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Is my mechanic full of --- uhh --- stuff?

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ShawnD1 said:
Nah rotors are cheap brah. On my Ford Tempo, the rotors were $12 each.
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Everything on a Ford Tempo is $12...brah. 😛

Go to the dealer or a certified mechanic for SAAB rotors and I guarantee you the OP would double the original estimate of his repair bill.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Everything on a Ford Tempo is $12...brah. 😛

Go to the dealer or a certified mechanic for SAAB rotors and I guarantee you the OP would double the original estimate of his repair bill.
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Since I've only seen 1 of those in my entire life, I'm guessing I won't need to deal with this problem 😀
 
jlee said:
They install themselves..?

MSRP for OEM rotors for my MR2? $128.84.
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yeah, you have to take the old ones off anyway to do a brake job, so its just as easy to put the new ones on instead of the old. There should be zero install cost.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Since I've only seen 1 of those in my entire life, I'm guessing I won't need to deal with this problem 😀
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You almost never see Ford Tempos anymore...they are kind of like the Plymouth Reliant or Dodge Aries. Best selling car in America in their day but they weren't built to last and you almost never see one on the road today. Honestly, you don't see many 1980s to early 90s American cars on the road today.
 
JulesMaximus said:
You almost never see Ford Tempos anymore...they are kind of like the Plymouth Reliant or Dodge Aries. Best selling car in America in their day but they weren't built to last and you almost never see one on the road today. Honestly, you don't see many 1980s to early 90s American cars on the road today.
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You're telling me. It was mint condition when I first got it (had about 80k miles on it). After 1 year, it was totally fucked beyond belief. Something related to the engine broke, and the car sounded like a jack hammer at idle. I would rev the engine a little bit when the car was stopped just so it would not make that noise. The AC stopped working, and I found out it couldn't be recharged without doing some expensive modification due to the montreal protocol. The front right suspension broke, so it was rubbing the tire against the cowling and shredding it while killing my gas mileage (I couldn't afford to fix it). The front right brake wore out extremely fast and it began shredding the rotor. I only waited like a damn week and the thing went from the screaching brakes phase all the way to the grinding rotor phase in just 1 week; I'm pretty sure the rear brakes were doing absolutely nothing and that's why it was destroying the front brakes. The aligment was completely fucked; the car would start shaking at about 60mph. Being young and stupid, we tried driving 80mph; that was one hell of an experience. The exhaust gas release valve on the top of the engine wasn't really held in place by anything, so flooring it would cause that thing to pop off and shoot oil everywhere. The transmission slipped a little bit.

All of that within 1 year and the car only had 80k miles on it. That is the last Ford I will ever buy.
 
Here is the inspection criterea for brakes


http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/067/chapter175/s175.80.html


(7) Inspect the braking system. Remove at least one front and one opposite rear wheel and reject if one or more of the following apply:
(i) The hydraulic hoses or tubing leaks; is flattened, restricted, insecurely fastened or improperly retained; or has exposed cords.
(ii) The wheel cylinder leaks, has missing parts, is improperly retained or is not functioning.
(iii) The caliper leaks, has missing parts, is improperly retained or is not functioning.
(iv) The lining is broken; not firmly attached to shoe; or contaminated with oil, grease or another substance that would affect proper brake operation.
(v) There is mechanical damage other than wear.
(vi) The inside diameter of the drum is greater than maximum diameter stamped on drum or greater than .090 inch over original drum diameter for unmarked drums.
(vii) The disc thickness is less than minimum stamped on assembly or less than manufacturer’s specifications.
(viii) The bonded linings are less than 2/32 inch at the thinnest point.
(ix) The riveted linings are less than 1/32 inch above rivet head at thinnest point.
(x) The drums or rotors are scored deeper than .015 inch.
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Tell him to do it but that you want the old pads when he's done. If they're not worn past useful life then next time I wouldn't trust the dude for shit. I've got a guy I take my car to for inspection all the time. He's a straight shooter and wouldn't pull crap on me. If I wasn't sure though I'd give him one chance and if he abused my trust I would make him show me what needed fixing every time from then on out.
 
ShawnD1 said:
You're telling me. It was mint condition when I first got it (had about 80k miles on it). After 1 year, it was totally fucked beyond belief. Something related to the engine broke, and the car sounded like a jack hammer at idle. I would rev the engine a little bit when the car was stopped just so it would not make that noise. The AC stopped working, and I found out it couldn't be recharged without doing some expensive modification due to the montreal protocol. The front right suspension broke, so it was rubbing the tire against the cowling and shredding it while killing my gas mileage (I couldn't afford to fix it). The front right brake wore out extremely fast and it began shredding the rotor. I only waited like a damn week and the thing went from the screaching brakes phase all the way to the grinding rotor phase in just 1 week; I'm pretty sure the rear brakes were doing absolutely nothing and that's why it was destroying the front brakes. The aligment was completely fucked; the car would start shaking at about 60mph. Being young and stupid, we tried driving 80mph; that was one hell of an experience. The exhaust gas release valve on the top of the engine wasn't really held in place by anything, so flooring it would cause that thing to pop off and shoot oil everywhere. The transmission slipped a little bit.

All of that within 1 year and the car only had 80k miles on it. That is the last Ford I will ever buy.
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Ford of today is nothing like Ford of the 80s. Basing your purchase of a car brand today on an experience of a car that was built 15-20 years ago is pointless.
 
exakery
Toyotas 'my first car' were super sh!tty too, 73 Corona Mk2, wouldn't stop me from putting them in the 'check it out' column
 
ShawnD1 said:
Um yes. Changing the rotors is about as difficult as taking off your summer tires and putting on your winter tires. It's as simple as unbolting the old rotor and putting on a new one.


