on my third set of them on the rear already and have only had it almost 3 years. I recommend aftermarket pads. I have them on the front and they have been great, I only changed them because I figured I would just change all the pads at the same time. If you can avaoid using the OEM pads, look elsewhere for better ones, it may cost a little more but it's worth it and you won't be changing the pads as often or cleaning that pesky brake dust off of your wheels that the OEM ones leave everywhere. Roverlandparts is a good site also, but partsgeek.com is better. I have found the aftermarket pads at independent parts stores as well, it all depends on where you are and how much you are willing to spend on the beast.

 

Blobbin you mentioned the error in plugging a sensor in the wrong way results in the brake light service light coming on, on the dash. My amber brake light service light as well as an amber triangle with exclamation point and a circular arrow going around it, turns on. It doesn't happen all the time but recently its been turning on almost every time I press in on the brake pedal. Once it comes on, then I have to turn the car off and restart it after a few seconds to reset it. Like I said, this only happens when I step on the brake pedal.
My question is that do you think this is because the sensors were installed the wrong way at some point? Thanks

 

the front rotors do have a minimum amount stamped on them and is recommended to be replaced when they reach that limit due to the rotors design and weight of the vehicle. ive seen some rotors go in about 15k miles it all really depends on how you drive the truck and where you live.... LA OC traffic ... say bye bye to these things alot faster. my suggestion is to take a wheel off and just measure them your self. Ive actually witnessed land rover rotors turned at the minimum (customer declined rotors and had them turned) 2 days later comes back on a flat bed with the rotor broken and wheel half off. and if you go with aftermarket rotors make sure they are at least good known brand i have seen alot of vibration issues with bad rotors.