auto_editor

My potato-chip front rotors are beyond machining and the pads are going from "chirp" to "screech!" so it's time for an overhaul.

With the weight of an '89 Custom Cruiser bearing (pun intended) down on them for God-only-knows how many miles--and with the calipers, rotors, pads, etc. being replaced as well--is wheel bearing replacement as mandatory as I think it is?

Here's an estimate I had my local shop draw up a "if everything's terrible and has to be replaced" quote for me using "premium" (not "house brand" Chinese) parts:

PARTS: Pads: $80.10; Rotors: $188.52; Calipers: $72.56; Grease seals: $18.76; Inner bearings: $36.16; Outer bearings: $39.10. [$435.20]

LABOR: Three hours @ $88.75/hour [$266.25]

TOTAL(incl. tax/fees): $764.43

Now not all of this has to be done (calipers, for instance, might be OK), but with 175k miles and no record of previous repairs in my receipt book I wouldn't count on such savings. Also, this does not account for various discounts and whatnot I can get.

Is this in the realm of parts/labor/job reality? Does this account for everything that needs to be done? Any recommendations on parts/suppliers so I can use the longest-lived and best-performing parts? [I do NOT want to do this again anytime soon... ]

Cheers!

Allan R

You're getting charged full retail on everything including labor. O'Reilly's price on pads is 30.00 for both sides, 70.00 for both rotors, calipers (loaded) 106 both sides, Wheel bearings in/outer 25.00 for all 4, seals - up to 9.00 for both. There will be cores on the rotors, calipers which you will get money back on. Your total cost would be around 240.00 + tax for the parts. Your labor is free. Front brakes are not that hard to do. While you're doing the brakes you should probably invest in a new pair of brake hoses for around 25.00. If you've done nothing to the car for years, the hoses are probably starting to crack. Oh yeah, one last thing - get a can or 2 of brake fluid so you can flush your system. For a total of around 265.00 you can do your own brakes and save around 500.00
If you don't know how to do brakes, bearings or seals, there are tons of how to videos on line that are very easy to follow. Or better yet, have a mechanically inclined friend help you. With the money saved, treat him to beer pizza, steak - whatever.

The other option of course is to pay the 749 if you have that kind of spare cash. I was once in your predicament until I decided I would take the bull by the horns and do it myself. ++++ theres tons of help right here on CO for you.

edit: if your rear drums are screeching, you might be wearing down the metal lining. Brake drums are around 35.00 each. I didn't see that in your estimate, nor did I see rear brake shoes - 15.00 /side

MDchanic

Good God, man, hold onto your wallet and run right to your local auto parts store!

Allan's numbers are right on, and you won't need the calipers (and probably not the wheel bearings) anyway.

If I'd had to pay that much for front brakes, I'd have been in the poorhouse a lot sooner than it seems to have taken me .

And besides, if you do it yourself, you know it was done right.
If you let some Epsilon semi-moron do it, you never know if the next press of the brake pedal will be your last.

- Eric

Lady72nRob71

What exactly is wrong with the rotors? Warped? Measured too thin?

Rockauto may have all you need even cheaper.

IF you want to save even more $, the calipers can be easily rebuilt. One seal and a dust boot each - about 4 bucks per side.

Brakes are easy if you take your time and read up on the procedures.
My front end job thread can help you also.

Allan R

Rob

Sounds to me like they're on their last legs. Also the pads wear indicators are in full contact with the rotor.

I'm in agreement with you about saving $ by rebuilding. Is Rockauto that much less expensive?

oldcutlass

What ever happened to $50.00/ axle on brakes at Meineke?? Yeah this shop is very proud of their work!!! I would go somewhere else if you don't want to attempt it yourself, however as the others have said, brakes are an easy repair. If your not getting any pedal vibration you probably can get away with pads and packing the bearings! It's about 4 hours and a six pack worth of work!

Allan R

Up here in the frozen great white north, there is some discounting too but you really have to watch what's being offered. Some of the on line Canadian shopping gives me free delivery if the order is over 75.00. A bonus if they have the parts - but with antique cars, mostly they don't. If you had to buy replacement parts locally in Edmonton, you would probably crap yourself compared to what you're used to paying. That's why I usually buy US and eat the shipping cost to get the parts. It takes longer but it's still more cost effective even if the customs dorks surcharge me. Up here the cost of most parts is easily more than double what you pay for the same part. Go figure

joe_padavano

A couple of items to consider. First, repair shops charge full retail on parts because they make a profit on the parts as well as on the labor. This is not unreasonable, since they have to go through the trouble of ordering them and are responsible for any added cost if they get the wrong parts or if the parts are defective. This is why virtually no shop will install customer-furnished parts.

Second, if you are not comfortable doing the work yourself, you don't have a lot of choice.

Third, RockAuto may have the less expensive price, but watch the shipping cost, especially on heavy items like calipers and rotors. I found that when I calculated the full cost, even with local sales tax it was cheaper to buy rotors and calipers at NAPA than from RockAuto - and I LIKE RockAuto!

Fourth, don't waste your money on Chinesium rotors and drums. I've had two bad experienced in a row now and had to have brand new drums turned to correct out-of-roundness in these parts.

Fifth, if you are replacing calipers, get new hoses also. I did exactly this job on my Custom Cruiser earlier this year. Actually, it started out as a standard brake job (rotors and pads) but the hoses were cracked, so I put them on too. Unfortunately the first bleeder screw snapped when I when to bleed the brakes, so I have new calipers now also...

Sixth, I've changed bearings and I've reused bearings. They are not a big cost driver. I just clean and inspect them before repacking and if they are not scored, I reuse them. You WILL need new grease seals in any case.

Seventh, if you are removing the calipers, get new caliper mounting bolts. Also, unless the new calipers come with new mounting bushings and O-rings, get a caliper mounting hardware kit. Use silicone grease on the O-rings and anti-seize on the threads of the mounting bolts.

In my case, time is the one thing I don't have, so I'll usually just get all new parts whenever I do a brake job and not have to make more trips to the parts store. For me, this was a Saturday afternoon job - until the bleeder screw broke! Then it was a Sunday afternoon job also (no matter how many parts I buy, I STILL have to make another trip to the parts store ). Good news is that any auto parts store has parts for these cars in stock.