Brakes · done in your driveway

Brake pads replaced where the car is, not where the workshop is.

Squealing, grinding, a pedal that sinks, a shudder through the wheel when you brake. I bring the pads for your car, proper stands and a torque wrench, do it in your driveway or your work car park, and road-test it before I go.

Any hour I'm not already on a job, across Sydney. Price for your car on the phone before I leave. Can't talk? Text me.

What it looks like

Signs your pads are done

A high squeal when you brake, which is the wear indicator telling you it's time
A grinding or scraping noise, which means the pad is gone and you're into the rotor
The pedal goes further than it used to, or feels soft
The car pulls to one side when you brake
A shudder through the steering wheel or the pedal, which is usually warped rotors not pads
A brake warning light, or you can see the pad is thin through the wheel

Before you pay for anything

What I check before I touch anything

Step 1

Pads and rotors, all four corners

I measure what's left on every pad and look at every rotor for scoring, lips and heat marks. One axle is often fine when the other isn't, and I'll tell you that instead of selling you four.

Step 2

Calipers and sliders

A pad that's worn on one side and not the other means a sticking caliper or dry slider pins. New pads on a sticking caliper wear out in months. I fix the cause while I'm in there.

Step 3

Fluid and hoses

A soft pedal with good pads is a fluid or hose problem, not a pad problem. I check the level, the colour and the hoses before I tell you what you need.

At your place

What I do on site

Pads replaced front or rear, or both, in your driveway or at work. Slider pins cleaned and greased, caliper pistons wound back properly, everything torqued to spec, and a road test on your street before I leave. The old pads go with me. If the rotors are lipped but inside spec, I tell you how long they've got and you decide.

When it needs a workshop. Rotors that are below minimum thickness or badly warped need machining or replacing, and machining needs a workshop. Seized calipers that need rebuilding, and anything on a performance car with fixed calipers, I'll look at and tell you straight.

When you ring

Tell me these three things

The car, make and model and roughly what year. Whether it's a noise, a feel, or a light. And whether it's the front, the back, or you're not sure. From that I can tell you what it probably is, what it costs for your car, and a real time. If I'm wrong when I get there, I tell you before I start.

The quickest way to a price

Tell me what it's doing

Ring and tell me the car, the suburb and what it's doing. You get what it sounds like and the price for your car before I leave. Can't talk right now? Text me those three things and I'll text you back.

Call Jackson now0468 098 696

Any hour I'm not on a job. Same price day or night.

Straight answers

Questions I get about this job

Front or rear, how do I tell?

Mostly you can't from the driver's seat, and that's fine. Tell me what you hear and feel and I'll work it out when I measure them.

Do I need new rotors too?

Not always. If they're above minimum thickness and not warped, new pads bed into them fine. I measure them and tell you either way. I don't sell rotors by default.

How long does it take?

One axle, about an hour in a driveway. Both, closer to two. I road-test it after, so give me the car for a bit.

Can you do it in a work car park?

Yes, as long as the surface is flat and I can get stands under it. Give me the address and where the car is.

What does it cost?

It depends on the car and whether it's one axle or two. Tell me the car on the phone and I give you the number before I leave.

Sounds like your car?

Ring me, describe what it's doing, and I'll tell you what it sounds like and what it costs for your car.

Call Jackson now Battery light on instead?

Any hour, any day0468 098 696Jackson answers, not a call centre