Brake problems... Porsche shop sez, need to rebuild F & R calipers and replace brake lines. The estimate to do the job is $1300. Geez! Is this the going rate?
Lots of $$$$ to me. What alternatives do I have?

Good car. Suspension mods. Lowered, bilsteins, springs, bushings, swaybars etc.
Strong stock 2L motor. Have driven PCA DE events.

If I have to spend this much $$$$, is there an alternative to stock 914 brakes.
Not able to work on the car myself. Live in the city. No garage, small apartment.

Any help/advice ...much appreciated.

C.

These guys might be able to help ya

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=62428

Look up Eric Shea in the resources section of this forum. He rebulds the calipers and makes them look/work better than new.

Here is the link:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=...f=4&t=23490

Eric is the go to guy.

Quality work, decent prices and fast turn around.

Great link...nice detailed info on the caliper rebuild process. Will follow up with Eric.

Any problem points to check out regarding leaking brake lines... line corrosion
or ? other than master cylinder? Any history of problems with the hard lines?
The flex lines are braided.

Thanks everyone.

C.

Buy calipers from Eric, they're most likely cheaper than where your shop is trying to source them, or the shop is doing it themselves, which will be more expensive.

Search here for stainless brake lines. There are two prominent opinions: 1.) stainless lines make the brakes feel 'firmer' 2.) stainless brake lines are dangerous because you can't monitor the condition of the lines since the stainless will always look fine, so people leave them on longer than they should.

I'm not going to discuss opinion 1 vs. opinion 2 here, it's been beaten to death. But a brake job is nothing special. Buy your parts yourself and if your regular shop won't use the parts you bring them, then find a shop that will for this repair. If you've been going to the same shop for awhile, you should be able to rationalize with them.

Good Luck!

one more vote for Eric!!

Eric Scott Shea give this man the big ones!!!!

If your gonna do it, do it right!

Where in the city do you live? I'm @ 39th & Lex, at least for a couple more months...

-pt

I wouldn't go by what the shop sez unless you got symptoms that merit a caliper rebuild or until you take it all apart and inspect for yourself. Shops will always say you need everything. With brakes there is a certain wizdom in periodically replacing everything and shops probably want to do it for profit and liability reasons. Most of the time though it's not completely necessary to redo the whole braking system.

You may even only need a brake bleed and/or pads. I'd probably replace the brakes hoses anyway just because they are probably 30+ years old. You may or may not need rotors. Measure the thickness.