YACT: a question about brake jobs

[CaptainHefe]

I've got a 2001 Ford Ranger that the brakes are going bad on. They are grinding pretty loud now. I was expecting pads and probably rotors but the guy says I need to get new caliper assemblies.

Basically my question is this: Is that normal that the calipers need to be replaced and is $200 a normal price for them?

He is quoting me several hundred dollars for the new calipers, new pads, one rotor, and flushing the system and repacking the bearings. I really don't know about cars so I guess I am going to have to trust him.

Thanks in advance if anyone knows about the calipers

 

[quakefiend420]

i don't see why you would need to replace the calipers...if they were grinding, i can definitly see new rotors though...and why only one rotor, and not two?

 

[KK]

do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

 

[CaptainHefe]

He said there was something wrong with the calipers and he would have to put new ones in. Only one rotor because the other one would still be ok after grinding it.

 

[CaptainHefe]

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

 

[Merlyn3D]

Are you taking it to midas? They're notorious for wanting to perform services you don't need. Take it to a Goodyear Gemini service station.

 

[KK]

I had to get a caliper replaced on my 94 ranger a few years ago and I believe I paid around 50 dollars for it.

 

[CaptainHefe]

it's actually a firestone complete auto care place....i was a little sketch about taking it there thinking they only did tires

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

 

[CaptainHefe]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

 

[HiTek21]

Where did you take your truck to have it inspected? Sometimes calipers freeze up and cause the pad to rub up against the rotor but that's usually on rear brakes because of the parking brake cable. Other times the caliper piston seal starts leaking and you'll either lose pressure when stepping on the brake pedal or the pedal won't feel as firm. It sounds fishy but there could be something wrong with your caliper, you should have another mechanic take a look at it see if they both come up with the same diagnosis. Calipers OEM from the dealership would cost about 200 dollars but you can get some remanufactured ones from partsandaccessories.com for about $55+ core charge (will be refunded when old calipers are returned)

It sounds more like your pad is worn down to the rivets and is now eating away at the rotors. My dad neglected his front pads on his toyota tacoma, he said he noticed grinding from the front brakes. We took of the wheels and found that there was a huge gouge in the rotors from the wear sensor rubbing on the rotor. We changed the brakes ourselves for less than $150 but that was for new rotors & shims from toyota and Raybestos QS Ceramic pads from Kragen.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

Once you take the wheel off, see if your rotor is alright, should be pretty smooth. Then see how much pad you got left. The only way I know to inspect the caliper would be to remove it, should be bolted on by 2 bolts. Once its off, press the brakes and see if its frozen up. That's what was wrong with mine. You'll need a c-clamp to push the piston back in, I not sure of any other ways to do it.

 

[CaptainHefe]

Originally posted by: HiTek21
Where did you take your truck to have it inspected? Sometimes calipers freeze up and cause the pad to rub up against the rotor but that's usually on rear brakes because of the parking brake cable. Other times the caliper piston seal starts leaking and you'll either lose pressure when stepping on the brake pedal or the pedal won't feel as firm. It sounds fishy but there could be something wrong with your caliper, you should have another mechanic take a look at it see if they both come up with the same diagnosis. Calipers OEM from the dealership would cost about 200 dollars but you can get some remanufactured ones from partsandaccessories.com for about $55+ core charge (will be refunded when old calipers are returned)

It sounds more like your pad is worn down to the rivets and is now eating away at the rotors. My dad neglected his front pads on his toyota tacoma, he said he noticed grinding from the front brakes. We took of the wheels and found that there was a huge gouge in the rotors from the wear sensor rubbing on the rotor. We changed the brakes ourselves for less than $150 but that was for new rotors & shims from toyota and Raybestos QS Ceramic pads from Kragen.

i guess the best thing would be to have it checked by someone else to see if they find the same problem. i dont think i would be able to change it myself but thanks for the info.

 

[CaptainHefe]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

Once you take the wheel off, see if your rotor is alright, should be pretty smooth. Then see how much pad you got left. The only way I know to inspect the caliper would be to remove it, should be bolted on by 2 bolts. Once its off, press the brakes and see if its frozen up. That's what was wrong with mine. You'll need a c-clamp to push the piston back in, I not sure of any other ways to do it.

cool, ill try that and see if i can tell anything before i take it somewhere else, thanks

 

[HiTek21]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

Once you take the wheel off, see if your rotor is alright, should be pretty smooth. Then see how much pad you got left. The only way I know to inspect the caliper would be to remove it, should be bolted on by 2 bolts. Once its off, press the brakes and see if its frozen up. That's what was wrong with mine. You'll need a c-clamp to push the piston back in, I not sure of any other ways to do it.

