occupant272
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$450 brake job
I'm all afraid of working with the brake hydraulics. Afraid that I'll forget to torque something right and end up wedged in a billboard off I-35.
So I talked to my mechanic today, who has always been reasonable working on my Buick. He needs $450 for a brake job on this truck. Now I thought with manual brakes and drums all around that it would be cheaper! Here's the list:
parking brake cables (rusted through)
master cylinder
4 drums
4 wheel cylinders
shoes and hardware
flush and bleed the system
I imagine the most expensive parts must be the drums and wheel cylinders, and its labor intensive, but $450? I paid $406 for the whole truck!
Is there any way I can cut that back under $300? I thought maybe I could handle installing the parking brake cables. How involved is that and is it something I can do with basic hand tools? I have a Ford 9" parking brake bar as well.
I also plan on having him not replace the front drums, or at least try and find used ones. No point in changing them out if I decide to change to discs later. I'd rather him reuse all four, but if they're too thin, I'll be unsafe to tow anything.
Last edited by occupant272, 6/9/2004, 5:29 pm
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6/9/2004, 5:25 pm
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68F250
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Re: $450 brake job
That's cheap for all you're getting!
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6/9/2004, 6:02 pm
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6772FordFseries
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Re: $450 brake job
On a job like this, the parts are actually reasonably priced and readily available, but it's semi-time-consuming to do a full brake job. I'd imagine that half of that quote (if not more) is actually labor.
Doing a brake job really isn't that tough, even for someone who hasn't done it before, though it will take a little while...it's pretty much a matter of remove and replace. Just do one side at a time, so you can refer to the other if you forget how something is supposed to go together.
Personally, I think you should set a day aside so that you could devote it to just picking up the parts and rounding up any necessary tools and doing the job yourself. As for the tools you'd need, click here to see a page of brake service tools, including a few that'll make your life a lot easier, and all are very inexpensive. The brake spring pliers, brake drum adjusting tool and brake shoe retaining spring tool are a few that'll make that job go faster and smoother, but you can get by with basic hand tools if you have to.
The hardest part normally is getting the system bled, but there are some really good one-man bleeder tools that will allow you to do it by yourself, if you don't have a buddy to hold the brakes for you while you pop the bleeder valve.
..and if you DO decide to tackle this yourself, don't forget to bench-bleed the master cylinder prior to installation.
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Keith
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1967 Ford F-100 2WD shortbox
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6/9/2004, 7:27 pm
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NM5K
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Re: $450 brake job
Just curious...Did he inspect the brakes, IE: pull off the wheels, etc, to come to this estimate? Or did he just decide you need everything off the top of his head?
IE: drums....Did he actually note that they are too worn to be turned? He would have to pull them off to see this..
Also the master cylinder...Is it really bad?
Or is he just changing it because he's doing everything else? I don't think the price is too bad for doing all that at a shop, but I wonder if it's all really needed...The rest you probably do need...IE: wheel cylinders..
They are so cheap it's kinda silly not to replace them..Not sure whats involved in changing the parking brake cable...Never have changed one of those completely. You could save a lot doing it yourself, but it is a good bit of work. The way I bleed is to use a glass of brake fluid to bleed into. That way I can do it myself. I use a tight fitting rubber hose that runs from the bleeder valves down into the glass of clean fluid. When I slowly step on the brakes, the air is pushed out of the line, but being the glass has fluid in it, I can release the brake and not have air drawn back in. It just draws up fluid. I'll do that once, and check my fluid in the master cyl..Retop if low, and do it again. Usually 2-3 times per wheel, and the air is gone..If you let the master cyl go dry, you'll start drawing in air..Doing all that is not really hard, but if you never do that type of work, you might be better off letting him do it. A bit of cashflow gone, but the brakes should be *perfect* if he did all that. Would probably last many moons before you needed work again..If you look at it that way, the price is not too bad. I did mine myself, but I've done brakes quite a few times...In fact, I once worked at a brake place for a while when I was in my late teens...I used to know how to rebuild wheel cylinders, etc, but haven't done it in ages..Brake places rebuild most wheel cylinders unless they are too pitted..They are honed, etc, and then you use slightly oversize parts to rebuild...
