General Repair
Brakes & Rotors in Sacramento
Brakes are the most common mobile job and the one where being mobile helps most: you should not be driving a vehicle with bad brakes to a shop across town.
I replace pads and rotors, calipers, brake hoses and hardware, and bleed and flush brake fluid. Slide pins get cleaned and greased and the hardware clips get replaced rather than reused — a seized slide pin is what causes one pad to wear to metal while the other looks new, and it is the reason so many "new brakes" jobs come back within a year.
Rotors get measured against the manufacturer's minimum thickness rather than replaced on sight. If they are within spec and not warped you can keep them, and I will tell you so. If they are below minimum they are scrap — a rotor under minimum thickness cannot shed heat and will crack.
Brake fluid is hygroscopic: it pulls moisture out of the air and its boiling point drops every year. On a vehicle that tows or descends grades, old fluid is what gives you a soft pedal halfway down the hill. It is a cheap service that almost everyone skips.
What the job includes
- Brake pad and rotor replacement, front and rear
- Caliper and brake hose replacement
- Slide pin service and hardware clip replacement
- Brake fluid flush and bleed
- Rotor thickness measured against minimum spec
- Parking brake adjustment
Brakes & Rotors — work I have done
Brakes & Rotors questions
How long does a brake job take?
Pads and rotors on one axle is usually about two hours. Front and rear together is most of a day. Seized or rusted caliper bolts can add time.
Do I need rotors every time I do pads?
No. I measure them. If they are above minimum thickness, running true and not scored, new pads on existing rotors is fine. Anyone who replaces rotors without measuring is selling parts, not fixing brakes.
Can you do brakes at my workplace?
Yes, as long as the parking spot is reasonably level and I have room to work beside the vehicle. Plenty of customers book brake work while they are at the office.
Grinding noise — how urgent is it?
Urgent. Grinding usually means the pad friction material is gone and the backing plate is cutting into the rotor. Every mile from that point costs you a rotor and possibly a caliper. Do not put it off.
Related services
Need brakes & rotors?
Call or text and describe the problem. If you can, send a photo — it usually tells me more than a paragraph does. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
By appointment — call or text any day