Hello.

I'm finally embarking on my first brake (front pads and rotors) job, and I'm feeling *okay* about taking it on, mostly because I've got this board, a (barely used) Bentley that's much clearer than my other manual, Erling's awesome photo-document of the process on his site, and a great post here on 91 brakes-- complete with photos. I haven't done anything this technical before, though, so I'm a bit daunted.

Some questions:

I've been reading a lot of posts about brake-bleeding nightmares, and it's beginning to bug me out. How can I avoid some of these scenes? I DON'T want to have to bleed the brakes. How much fluid will I have to remove with my (dedicated) turkey baster? Do I have to bleed the brakes? I'll be alone doing this. What's the best way to depress the pistons and not overflow my MC? Anyone got a technique for one man? I might be able to press my wife into duty, but...

AND

This guy I spoke to recently had done the brakes on his two 240s (he's now driving a Toyota) many times. He suggested I just go and replace the calipers, as he'd never done a brake job without damaging them enough that they'd leak after the job. I was like, "That's crazy-- I've never read that." Is it crazy? If I replace the calipers it bumps the price up enough I might have just gotten a competent mechanic... even though I'm broke.

AND

I understand these questions are asked all the time here, but even with everything I've read (search feature seems better to me now), I'm still wary. Can anyone lay out what I'm to do to avoid: getting air in my brake lines/mc AND damaging my ABS sensor in very simple-- some would say idiotic-- terms?

I AM A NOVICE. I'm still gathering all my tools together. Any must-haves or set-up tips? I really want to learn and do it right.

Thanks in advance.