But myself, these days I just go to the auto parts and buy rebuilt wheel cyl's...They are cheap. MK
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1968 F-250 / 300 six / T-18
Dana 60 - 4.10 Limited Slip
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6/11/2004, 12:03 am
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NM5K
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Re: $450 brake job
BTW, if you did try it yourself, the link in the thread "brake rebuild" from the other day is a pretty good instruction...I looked at it the other night. It seemed pretty good. MK
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1968 F-250 / 300 six / T-18
Dana 60 - 4.10 Limited Slip
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6/11/2004, 12:13 am
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occupant272
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Re: $450 brake job
The truck was on the rack with the wheels/tires and drums lying on the ground when I got there, so I know he took it apart, and I could see the leakage from the wheel cylinders. I told him I'll change the drums myself later, approved the rest, and I'll have her back Friday for $320-ish. I can't believe the drums were $30 apiece. Then when I pull those drums I can teach myself the brake work since I will probably have to adjust something to fit the new thick drums over the shoes.
Next on the list next weekend is junkyarding. It'll be more of a research project than anything else, finding parts that fit 67-72 models, seeing what kind of wheels I can find, etc. Also research since this brake job is still taking over half my paycheck :)
July will be a big parts gathering months for me. I hope to have everything together by the end of the summer so I can do the work this fall when it drops below 90.
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6/13/2004, 10:16 pm
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NM5K
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Re: $450 brake job
I'm assumming maybe the drums had a bit left if he didn't try to talk you in to getting them. I don't think $30 a drum is too bad at all, but I haven't checked prices. Actually, I was thinking they were more than that...But my f-250 drums cost more than the 1/2 ton versions..If the brake shoes haven't worn down to rivets or bare metal, it's probably ok for now. That would cause bad grooves in the drum. That in turn will cause the shoes to develop a reverse groove as they wear...:/
If the drums can be turned, or even just in decent shape, you probably won't have to worry about it until the next pad change.
If the drums get too thin, they can't dissipate heat as well. You almost have to readjust if you pull the drums. You should loosen the brake adjustment so you can pull the drums off without the shoes hanging up. "use a brake spoon, or big flat screwdriver to spin the star adjuster. The adjuster slot is behind the backing plate"
After a while the drum wears, and the shoes sit down in that groove if they auto adjust, or are manually adjusted every once in a while. You must loosen the shoes up to get the drum off. If you get new drums, you will have to change the hub, studs, over to the new ones I think. Readjusting is pretty easy. I just spin the tire until the shoes start to add some noticable drag to the spinning tire, and go to the next one. I'll usually pump the brakes a few times and recheck, just to make sure the shoes seated good, release good, and all wheels still drag the same amount. This is pretty critical on my truck to get brakes that apply evenly and don't pull to one side. Mine have no auto adjusters, so I have to manually adjust every once in a while. I wish I had auto adjusters...Could probably add some, if I found all the parts... My drums probably will need changing next brake job..I think they are getting a bit thin...
MK
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1968 F-250 / 300 six / T-18
Dana 60 - 4.10 Limited Slip
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6/13/2004, 11:41 pm
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occupant272
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Re: $450 brake job
I got a huge break when I picked up the truck. The mechanic who was looking at it just said replace everything, but he didn't measure a *$%& thing. When the owner went to check over his work and write me up the estimate, he saw the drums were all fine, the shoes were not even halfway work down, and the hardware looked much better than the mechanic thought. We also got away with only changing two wheel cylinders, and found there was a loose connection at the left rear brake line, causing the fluid loss. The master cylinder was fine. I got the truck back last night and drove her home. It's a lot rougher that I thought, but it does stop, and that's all I wanted it to do right away.
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6/19/2004, 8:19 pm
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flyboy2610
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Re: $450 brake job
Glad to hear you have your truck back.
If you ever do have to replace the front drums, remember that they are pressed onto the hubs. You can't just put them on and torque down the lug nuts. The wheel will break loose and that could really louse up your day.
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"The only good Chevy is.. is.. Well, there ARE no good Chevies!!"
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6/27/2004, 6:22 pm
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