Hi I was told by a local ford dealer that I need to get new front pads, rotors and calipers as well on the rear I need new shoes, drums, rear axel seals and my right cyliner is slightly leaking. I don't know a ton about cars but I am hopeing to learn, I have a 1994 Ford Bronco 5.8L. How much should I expect to pay for all of this including labor? Anyhelp will be greatly appreciated.


Thank you
Matthew

 

Depends on where you take the truck and where you live, prices will vary quite a bit. I live in California and Les Schwab just quoted me almost $400 for a brake job on ONLY the front breaks (pads, rotors, and calipers) + labor. I would think you're look at $700-$800 at the least. Tough to say. Take it down to a break specialist and they should be willing to give you a free quote.

-Chris

 

Welcome to the forum.
First...talk to some friends and try to go to someone they trust to do their work. When you go to that shop, don't tell them what your dealer told you, let them diagnose the problem and tell you what you need and give you an estimate of the cost. Then ask them how much if you buy the parts and have them install them. All shops mark-up parts from their cost.....some as much as 50%. You can save a lot by buying yourself.
Dealers will usually be your most expensive place to have work done.
I would try to get three shops to diagnose and give me estimates if possible. If you do that....you should have a pretty good idea of what you really need.
Be careful...Listen to what they say and ask questions.....Ask about their work warranties.......If you get a bad feeling from one.......RUN......you're probly right. There are many great shops.....you just have to find them.
Personally....I try to stay away from any of the "chains" doing the work......I do go and get estimates from them.......it's part of what they do.
Based on the parts and work that you have said needs done.....I would guess $700-800 might be low.......wouldn't surprise me if it was $1100-1200 with them supplying all the parts.
Hope this helps and Good Luck!!

 

Do it your self get manual and only need couple new tools (which some parts stores rent.). Sound like they want your money. I have had truck for 200000 miles and never did axle seals . Rear drums can be cleaned up if not cracked. Wheel cylinder under $20 plus bled brakes . I'd get new rotors (cheap)or have your turned.and seals repack bearings . Adjust brake and take for ride. If truck is not pulling the calibers are good. I took my truck once to nation wide mega place for inspection. When I pick up truck they side they had to do rotors ,calibers, and brakes as described to you. To make a long story short I pulled slip out of dash for all brake parts I had just put on 1 month prior. I got all my old (new)parts and left. Most of these place only install new because it quicker. Go to a small place and get guesstiment don't tell them problems just check brakes guesstiment. Bet it will be way less. Keep us posted.

 

Thanks a lot everyone. The thing is I replaced the rotors, calipers, pads and master cylinder about 4 years ago though I have been doing mostly city driving since. I just don't want to pay for anything I don't absolutely have to.

 

I would go to a regular brake shop, not the Ford dealer...dealers are always the most expensive in my opinion.

 

But if you don't know any where to go by reputation or word of mouth, I always advise taking it to the dealer because at least you have the manufacturer to complain to if things go wrong.

 

Well, I have decided to do it myself for three reasons. One that I really want to learn how to handle these kind of things in the future on my own , two that it will hopefully save me a lot of money and seeing that I am a college student that is my number one priority, and three it sound like fun (I'm a bioengineering student so I dig this stuff)

So Now I have some new questions...
What tools exactly will i need for this?
What parts do I need to buy and what is the best place to buy them?
Is there any good reason I should not try to do this myself?
Will the Manuel provide all the information I need in order to do this repair on my own and if not can anyone recommend a good resource for getting this information?

 

Your rotors can got bad in 20000 mile if running around town . Other than reinstalling hubs the rotors are easy . Get a good manual . The hubs clpis and retaining nuts are a pain the first time . You will need a hub socket (you can borrow one But they are cheap). And line wrenches If change calibers . Get a cheap rear brake tool kit. They had them at junk tool store for 9.99 . I never broke one of them . Just ask f problem . If you are in western PA I'll help you.

 

Here's one thing to go ahead and do, and you'll be happier for it later. You said your right rear wheel cylinder was leaking. Unless you know for a fact that the left cylinder is much newer than the right, change it, too.

The reason is that you have one brake line coming to the rear brakes from the master cylinder. There is a tee at the rear diff, and a line goes to each wheel cylinder. Each cylinder gets the same pressure.

Over the years, they wear, and eventually, one starts to leak. Beacuse one is leaking, the other side (which is just as old) now has less pressure on it than before- because the other side is leaking a bit of the pressure off. If you change only the one that is bad, now the old cylinder (still exactly as old as the one that blew) is now getting the pressure that it was getting before the other side blew.

Bottom line, when you only change the one that's leaking, more often than not, the other side is leaking within a week or two.

And be careful of buying new rotors and drums simply because a shop that profits big on selling new parts says so. Have them checked to see if they can be turned. Most shops would prefer you just buy new iron because it's much faster, much easier and MUCH more profitable to replace them than machine them.

And remember to get a good adjustment on the rear brakes- that will make your Bronc stop better and safer, as well as reduce wear on your front brakes.

Any more questions, feel free to ask here, or in PM. brakes are not too difficult, and you can save bucketfuls of money by doing them yourself

 

I agree.......can save a lot by doing your own work........take your time and do one wheel at a time.....
Fronts are fairly easy......any good manual will get you through them.......rears are tougher......more parts
By only doing one at a time you can look at the other wheel to see where that little washer goes or how that spring is mounted if you don't have good pics in the manual.
I agree with replacing both wheel cylinders if one is leaking too.
I buy a lot of my parts from Advance Auto or NAPA. Both will have remanufactured parts for you.......which in my opinion are ok to use and cost less.
Both will also have Haynes manuals that walk you through replacing the brakes.
You'll need Brake spring pliers and a Brake spring tool to remove and install the rear shoes. Nothing special for the fronts.
Bleeding the brakes after the job is usually best with someone helping you.....pumping the brakes and holding while you open the bleeder and let the air out..........do that till you are getting a solid steady stream of fluid at each wheel. If you don't have help there are one-man bleeder systems you can buy.
Be sure to have plenty of beer......but save it till you're done and tested the brakes.....lol
Good Luck and enjoy it......it is actually fun to work on your toys

 

I got the rotor and the hub back on and the two special four spaces nuts back on the axle but now the hub and rotor are not completely smooth when they turn and there is a little wobble as well as it sticks part way through a spin a little bit. Is this a big problem and if so what is causing this?