Update on Brakes....

[Andy Szkutak]

Well as you all know, i had my brakes done yesterday. It was found that warped rotors caused the caliper pads to wear thin, and the calipers were stuck on, as i thought. New calipers with pads built into them were $125 each, rotors were $60 each, and i had the rear drums turned for $25. All of this added up to about $500. Well i was driving it from the shop to work, and when i made a turn with the brakes applied, the steering wheel would shake like mad, and i heard a grinding noise from the front right... I took it back, and my mechanic showed me that the right front wheel bearing was totally destroyed. He said the new brakes would have made it easier to tell, and so i have to have that done now too... He put a new set of calipers on the fronts, and have to wait till monday for the wheel bearing. One thign thats good about this is that now i will have changed both front wheel bearings within the last 10k miles, so i think and my mechanic thinks that the abs sensors will work correctly now, and i will not have that pulsating effect. Also, when i had my left front wheel bearing changed, it threw my steering wheel off center. Since then i have had about 5 different places do alignments and none of them can get the steering wheel straihgt. They all say it has something to do with the right front. Im thinking if i get this new wheel bearing in front it will pull the wheel back to center... Is this correct thinking?? if this works, ill have solved 3 problems in 1 lol. The only problem is that in addition to my already $500 bill for the brake job, i will owe another $300 for the wheel bearing. Our bearings are super expensive because of the fact that they include the speed sensor. So i made a payment plan with him and im paying him $100/wk till get it paid off...This should put my trac in top shape for the long ride down to Louisville in June!!!!! can't wait!!!

 

[Todd Z]

Glad it is fixed, BUT any shop doing an alignment should have checked the front end and found the bad wheel brg... EVEN the mechanic doing the brakes should have found it....



This IS why I hate relying on people to work on my truck...



Speaking of that, my front brakes are gone after 6K miles !!!!!!! Back to ford AGAIN!!!!!

The replaced the front calipers also with Loaded calipers.....

Bastards!!!

Todd Z

 

[Andy Szkutak]

Todd, what is wrong with loaded calipers?? Thats why i just got put on, my mechanic said they were the best deal for the money...

Also do you think this new wheel bearing will solve my steering wheel/abs problems??



Andy

 

[Todd Z]

Nothing wrong persay, But the pads that come in them are not the same quality as if you used a name brand set. I used to sell a ton of them and the pads would go bad very quickly...



Ford did mine because of a bad caliper under warranty, and the first set of front breaks lasted for about 10K, then bad caliper, I replaced with the new ford pads, Those wore out at 30K miles and ford found a sticking caliper, and replaced, Now only 6K later I need new front brakes... This is getting regoddamdicouls....

Todd Z

 

[Jackie Beene]

Todd Z, you must certainly be due for some good luck after your brake ordeal. Maybe time to buy a lotto ticket ;>}



I've got 65,000 miles so far on my original tires and brakes. My driving is equally split between highway and city. Now, I do drive like a little old lady and maybe thats why I've gotten this far without a problem.

Jackie

 

[Richard L]

I agree with Todd regarding Loaded calipers. The usually come with crappy pads, unless you are getting them from quality brake manufacture like Wagnor, Bendix or Raybestos, etc.



You can also get quality rebuilt calipers for $50 each or even less, you have to turn in your old caliper in exchange, but who cares. I have bought rebuilt calipers with 50K miles and Lifetime warranties for as little as $19.99 each and everyone has lasted as long or longer than the factory calipers. So I will usually just replace the calipers when I do a brake job.



I have not priced rebuilt calipers for the Sport Trac but I doublt that they are in the $29-$39 range.



...Rich

 

[Todd Z]

J,

If you only knew the list I have of warranty items the dealer has fixed... Over 25 as we speak.. BUT I Still love my St !!!!

Todd Z

 

[Tom Schindler]

You mechanic shuld have noticed a bad bearing.



He would never touch my Trac. As the matter of fact, not even touch a broken lawnmower.





Tom

 

[Gavin Allan]

Before checking alignment, the mechanic should have checked for play in the wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rods, and control arms.



Are you sure you took it to a mechanic?

 

[Andy Szkutak]

Aghh, this is the same mechanic that messed up my sparkplugs and caused 2 series of misfires over a 3 week period if you remember lol... HE didnt notice the bearing, his assistant did....Also, i just had the tires rotated about 2 weeks ago at sears and noone noticed anything there either...Will this new bearing straighten my wheel out then??



Todd, i dont feel as bad anymore knowing that your into the 20s with problems just like me lol....except YOURS is covered under warranty lol where mine waited till about 90k to fall apart...:lol:



Thanks for the input guys

Andy

 

[Tom Schindler]

Andy,



If you got the know-how to do that work yourself, you would be better off doing it yourself. No matter how busy you are, if you have time to take it back to get the work done over again, you had time to do it yourself.



Plus, you don't have to deal with stupidity.





Tom

 

[Mark Grumpy]

rotors were $60 each,

I'm having a hard time believing someone put old or bad bearings in a new rotor. 4X4??



You do not have a mechanic there - Like Tom says, do it yourself. You could not do any worse than this guy is doing.



grump

 

[Richard L]

grump,

The bearings may have been fine before he installed them. I may have mixed them up, installed them wrong or did not properly seat them, thereby causing the damage.



Obviously, this mechanic is not too swift, and needs to find another line of work. The dealership must keep him around because his shoddy work brings in more repairs.:wacko:



...Rich