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Keeping my new mechanic honest

flash527

flash527

New member
Hey guys, just moved cities, and have been taking my car to a new shop. Was there yesterday and got a real hefty quote. just wanted to make sure its fair. soo heres the scoop:

my back passenger caliper is leaking fluid. he said i should change both calipers or i can have pull to one side or uneven braking. is that true? $630 for both rear calipers, includes pads. he said he'd replace the one for $330

left front wheel hub assembly is loose $365 to replace.

thats it for now. doesnt even include my leaking rack and pinion, 4 bald tires, and my HUD jus crapped out last week. ooo well. thanks for the input : )
 


If your willing to put in a little bit of man hours, a new HUB assembly isn't that hard to do at all. Just buy a new TIMKIN bearing from Autozone. Last I checked when I was down there they were $140 with a lifetime warranty.
 
New rear calipers are like $47 from the Zone and they are reletively easy to replace. . I think that the are available "loaded" w/pads for $60 or so. Do these yourself for sure, the front hub is a little more difficult but still not bad if you have any experience. I would for sure replace the brakes in a pair but the front hub you can do just one side.

For what your mechanic wants you can take the difference and buy those new tires. If your really on a budget, you can purchase used tires at a lot of tire shops or the boneyard. You might be surprised at what you find, but you are taking your chances too.
 
Do the work your self. Rockauto has timken bearings for 90 thats where i get mine. Labour done my self.
 
the front bearing is cake -- as others have pointed out the Timkin is about $100 --- maybe an hour to change. You'd need the big socket and a decent sac to loosen the center nut on the axle.

the rear / any brakes can be dicey if you have to open up the hydraulics, which you would to change calipers. you can end up ruining the master cylinder bleeding the system if you're not careful, not to mention twisting up funky old steel brake lines. That said if you're careful rear brakes aren't a hard job at all. As others have said $60 to $75 / each for loaded calipers, I'd change the rubber hoses as well ($15 each) and flush the entire brake system. $200 in parts --- maybe and probably 1.5 hours to change the calipers and flush the system.
 
yeah, both the jobs are pretty easy... but if you cant do it yourself, i would shop around some more. those prices do seem a bit steep. at least for where im at...
 


Put your big boy pants on and learn how to DIY and save some coin too. Good way to learn how to start working on your own gp.
 
i agree with the above posts... do it your self if you have the tools.. if not or you are too scared look on craigslist under services there is a automotive section and there are tons of automechanics that are out of work and decided to start makeing money working on cars out of their garage for like 20-40 a hour... I was doing it when i was up in washington for a "beer fund" being the navy is my primary job save you some money...
 
You should be able to do that all yourself pretty easily. Calipers are 3 bolts, hubs are 5 bolts and a nut.
 
shawngtp said:
Put your big boy pants on and learn how to DIY and save some coin too. Good way to learn how to start working on your own gp.
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x2 on the big boy pants....a brake project is an easy way to get more comfortable working on your car and realizing what you can save...if you really don't think you can tackle it, don't take it back to that shop. Look around on craigslist and find a mechanic who will do it as a side job...make sure to find one that works at a shop or sound legitimate, no just a "yo I'll do ur brakes for $20" kind of thing.
 
Ok I think your all right, I need to start working on my car myself. And theres so many walkthroughs on this website alone, I'm sure I cant find the information I need. Next paycheck I'll order the parts and worse case scenario, I'll find a mechanic on Craiglist. Thanks for the tips!
 


I do a lot of work for people on the side. I whole heartedly encourage them to look up parts on the various sites and find out what the parts cost. You should also be able to find the labor estimates on the same work. Multiply that times the shops hourly rate. If those things don't reasonably add up, then shop for a different mechanic.

There will be incidentals that fall under misc shop supplies, like caliper grease, can of brake cleaner, some rags etc. Overall though that should add up to under $20.
 
alkygto said:
you can purchase used tires at a lot of tire shops or the boneyard. You might be surprised at what you find, but you are taking your chances too.
Click to expand...

i found used tires for 10 bucks on craigslist, and even came across a set of 4 with 75% tread for 50, but passed because i only needed 1 tire. so i wound up with a 10 dollar tire that has 1/2 it life left, im sure its the best tire i have on the car too at this time.

if you do go used, inspect the tire the best you can for cuts and punctures. check the inside as well. one of the tires i first looked at had a nice curb rash on the side wall, so i went on to the next tire.

i came across sets of rims and tires for 125 to 150, with good tires.

and i also just swapped out my dead rack for a used one, cost 75 bucks and 4 house of my life, but well worth not paying 500 or more to have it done at a shop. the only tools need was a socket set that went up to 18mm and wrenches to the same 18mm.



EDIT: holy crap this is a old thread, i should have checked the dates lol
 
Haha mo worries, I actually did the hub assembly myself with the guidance of a friend who is pretty good with cars. The caliper is leaking so slowly I didn't even replace it, and wont until it becomes a bigger problem. Thanks for the tips guys!!!
 


Uh.. the caliper is part of the braking system. When that leak decides to gush or something else.. you are going to hit whatever is in front of you.

I hope you aren't on the highway. Please choose to take what I mentioned above to heart and fix the leak
 
BillBoost37 said:
Uh.. the caliper is part of the braking system. When that leak decides to gush or something else.. you are going to hit whatever is in front of you.

I hope you aren't on the highway. Please choose to take what I mentioned above to heart and fix the leak
Click to expand...


Maybe he likes the idea of a sudden stop by the means of whatever is infront of him by chance that day :) hopefully its not another person
 
That quote is on the really high side, get another quote somewhere else or get the work done by yourself or a buddy, that's your options.

T to the minor C ;)
 
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