Replacing the front brake pads and rotors on a Land Rover LR3 Discovery 3 (and Range Rover Sport) is a moderately easy DIY project. But due to the weight of the LR3, you should approach the brake job with caution.
KEY POINTS ON THE BRAKE JOB:
• The LR3 and RRS are very heavy, support the vehicle with jack stands!
• Review your owner’s manual for the proper jacking points and procedure.
• Do not press the brake pedal when the brake calipers are loose, do not press one side’s brake caliper piston in with the other side loose, you will have a brake fluid mess and hours of frustration when you pop the piston out of the brake caliper!
• Check the level of your brake fluid as you press in the pistons, sometimes people will mistakenly fill the reservoir when it is low from brake wear, and you may push fluid out the top.
• You do not need to open the bleed screw when you reset the brake pistons, this is optional. Some people will do this to expel the fluid that sits at the rotor and will likely have experienced the most heat fluctuation. If you choose to open the bleed screw, make sure you keep an eye on the brake fluid level at the reservoir and keep it topped up!
• If you did not add brake fluid to your LR3, then you will not need to remove fluid when your reset the pistons.
TOOL LIST FOR A LR3 OR RRS FRONT BRAKE JOB:
• 22mm socket
• 21mm 12-Point socket
• 13mm socket
• 10mm socket
• 17mm thin open end wrench
• 1/2 drive torque wrench & ratchet
• 3/8 drive torque wrench & ratchet
• T45 Torx
• c clamp or a brake piston compressor tool
• jack & jack stands (bottle jack or floor jack, don’t use the flimsy tire change jack)
FRONT BRAKE SHOP SUPPLIES:
• Brake Cleaner
• Zip Ties
LR3 AND RANGE ROVER SPORT FRONT BRAKE TORQUE SPECS (FROM THE LR3 WORKSHOP MANUAL):
• Wheel nuts 103 ft. lbs.
• Brake caliper housing bolts (13mm) 26 ft. lbs.
• Anchor plate bolts, 21mm 12-point, 203 ft. lbs.
• Brake rotor retaining screw 26 ft. lbs.
• Brake line retaining bracket 16 ft. lbs.
• Tie Rod Ends 52 ft. lbs.
LR3 BRAKE REPLACEMENT COSTS
You can spend as little as $25 dollars if you only need to replace the front pads and a little extra cost to resurface the rotors.
If you need to replace the rotors, or don’t want the hassle of taking the rotors to be resurfaced, the front rotors will cost from $50 each to as much as you want to spend on super fancy brake rotors like these slotted and drilled rotors: http://amzn.to/1t1c0EI This in my opinion is a waste, but if you want them, I say get them!
If you have burned through the brake pad wear sensor, then you will need to replace the sensor for around $10 http://amzn.to/1sLznBb There is only one sensor on the front end and one senor on the rear end.
So the cheapest you can do a front brake job on the LR3 is around $25. If you want to do a full LR3 brake replacement, with pads, rotors and sensor, you are looking at a minimum cost of around $135.
