cassell90

Hello all,

I have a 2010 Boxster (not an S model) and after seeing a dealer quote to change brake pads and sensors almost had a stroke. $450 for the fronts; $450 for the rears.

I've changed brake pads before (on a different car) and I'm not afraid to do it again. What I'm looking for is a technical article on changing the brake pads on a 2010 Boxster. I've seen one on the Pelican Parts website that is very good, but specifies it is relevant up to 2008 year model. So are there any differences in the later models? Do you have to change sensors at the same time? Will it invalidate my warranty if I do the work myself?

Thanks!

-Stephen

the_vetman

If you read a good article that goes up to 2008, then you'll be fine. 2009-2012 brakes are exactly the same. Many good articles on Planet 9 also: www.planet-9.com

You don't have to change the sensors unless the light is on on the dash. You won't void your warranty - no worries. For maintenance items, e.g. oil change, keep all receipts if you do the work yourself.

Good luck.

terbiumactivated

Regarding the warranty, I decided to eat the higher price of oil filters from the dealer for the warranty period rather than to buy cheaper and comparable Mahle units off the web. If something happened to the engine I wouldn't want Porsche to call me out on non OEM parts even though they might be Mahle OEM cartridges. If they quoted you $450 just for pads no rotors that is an awful price for you and a lucky day for them if you say yes. The brembo brakes are a dream to work on, like an artist designed them. My family owned a dealership, you simply haven't lived life until you repair brakes that have been bathed in road salt, good times!!

ken1.9

I just changed the front pads on my 08 and it was the easiest one I have ever done. The light on the dash was showing I needed a brake job and I ordered the pads immediately and didn't drive much after that. The sensors looked great and I reinstalled them back in the new pads and the light hasn't shown up again so I assume the sensors didn't get damaged. I struggled just a bit to pull the old pads out and then discovered the shim between the pads and brake cylinder was sticking to the pad so it was just a matter of loosening them. I left the old shims in place and just reused them. The pads I used were ceramic and I like how clean the wheels have remained. On a final note, I changed out my brake fluid last year and as a result the fluid was close to the top of the reservoir. That meant when I pushed the brake pistons back into their cylinders to make room for the new thicker pads the fluid level in the reservoir rose and almost ran out the top. I almost forgot that and that would have been a mess.

cassell90

Thanks for all the replies. I will certainly give it a shot myself (with some oversight I hope) before going to the dealer. I can think of a lot better things to spend $900 bucks on!

-Stephen

Schmidts Cat

Last time I went to the track it took me about 20 min to swap back all four corners after. Easy, for sure after you watch someone do it once. I have a floor jack to make it go faster. PS: I have my sensors zip-tied up out of the way, so I don't cook them at the track.

dbuckius

how do you remove the old shim that got stuck on the old pad? thanks

HoBoJoe

You don't, the new pads should have shims pre-installed.

sjfehr

n'thing that changing brake pads on a 987.2 is super easy, and nobody should pay exorbitant garage fees for it. The brake pads are just held in with a spring and it's pretty easy to retract the pistons using a screwdriver and small pry bar on the pads. You may need to use a screwdriver to separate the little spring backers to pull the pads out, but that's about the only tricky thing. You don't need to replace the sensors unless you REALLY procrastinated and let them grind away, but you can buy replacements just about any Porsche parts supplier if you did. If you caught it right after the light came on (the plastic's ground off, but wire is still intact), they're still OK enough to just reinstall. They also come on VERY early when you still have tons of pad left, which is annoying for those of us that check our brakes regularly and don't need sensors- I ended up just zip-tying mine out of the way.

Protip: make sure the brake fluid doesn't overflow when you compress the pads. Pumping the brake pedal a couple times after each doing each wheel will help reduce this. Most importantly, though, do NOT forget to pump the brake pedal a few times to build pressure before disengaging the e-brake. (If you forget and your foot goes to the floor like a friend of mine did with his Honda- don't panic, just pump it real quick a couple times to push the pistons in and get pressure back.)

Protip #2: A little lithium grease on the pins make them a lot easier to remove/reinstall.

donoman

Super easy pad swap, easier than any other car I have done recently...

1) Remove wheel
2) Remove cotter pin
3) Remove spring clip
4) Remove pads
5) Compress pistons (be a man!!! use your hands!!!)
6) Install new pads...
7) Reverse instructions

Boxster dude

If you can put bread in a toaster you can change the pads on your 987.2. All of the advice above is dead-on. I Track with a couple of gals and each of them changed the front pads in a matter of 30 mins. I just broke the wheel bolts loose, they did the rest. GO for it.

neil_b

I have a 2001 Boxster S and made a step by step video guide. Might not be exactly the same as the 2010 but might be enough to give you an idea?

Anyway it's here if it helps:

https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-...l#post13095139

cmcchesney

What is the minimum usable thickness for the rotors (2010) before you have to replace them?

sjfehr

The brake rotor wear thickness F/R:

Boxster: 22mm / 18mm
Boxster S: 26mm / 22mm

This permits 2mm wear on each rotor compared to new.