Did I get hosed on this brake job?

Heres my take:

Front Pads: Approx $50

2 new Rotors: $35 or $83/ea according to NapaOnline. I'm gonna call it $70.. So $70*2 = $140

Parts: 190 -- RETAIL, you may see a markup beyond this Labor: Approx $200 = 2.2 Hours @ $90/hr

Labor is high considering that they didn't even have to turn rotors. There is a shop down the street from me, that does a good job, that charge $40/axle + parts for a basic brake job. So $190+40 = $230. It doesn't include turning the rotors (which I think are $15/rotor) or repacking the bearings. Lets use them as a pricing example.

Takes 5 minutes per tire to adjust. 10 minutes total.

I love repacking wheel bearings. Remove both of them from hub, blow

130 psi air through the bearing to purge grease. Stick bearing in cleaning solution to clean. Air dry with blow gun. Submerge bearing in plastic receptacle with fresh grease. Reinstall. Total time: 10 minutes per side. So 0.5 hours extra here. (Labor is assumed to be $90/hr) Grease cost: Minimal

So $230 from before + $45 = $275

-- Cleaned the brakes with a soapy water solution that is sent to the Safety Kleen People. Cost: Included in HazMat disposable fee.

-- Shop Supplies: Brake Kleen $4

Caliper Slide Service: Where you properly grease the pins and slide areas. Brake Grease cost: $.25 Time: Zero, part of normal reassembly.

You are right to question it. It's very high. I estimte your bill should have been closer to $300. But shops are entitled to charge whatever they want.

__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4

you haven't taken many drums off S-10's, have you ?

when you can get them to come out easily

2 rotors at 60 = 120 set pads = 30 front seals = 10

total parts 160 x 40% mark-up = 216

an hour to disassemble both sides and reassemble = 60 an hour to get both rear drums off and check things out = 60

total 336

but it all depends on your location and what hoops the local enviro-nazi's make the shop jump thru

in a metro area the labor would likely be closer to 80 an hour, so that makes it a total of 376

shops with a large overhead may mark parts up beyond 40 %

Is there something special about them? I don't remember the S10 as being especially problematic. I think its GM (the 96 K1500 if I remember) that makes you take off the drum off to access the star adjuster, couldn't access it from the back side. That was annoying. But otherwise, nothing that would cause me to spend a lot of time on it. Is the S10 different?

__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4

Hi!

The consensus seems to say "maybe" as I'm reading it. I do believe that it is never wise to tell a shop to "fix whatever is wrong", because they just might!

William The Guesser

Depends on how rusted the drum is to the hub and how much of a rust ridge is on the lip of the drum. I'd guess closer to between .5 to 1.0 hr

I have to disagree with 10 minutes per side. To do it right is closer to half an hour. Also, I was taught to never use high pressure air on a bearing, if it would happen to come apart you would have a heck of a mess.

Denny

To properly "clean and adjust", you've got to at least remove the self adjuster (possible with the shoes still on the backing plate), clean it, regrease it, and put it back.....i'll go with a full hour....

Yeah, but if it comes apart, it's time to replace it anyways - all the books I've ever read say to clean them with solvent, and blow them dry - being careful not to let them spin.

Jeremh

snip

The real issue with bearings and the air hose is if you spin the bearing with the airstream after cleaning. I'd worry less about it flying apart, more that it's spinning at high speed without lube. Airstream from the side is fine in my opinion.

I don't think this brake job was a rip. If a good careful job was done then the price is fine. b

Believe me, they will fly apart. After a young fellow did it with one of mine he had a big gash in the side of his forehead and another in the side of his neck. He was really fortunate to have survived. He first tried to tell me it exploded. When pushed he admitted he let it spin.

I was taught slightly differently. I was taught never to SPIN bearings with compressed air as they can come apart and hurt people. However, It was ok to blow grease out while holding around edge.. I've done a bunch of them this way with no problems to speak of. It works quite well.

__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4

Rust is another story. If they were rusted and it was an act of god to get 'em off, thats different. Add +1 hours.

I ended up having to do a water pump on a Cadillac Allante (4.1L V8 FWD) once. It was a 2 hour job I think. It took more than double that over the course of 3 days. One of the Torx screws holding the old water pump rusted and the head stripped out. By this point, I had help. We tried to weld a bolt onto it to get it out. The welded bolt came off and we vice-gripped the weld material and eventually backed it out. The bolt had to be ordered from Nevada, the nearest warehouse that had it. Not a single GM dealership in Northern CA had one. (And yes it had to be a round head Torx screw or the accessory belt would catch it.)

Fun With Rust: Where a 2 hour job becomes a 5 hour job.

I don't have a copy of the factory service manual for the S10, so I could be wrong. But, clean and adjust is wash down brakes with aqueous solution to get rid of mud and brake dust and adjust star adjuster with brake spoon for a minute amount of drag. Although, lubricating the adjuster doesn't sound like a bad idea. What does the manual say?

__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4

Barry, you're right on the spin. I guess that is what I was thinking but the fingers didn't do.

Have a happy one.

Denny

I admit we used to spin transmition bearings (with inner and outer race) and set them on the shop floor aiming out the door. They'd slowly gain traction and shoot across the lot into a fence. Yep.

guess there's no simple yes or no answer here but thanks for responses and info and opinions.

Fred

(from Bud's computer at work - he's the one who said I got hosed!)

Fred

C'mon you liars! You know every one of you has spun a wheel bearing at one time or another just to hear the neat sound it makes.

Ok, I admit that I did that a couple of times, till this little bulldog of a shop foreman heard it, came barreling over and asked what do I think would happen if that bearing happened to seize up when it was spinning on my finger. I guess I'd loose a bit of skin, maybe a bone or two....

Denny

YES.

Could someone describe what this bearing looks like? I've never heard of or seen this happen.

~KJ~