A quick google search says my Tempo front rotors would cost $13. That's pretty much what I paid a few years back.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raf...565&parttype=1896&a=FRc1139565k299973-1627085

Rotors for a Toyota MR2 are $20-$30
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raf...826&parttype=1896&a=FRc1276826k300522-1074472
That's for the 1989 MR2, but they're basically all the same.

For curiosity sake I googled for "corvette rotor" and the price for those is about $70 and up. Huge ass rotors for a Chevy Suburban SUV are $40.
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He's clearly not doing them himself. Rotors aren't that difficult, but they're certainly more complicated than just swapping wheels/tires.

BTW, Mk1 MR2's are 4 lug, Mk2 are 5 lug, and they are also different between 91-92 and 93+. According to your logic, all brake rotors for everything are basically all the same. 😛
 
SparkyJJO said:
Ford of today is nothing like Ford of the 80s. Basing your purchase of a car brand today on an experience of a car that was built 15-20 years ago is pointless.
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I seriously doubt that. At every real job I've had, there were always people who were at the company for a ridiculously long time. My dad worked for the same engineering company for just over 30 years before retiring. I don't think Ford would be any different. If they had shit engineers 20 years ago, they probably have the exact same shit engineers right now.
A bit of hearsay, but my gf would never buy a Ford because her parents Ford started on fire for no apparent reason. It was just idling and suddenly it was on fire.


Why is downshifting a bad idea? That's pretty standard practice. If you live in a hilly area and you just ride the brakes down the hill, your brakes will be totally fucked within a year.
Downshifting will also improve the gas mileage in some cars. My car has an instant fuel gauge saying how much gas is used, and it uses no gas when it's engine braking. If left in drive and riding the brakes, it says 1.9L/100km (124mpg).
 
ShawnD1 said:
I seriously doubt that. At every real job I've had, there were always people who were at the company for a ridiculously long time. My dad worked for the same engineering company for just over 30 years before retiring. I don't think Ford would be any different. If they had shit engineers 20 years ago, they probably have the exact same shit engineers right now.
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Then you haven't been paying attention to them at all. They are certainly much better now. What about all those engineers that were nearing retirement age 20 years ago that have long since been replaced.
 
Howard said:
I try to coast as much as possible but I dislike downshifting just to engine brake faster... I want my clutch to last forever.
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With an approximate rev match, clutch wear is negligible.

I probably put as much or more wear on my clutch in one 1/4mi pass than I do in a week of daily driving, so I don't worry about it at all. But that's me... 😛
 
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jlee said:
I probably put as much or more wear on my clutch in one 1/4mi pass than I do in a week of daily driving, so I don't worry about it at all. But that's me... 😛
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?

I don't quite understand. My last car was a standard, and I seem to recall city driving being a huge pain in the ass compared to driving like a nut. When I was in stop and go traffic, it seems like I'm endlessly grinding the clutch. Get the car started with as little wear as possible, stay in first gear because there's no point in changing ears, move 5 feet forward, stop for 10 seconds, move another 10 feet, stop, move another 5, stop.

Driving crazy was easy. Get started, red line, change gear, red line, change gear, red line, skip over fourth gear and continue cruising in fifth. Aggressive driving didn't seem to have many steps where I'm riding the clutch or trying to get the car started from a dead stop. Rush hour city traffic was basically an adventure in first gear with periods of grinding and stopping. Every day I miss having a standard until I get to a certain road where maybe 50 cars are lined up to make a left turn and i need to inch forward for every single one of them so there's no gap infront of me and nobody can cut in. Thank god I don't have a standard anymore.
 
ShawnD1 said:
?

I don't quite understand. My last car was a standard, and I seem to recall city driving being a huge pain in the ass compared to driving like a nut. When I was in stop and go traffic, it seems like I'm endlessly grinding the clutch. Get the car started with as little wear as possible, stay in first gear because there's no point in changing ears, move 5 feet forward, stop for 10 seconds, move another 10 feet, stop, move another 5, stop.

Driving crazy was easy. Get started, red line, change gear, red line, change gear, red line, skip over fourth gear and continue cruising in fifth. Aggressive driving didn't seem to have many steps where I'm riding the clutch or trying to get the car started from a dead stop. Rush hour city traffic was basically an adventure in first gear with periods of grinding and stopping. Every day I miss having a standard until I get to a certain road where maybe 50 cars are lined up to make a left turn and i need to inch forward for every single one of them so there's no gap infront of me and nobody can cut in. Thank god I don't have a standard anymore.
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The amount of clutch slip I have in first gear to balance wheelspin and avoid bogging is far more than you're getting out of normal in-traffic driving. I also don't deal with city traffic like you do, so my week's worth of driving is different than yours.
 
SickBeast said:
I just got rear pads and rotors for $65 off Ebay and had them installed for $80 at Midas. They work great so far. The pads are semi-metallic and the rotors are cross drilled.
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I just got rear pads for $30 and replaced them myself. It's actually incredibly easy to do.
 
Malak said:
I just got rear pads for $30 and replaced them myself. It's actually incredibly easy to do.
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Disc or drum? I've replaced disc brakes before and it seemed pretty basic. Just take the wheel off, take the brake assembly thing off, pull the pads off, put new ones on, put the thing back together. I've never done drum before but I hear they're a real bitch.

Luckily we have youtube for this stuff 🙂
replacing drum brakes

edit: For those who don't want to watch a video, the most important advice is to take lots and lots of pictures before you take shit apart. You better know what it's supposed to look like. That would sure suck if your brakes didn't work properly because they were re-assembled wrong.
 
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