E32 brakes

blw · 05-10-2003, 06:18 AM

I guess I've never had to do brakes on my E32 before - we've had it for 5 years and it had been freshly overhauled when we bought it (I think it was a CPO car). The brake lining light just went on, and I've got phone estimates of between $450 and $1400 for what this might involve. Now I know nobody can give me a quote on the phone, but I'm wondering why the enormous variation.

I know we're supposed to do both pads and rotors (and at 120K I'm not surprised). I'm suspicious that the $450 is only front or only rear, but that's still a pretty big range.

What's really involved?

Javier at Pelican Parts · 05-12-2003, 07:05 AM

Well, if you can provide the exact year and model i might be able to shed some light on this. Are the quouts from dealers or indys? Most likly than not those prices are for pads and rotors. If you are inclined to tackle this job yourself you could save a small fortune, not only in the labor side but also with parts. Call me at 1-888-280-7799 ex 239 I'll explain.

blw · 05-12-2003, 10:44 PM

It's a '93 740i. The top one (as usual) is from the dealer, the bottom one is from an independent. Yes, I'm pretty certain that this is for both pads and rotors.

autobonrun · autobonrun's Garage

If I recall, the rotors were about $160 for the front although you can get them for less. The pads were about $70 although I've seen them for $50. With the correct tools you can replace the fronts in 4 hours or less. The range of price quotes you are getting means someone doesn't know what they're doing or they are trying to overcharge you. The $450 seems more in line for an independent shop. The dealer charged me about $600 when they did them previously. Check with Pelican, I think they carry all the parts you need including the brake pad sensors.

If they have not been off before, the bolts that hold the calipers on will be very difficult without a cheater bar. After wrestling with mine about 30 minutes, an 18" cheater bar broke them loose in a few seconds. Just get one with a large enough ID to fit over the handle of your ratchet. Home Depot has some precut pipe that works great.

Replacement is easy and straight forward especially if you have a Bentley manual. The rotors ship with a coating of oil to prevent rust. Make sure you use brake cleaner to remove all the oil coating off the rotors. Also, when you put the new pads in, the fit should be tight to minimize travel for the piston. Luckily mine were tight on my 740 but on my 911 I initially left lots of space assuming the pistons would go back in place. The brake pedal was soft until I tightened the space up using the old pads then slowly pushed the piston back in just enough to insert the new pads. This may have been due to the fact that I also rebuilt my calipers and the newness caused them to retract somewhat until they got broken in. But, regardless, from now on, I'll just make sure the fit is snug to begin with.

mpetry · mpetry's Garage

I have an E32 750il with many upgrades and have done some brake work. I'm not sure about the $440 you've received but in general the stock BMW pads are pretty rough on the rotors and as such the rotors get replaced when the pads do.

It is my opinion that replacing the rotors is not always necessary, particularly on the rears.

I use the ATE sine wave rotor and Pagid pads and have had good luck with them. Also be sure to replace your "brake lining" sensor - or jumper it! Very troublesome - I disabled mine.

Good luck.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA

blw · 05-24-2003, 05:12 AM

In the end, I took it to one of the independents (we're relatively new in the area and hadn't tried any of them before). The brakes ended up costing me around $770 for fronts and rears, roughly the same work quoted by the dealer at $1400.

In general I don't do my own work because I don't care to spend the time on it, and most importantly because I don't trust myself to get it done right. Cosmetic stuff and things that are dead easy I'll do myself. If it comes to brakes or something like that, I get a professional to do it...

Jared at Pelican Parts · 05-27-2003, 08:47 AM

Brakes are beyond easy to do yourself. I could teach a cigar-smoking, roller skating monkey to do a brake job. It really isnt hard at all. I can email you a tech article explaining how to do it if you like.

anthony900 · 06-04-2003, 08:21 PM

Well, your cigar-smoking, roller skating monkey is here! I am getting ready to do a brake change on my 1989 735IL (first one ever for me), So any help would be appreciated. I am just going to do the front, but if you have any info on the rear that would be good too. Also, what manufacturer do you recommend for the pads and rotors? I've heard I should buy the ceramic because they are better quality and to reduce the brake dust. Thanks in advance

Jared at Pelican Parts · 06-05-2003, 10:30 AM

anthony, the best thing to do is for you to call me, I will goover in detail what you need to do.

1-888-280-7799 ex. 259

anthony900 · 06-16-2003, 08:57 AM

Jared, thanks for your help on the brakes. The only problem I have now is the brakes are squeeking. Is there something I forgot to do or did incorrectly?