Hello all,

Well it happened again. I made the mistake of having a repair done at a local shop that i've never used before and now I'm paying the price. Actually I usually just go there for oil changes and nothing else. I knew my brakes were bad and was probably going to have to replace the rotors because of that funny grinding noise (that was a joke by the way). I knew the rotors were toast. Anyhow I've just been putting it off. Not my primary driver so I wasn't that worried about it. Anyhow the mechanic tells me something i didn't know. You need brakes and tells me maybe he can just put pads on, (knowing that would never work) and he finally admits that it needs rotors. First quote 500.00. told Him i would get it done later. guy talks to his manager and he comes with with another price of 378.00. That should of been my first clue. Wow...a mechanic that will haggle. How cool is that. Anyhow I asked a stupid question. Are you guys familiar with 4x4 axles? Sure he says....trust me. I really wasn't looking forward to doing it myself and even though i knew i could do it even cheaper than the low price they quoted me i figured what the heck. So I let them do it. Trucks there about 2.5 hours. to me that was a little quick. Anyhow didn't question it. Anyhow...now it's pulling to the right so i have the unfortunate pleasure of going back to them and telling them they screwed something up. The purpose of this post I think is to get some backup on my thoughts. it has auto hubs so no hubs to disassemble. I've never done auto hubs before so i guess i was wondering what could they have screwed up? Could they have tightened up one of the axle nuts to tight? Maybe a sticky caliper? What do you guys think. Oh also as soon as i got home i checked the fluid level and it was over full so I had to take some out. Any idea or comments would be most appreicated. thanks in advance.

 

$378 to do brakes??
wow.

definately go back and get that fixed

 

Is that high for replacing rotors and pads?

 

try this before you go back: its a simple trick for brake jobs on ford trucks... drive up to 25mph, then SLAM on your brakes. (make sure no ones around). that will smooth everything out. do that twice, and if that doesnt fix it, then go back and tell him he screwed up

 

Do you think that would apply to a toy? I know ford is a little clunky compared to the toys. have you ever tried this on a toy? What do you think is happening? sticky caliper?

 

hubs don't need to be removed for a brake service.

brake pads may not be intalled correctly.
If they broke the hydralic system (don't need to on a brake job) and did not properly bleed, that could be it.

Could be a bad or damaged caliper.

How does the pedal feel?

Did they give you the old rotors back? A reputable shop will do that.

 

You sound like you might have something going on. I noticed the pedal didn't feel that good. A little stiff and the fluid was dirty and No I didn't get the old rotors back. I think your right about the bleeding. Do you think improper bleeding would cause it to pull to the right thought?

 

My tires lock up so that would not work. I think they up. I can take my brakes off in 5 minutes. I am 17 and can do it easily...there is nothing to it. I would take it back

 

Wow 17 and can take your brakes off in a few minutes. To bad you don't live closer. I would of rather paid you I think. Don't get me wrong. I can wrench a little. I've done my previous toys with manual hubs and it wasn't any fun. I didn't know the auto hubs were that easy. bummer

 

I knew i would feel better after talking to everyone here. thanks for letting me rant. Also thanks for the ideas. I have a little more amo now for when i go back except not sure i want them to touch my truck anymore.

 

then take it to a good shop, have them do a diagnostic and see whats messed up, and if it was caused by the other shop, hand the other shop the bill, and if they refuse, call up the BBB. dont just suck it up, nail em if they messed up ur rig

 

I know your right just po'd about having to deal with the crap. should of went with my gut and not had them do it. And your right. That's what's wrong with the country. to many people not standing up for what's right!!!! Miss my second gen. 4x4 by the way. Easy to work on. 246,000? So your just about broke in. I've sold my second gen's with close to 300 on them and they still ran great when i sold them. don't ask why i sold them. I love the cab on my 89 but miss my 22re.......

 

I remember I found a really good Toyota brake write-up on Pirate a while back...

Anyways, I have a similiar story to share.
My dad and I take the 4runner in for brakes. This was now over a year ago, but the point still stays. Since I drive it daily, I could tell it needed new rotors. We had the old ones machined, and now I knew that it was time for a replacement, especially since my steering wheel shaked while I brake.

Well, they do some stupid stuff with my wheel and tell me that "its okay to drive" and right then and there I should have said no. My dad was all happy about it (he paid because I had no money, and he recently handed off the truck to me, since he got another one) but yeah he was happy that the bill was not too much. They said they had some special on pads that was like out the door pads and shoes installed $200 and now that I think about it that is a bit high still...

About 4 months after driving, they start squealing little by little. Now, they sound like someone is dying when I brake. It is horrible. I am not hard on my brakes, but I can tell its the cheap pads we got on there. The rotors are still warped and my steering wheel shakes again. Its embarassing to go errrrrrrrrrrrttttttt screeeetch and see someone look at you.

I really don't have the money for a fix now. The only good thing is that they do brake and they have stopping power. The rotors are warped and I need new ones and stuff. I hate brakes. Now and forever.. I have learned my lesson...

 

My truck is 2wd...if that matters (I think it does)...which I am pretty sure 2wd's are easier.

 

$378 sounds a little high to me, but it's in the ballpark. I just paid $300 to have the front set of my wife's truck done.. That was replacement of the rotors.
IF you're talking about the truck in your avitar, it's harder to get those rotors off the hub - enough to justify the $78 more than what I paid on a 4wd F-150.

4wd brakes can range from pretty darn easy (no hub disassembly at all) to seriously difficult and a lot of range in between...

Assuming they can actually get in there and get the rotors out, the pads replaced, it's a fairly hard job to mess up and cause something to pull like that... New rotors, new pads - if I did that job and had the your result, I'd be suspecting that something was causing differential pressure in the calipers.

Not saying that they didn't screw something up - just suggesting that I'm having a hard time guessing what it would be.

Is it a hard / violent pull, or just a light pull when brakes are applied?

The shop *should* have test driven it, but I know that lots of brake places dont... Something about not trusting the 19 year old that's getting paid $12/hour to work on your brakes. The same guy they bill out at $90/hr..

I'd call them back, mention the problem you're having. Play nice - don't accuse, don't demand. Ask them to have a look, tell you what they think.
If they want to bill you more money to diagnose or fix, that's when you get a little more demanding...

I actually give this a 70% split that it's not related to the new rotors/pads/disassembly..... Been wrong before though. What you don't want is to have them in there replacing parts (like calipers) until the problem goes away. i've done a lot of brakes on those toyota pickups.

 

Our 2wd is WAY harder than the 4wd.

Plus to replace the rotors you have the deal with all the wheel greese and bearings with the 2wd. I don't remember doing that with the 4wd, maybe i just blocked it from my memory

Most people can replace pads in <30min expecially front rotor pads on a toyota they are super easy, it's the new rotors that takes longer.

I don't know that the price is bad if the used OEM parts I know that toyota rotors are much $$$'s

 

That's nice to know! I for some reason thought the 4wds were harder. I took off my pads for fun because I had an extra set to replace them with then once I took them both off I figured out that they are not the same. Les Schwab qouted my brother like $240 or something like that...lol. He doesn't even have any problems with his brakes???

 

Did they replace the parts with OEM toyota rotors and pads?

Doubt it..... most likely chinese junk....hope you had an extra large tube of KY to go with that

 

How do you replace rotors without removing the hub?

 

you dont