Opinions please- Brake and Tranny Fluid replacement questions

[Jorge-789995]

All,

I took my 02 V70 XC in to the dealer today for the 67.5k service. The damage (to the credit card) will be significant if I have all the suggested work done. The two questions I have for the experts are whether I should do some of this myself.

$330 - Tranny Fluid flush
$485 - Front brakes, rotors and pads
$575 - Rear brakes, rotors, pads and parking brake pads
(I may be able to get about 10% off.)

I did a search and read some posts about other's brake job costs and found 2 references to price- (about $900 and close to $1000) so my quote is not too far off. I didn't get the idea that those 2 included the parking brake either. I've also followed Gibbons method of flushing the tranny fluid and am familiar with the process.

I used to work on my cars all the time, so I'm no stranger to busted knuckles. I've done it enough to be sick of it, but I'm thinking that it might be financially advantageous for me to get back into it. On the other hand, if I'm only going to save a hundred bucks at the expense of 3 of my Saturdays, then I'll pay them and get it over with. What would you do? For those of you that have replaced brakes and fluid, how long did it take and what was the difficulty level?

Ironically enough, I paid it off today, so as of today, the grocery grabber/ wagon queen family truckster is all mine.

Thanks for your opinions,
Keith

[BillAileo]

With your background you could probably do all these tasks, save a decent amount of money, and get a better idea of the status of your XC70. If you have a decent set of tools and know the basics of brake work there is nothing too difficult about working on your Volvo's brake equipment, and, if you have all the right parts and instructions on hand, one Saturday ought to be more than enough for a complete brake job. However, I never recommend people do this kind of work unless they get some enjoyment out of it. If you don't, keep all your Saturdays for what you do enjoy.

Bill

[Ragman]

You'll save $250.00 on the tranny flush alone! Rotors and pads are easy.
Go to the resources page on this site and you'll get good instructions for all of these tasks.

[Ragman]

on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most difficult:

Tranny flush-2; 45 minutes (ipd sells a very helpful flush kit)

front/rear break job w/ rotors-3; 90 minutes/wheel

Get parts from ipdusa.com or fcpgroton.com
Get tranny fluid mobil3309 from avlube.com for 57/case.

Have fun!