Need a lesson on brakes - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

So I got a dumb question for you all... I'm getting new rotors and pads, but I see they have shoes available for the 2000 box as well. Do I need to replace these as well? Is it a DIY? Front and Rear? I'm a little confused.

The shoes for the rear are for the parking brake. Change them if they're worn. Ditto for the rear pads and rotors. Generally rears last a lot longer than fronts. No sense in spending the money if you don't have to. For the fronts you should also replace the pads sensors. They don't come with the pads. Yes, the brakes are a very easy DIY. This is a very good source for step-by-step instructions: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/49-BRAKES-Replacing_Brake_Pads/49-BRAKES-Replacing_Brake_Pads.htm The book's well worth the $23.95. One job and it's paid for itself.

Is that true even if you haven't worn the pad through to the sensors? I tend to just look at the pads from time to time...that being the case, I'm not sure I'll replace the sensors at all (unless they're dirt cheap---which hardly ever happens with these cars ).

Don't replace the sensors if they're not set off.

The front sensors are $10.75 apiece @ Pelican. On a rotor/pad job that's already costing ~$400 in parts, I didn't see the point in "saving" $22.

for the $40 that you'd pay for four you can buy a bottle of scotch and look at the brake pads to tell if their worn.

Amen to that...

I replaced mine with Balo rotors and Mintex pads from Pelican Parts. I did not replace the sensors since they where never set off. The shoes are for the parking brake...just clean them on the car. My cost was about $250.

For most of the guys here, the Brake wear sensors are a useless doo-dad and nuisance. It's just an idiot light for those 'idiots' who don't maintain their own cars. For the rest of us, who keep after our cars, we change the brake pads much sooner than the wear sensor indicates. In several years, I can't remember even one member posting that their wear sensor light went off due to over-worn pads. Most of us simply don't reattach them to the pads when changing. Instead, keep it connected to it's connector, and cable tie it out of the way to prevent the light from inadvertently coming on. Cheers!

If I had my wear sensor tripped due to end-stage pad wear, I'd likely do just that: zip tie it out of the way. On the other hand, assuming I don't let it get that far, is there any down side to reattaching it following pad replacement?

If they haven't been tripped, they can be reused.

I reused mine when I did all 4 brakes on both of my Boxsters in January. What my gripe with this system is: it wastes alot of pad thickness. Why can't Porsche just use a steel tab to rub on the rotors when they are worn thin ? Keep it simple.

the sensor is just a loop of wire. the wire leave the plug, travels through one pad, though the other, and back to the plug. when all is good the wire is continuous and current flows. when a pad gets low it rubs through the wire, breaks the circuit, current stops flowing and the light comes on. unplug the sensor and all the computer sees is a broken circuit - light comes on. snip the sensor wires near the plug and twist them together and the current flows - no light, no sensors to worry about, no bother.