99 GT brake upgrade - how long?

JonJon · Jun 22, 2006

How long does it take to install a front Cobra/Bullitt brake upgrade on a 1999 GT? How about a full set, fronts and rears?

A shop quoted me 2-3 hours at $80/hr for a front kit. I haven't decided if I have the expendible funds to do fronts and rears.

hognutz · Jun 22, 2006

I would not do the rears or if you do, do it yourself. the rear cobra kit requires pulling the axles and all that so labor is going to hit you hard.

muscle motors makes a rear 13" kit thant does not reqire pulling the axels if I remeber right. or just buy some nice looking rotors and paint the calipures youself. the cobra rear kit is very expensive IMO since 70% of your braking is out front. I would think a gt with the brembo front kit and stock rear calipers would be superior to a full cobra kit.

well the front kit should install very quickly but it will require bleeding the system. i would not conider paying a shop to do this because you are only looking at removing the brake lines, and calipures, and brakets. I mean if you own a rachet and sockets you can do this job yourself in 2hrs easy. all you need is an assistant to pump the brake pedal to bleed brakes. save youself the $160 and put it towards the brakes.

If you do pay them I would try to get there labor down to about $100 or so. that is more than enough for a job this simple.

JonJon · Jun 22, 2006

I figured it wasn't too difficult (looking at the Haynes) but something always seems simple and something always comes up. I'm going to ask a friend if he'd be up for the job but I just fear spending a whole day trying to do it.

04gtdrop · Jun 22, 2006

naaa, it wont take that long. i did mine with a buddy. and with some breaks and taking our time i think we did the front calipers, rotors pads in like 1 1/2 hours.

not hard at all...i'm sure you can do it.

hognutz · Jun 22, 2006

JonJon said:
I figured it wasn't too difficult (looking at the Haynes) but something always seems simple and something always comes up. I'm going to ask a friend if he'd be up for the job but I just fear spending a whole day trying to do it.

my school of though is what I make an hour and how long It would take me to do it.

If they are charging $160 and you make less than $40 any hour it is a no brainer because I can't see anyway somebody could not be done in 4 hrs.

the only thing I would search out is just the brake bleading process for piece of mind. make sure there is not some bleeder on the master cylider or something odd about this vehicle before you start. I have had a couple of things (like the ebrake tentioner and rear caliper pistions) that threw me off a bit. if you have the poper bleed instructions in hand I really think this is a 2hr job for a novice mechanic.

DropTopPony · Jun 22, 2006

my buddy (ford tech) had them done (front) in under an hour.

JonJon · Jun 22, 2006

A shop quoted me $135 for fronts or $250 for fronts and rear. I surely don't make $40/hr but if something goes wrong, like stubborn 7 year old snow rusted bolts or something I need an impact gun for (strut nut), I would be SOL.

damn, you guys are convincing me to do them now...
We've done LCA's, springs/shocks/struts, mid pipe/catback. I guess I just worry that the brakes get screwed up somehow

embarassing

DropTopPony · Jun 22, 2006

its really not a difficult job, i thought swapping the LCA's was a bigger PITA then the front brakes. We did have power tools though.

hognutz · Jun 22, 2006

JonJon said:
A shop quoted me $135 for fronts or $250 for fronts and rear. I surely don't make $40/hr but if something goes wrong, like stubborn 7 year old snow rusted bolts or something I need an impact gun for (strut nut), I would be SOL.

damn, you guys are convincing me to do them now...
We've done LCA's, springs/shocks/struts, mid pipe/catback. I guess I just worry that the brakes get screwed up somehow

embarassing

there is nothing you need a impact for.

all you need to do is remove the wheels, unbolt the caliper and the brake line, re-install the new calipuer/bracket and rotor. bleed brakes. there is no way I would pay even $100 for someone to do that job.

the rear is a bit time consuming like I said. fluid needs to be drained, inspection cover has to come off, abs sensers have to be removed, cross shaft has to come out of the diff, c-clips removed, slide the axles out, etc. then intall the new hardware reflill the diff bla bla bla. so it takes some time. just busy work mainly though.

all pretty simple stuff to do yourself but ther is a good 3hrs minum there for most people in that job. unless you have a lift and air tools. I have air tools but I don't have the lift so the 9000 time I would climp under the car for tools I forgot to grab would add to the time.

my .02 is even if you want to do the front and rear just take the time to do it yourself. the $385 you save pretty much pays for most of the rear upgade. if you not confident try to find someone in your area with more tools I have found a case a beer or a quick BJ can get you some shop space with a buddie sometimes. ha ha

JonJon · Jun 22, 2006

Alright. You guys convinced me to atleast attempt it.

I'm not really concerned about extreme stopping, I just figured I would upgrade if I had to pay $500 for stock junk anyways.

I was looking at this kit at:
http://mustangtuning.com/01bullitt-mach1-brake-conversion.html

Or this one:
http://www.buyfordracing.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=593
But it looks like it doesn't have pads or brackets. Can the stock brackets be used or do they have to be bought?

Would I need to buy any additional parts?

Thanks a ton you guys.

urban96 · Jun 22, 2006

http://www.buyfordracing.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=594

comes with everything you need.

it took me about 2 hours to do the swap, youll need a friend to help bleed the brakes tho

LCA's are definatly way more of a pain then the brakes. brakes are easy

hognutz · Jun 22, 2006

JonJon said:
Alright. You guys convinced me to atleast attempt it.

I'm not really concerned about extreme stopping, I just figured I would upgrade if I had to pay $500 for stock junk anyways.

I was looking at this kit at:
http://mustangtuning.com/01bullitt-mach1-brake-conversion.html

Or this one:
http://www.buyfordracing.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=593
But it looks like it doesn't have pads or brackets. Can the stock brackets be used or do they have to be bought?

Would I need to buy any additional parts?

Thanks a ton you guys.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/13-C...emQQcategoryZ33564QQihZ010QQitemZ200000845500

I would call these guys. I am going to be doing my brakes soon so I have been looking at kits. my problem is I don't like how OEM rotors are not coated. I want to get some kind of coated rotor so they don't look like crap. I though about buying form these guys and getting rottors to match the rear and then just painting the rear calipurs to match.

the one thing I would watch with kits is just make sure the caliper comes with the bracket or if it doesn't you can get the part number from the fordracingparts website and make sure you order it as well.

what I want

1. 13" coated rotors
2. pony logo calipers as I don't own a cobra
3. stainless lines

I have not found a kit yet that gives me all that except this one I posted from ebay. Ithink muscle motors has a normal website as well though.

If you don't care about bling at all the mach 1 brake kit is the best deal money wise. I am torn but my wheels show quite a bit of caliper and rotor so the extra $100 is proalby worth it for a bit flashier kit in my case.

JonJon · Jun 23, 2006

I'm not too concerned about uber bling, my rims are chipped and crap (ugly ).

Looks like I'll get basically the same kit as Urban did but with the pony calipers ($50 more, meh whateveR).

Thanks guys.

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