Easier way to see if the caliper is frozen is to take the car out for a drive (don't drive it hard. Take it around the block a couple of times), drive around for a few minutes and pull over. Feel the wheels (becareful because it may be hot). If one is really hot (hotter than the others) then you may have a frozen caliper. Usually when you have a frozen caliper the rotor will be warped.

Edit: becareful if you remove the caliper, they recommend not stepping on the brake pedal when the caliper is off because the piston may pop out.

 

[Insane3D]

I'm not sure why they would replace one rotor only. IMO, when you do brakes, you do both sides...not half assed. If you just change one rotor, you will have a new rotor and old rotor which makes no sense.

 

[Chode Messiah]

i like brembo brakes!

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: HiTek21

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

Once you take the wheel off, see if your rotor is alright, should be pretty smooth. Then see how much pad you got left. The only way I know to inspect the caliper would be to remove it, should be bolted on by 2 bolts. Once its off, press the brakes and see if its frozen up. That's what was wrong with mine. You'll need a c-clamp to push the piston back in, I not sure of any other ways to do it.

Easier way to see if the caliper is frozen is to take the car out for a drive (don't drive it hard. Take it around the block a couple of times), drive around for a few minutes and pull over. Feel the wheels (becareful because it may be hot). If one is really hot (hotter than the others) then you may have a frozen caliper. Usually when you have a frozen caliper the rotor will be warped.

Edit: becareful if you remove the caliper, they recommend not stepping on the brake pedal when the caliper is off because the piston may pop out.

When my caliper froze up, I was about 35 miles from home. When I first noticed it, it felt like I had a flat tire because it was pulling to one side. I stopped the truck expecting to see a flat tire, when I got near the tire, you could feel the heat. Figured I'd try driving it home. Within a mile it must have got hot enough that it no longer was gripping, glazed over. Drove the rest of the way pretty normal. Couldn't take the tire off at home for some time because of the heat. Surprised the rotors didn't warp.

 

[HiTek21]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: HiTek21

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: CaptainHefe

Originally posted by: KK
do you have the ability to inspect the brakes yourself? Seems like the guy is feeding you a line of bull.

I dont even have a jack to lift it. I have never been to this place before so I don't know if he is gonna lie to me or not

What about the jack that comes with the truck?

oh yeah, i didnt even think about that. what should i look for to see if the calipers are ok or not?

Once you take the wheel off, see if your rotor is alright, should be pretty smooth. Then see how much pad you got left. The only way I know to inspect the caliper would be to remove it, should be bolted on by 2 bolts. Once its off, press the brakes and see if its frozen up. That's what was wrong with mine. You'll need a c-clamp to push the piston back in, I not sure of any other ways to do it.

Easier way to see if the caliper is frozen is to take the car out for a drive (don't drive it hard. Take it around the block a couple of times), drive around for a few minutes and pull over. Feel the wheels (becareful because it may be hot). If one is really hot (hotter than the others) then you may have a frozen caliper. Usually when you have a frozen caliper the rotor will be warped.

Edit: becareful if you remove the caliper, they recommend not stepping on the brake pedal when the caliper is off because the piston may pop out.

When my caliper froze up, I was about 35 miles from home. When I first noticed it, it felt like I had a flat tire because it was pulling to one side. I stopped the truck expecting to see a flat tire, when I got near the tire, you could feel the heat. Figured I'd try driving it home. Within a mile it must have got hot enough that it no longer was gripping, glazed over. Drove the rest of the way pretty normal. Couldn't take the tire off at home for some time because of the heat. Surprised the rotors didn't warp.

I had my rear calipers freeze up due to the parking brake not releasing. I was driving home and I stopped at friends house on the way. When I parked I smelled something burning and I went to the back wheels and it was really hot. The next day I noticed an unusual squeeking sound coming from the back only when I was braking. I thought it it was my suspension squeeking but it turneds out both my rear rotors were warped.

 

[AnimeKnight]

why not go to a different mechanic and get a second opinion?

 

[Kelemvor]

Calipers should almost NEVER have to be replaced. Go to a few places that give free estimates and find out what's really wrong.

Also think about doing them yourself to save a couple hundred bucks. Brakes are one of the easiest things to change on the car even if you don't know anything about cars.

Remove tires
Remove Caliper assembly
Remove Rotors (if needed)
Replace Rotors
Replaced pads in caliper assembly
Put everything back together

Find a friend that knows about cars and have him/her help you out.

 

[SuperSix]

Firestone Sucks!

They always pad the work (No pun intended). get a 2nd or third opinion..