99 Sable - front caliper replacement

Only in rip off city...it's not like......oh tires??? these are hydralic /mechanical devices...they could concieveably both go bad at the same time but just because you're replacing one isn't an automatic replace both....bitch like hell at them threaten and scream...probably won't do ya much good but maybe you'll feel a little better....

i dont know about calipers, but when i used to do brake work on the older cars if you had one wheel cylinder go out you would also replace the other.. the theory for this is that they were weak and if you put a new one or rebuild just one then the other one will go out.. dont know if this is also the case for calipers but it might be????

Well the drum type brakes with "cylinders" are an entirely different story. As the rubber "piston" moves down it's bore it leaves a deposit behind it and when relining the brakes (replacing the brake shoes) as you back the adjusters off to make room for the full thickness of the brake lining the wheel cylinder "piston" or "cup" is forced back over these "deposits" potentially ripping the "feather" edge that seals the fluid into the cylinder and causing, eventually a wheel cylinder leak and brake grabs, doesn't work, brakes uneven, makes a hell of a mess, and is downright dangerous. So in the old days of self-energizing, (bendix?) type brakes wheel cylinders were either "rebuild" or replaced at preferably every brake job. The new disk brake calipers are an entirely different story.....just had a thought....maybe they thought the calipers were seized when they tried to compress the pistons back into the bore while the brake resvoir cap was still on...fluid doesn't compress.....must remove a substantial amount of brake fluid before performing disk brake reline or at least take the damn cap off....after all no positive pressure is maintained on disk brakes as were the drum brakes...(2psi If I remember right) because the pressure seal in disk brakes is performed by an O ring type thingy around the piston and pressed into the bore mechanically....

whew....long winded but that should give you a little more than a basic understanding of brakes....

Let me guess, you went to a chain automotive store and more or less told them to fix whatever was needed? Bad choice. You may or may not have needed callipers. Buts its sure a high profit item for them. I hope they did not sell you loaded ones and then charged you for the brake pads. When taking your car into these places, always tell them to call for authorization to proceed on any repair over what was initially agreed upon. Yes, shops do sometimes find more bad parts upon tear down. but many shops (especially chain stores that make there money on parts sales) may pad the list to pad their profit. Especially if they think you won't question them about it. Beware also on these so called lifetime warranty's. They may cover the cost of the parts with whatever is cheapest , but they will hose you for the labor.

Why was the car in for brake work? Noise? Lack of stopping power? Pulling? I would want to see the pads before authorizing further work. Chances are it may not have need callipers at all.

That said, callipers usually last a long time. I had one sticking on my taurus, and changed just one and it was just fine. As long as the boot was intact and it went in and our without binding, i would not have done #2. If you had a car that was pulling and one set of pads was worn much more than the other, that's a sure sign of trouble on that axle.

Bob

Ben Dover is a good name for you in this circumstance. ;)

Scott, you got that one right! This is the local Good Year shop. I have heard all kinds of horror stories about this place in other states in the past, and what do I do? I bring it right in there. Man, talk about a brain fart.

My 1st adventure with these folks is still continuing. My air condition on the 99 Sable stopped working. So, I bring it in 1st time. They fill it charge me $45, and tell me they don't see a leak. Month or so passes, and a/c stops working again. Bring it back. This time it's a $1200 air compressor repair (they replace compressor, and accum and liquid line). Winter goes by where I don't use the a/c, and now summer hits and a/c doesn't work. This time I take it to Ford along with the invoice from Good Year. They tell me that it's another $1200 to fix the evac leak because it is inside the dash which they have to take apart. Great!

I show them the GoodYear invoice. The mechanic at Ford tells me that they probably just guessed at the compressor. Also he said that you never replace the accum and liquid line (a $230 charge). Also that they did not bolt a line down which would have caused it to wear and leak.

So, I take it back to GoodYear to see if they give me the same story. They still can't find the leak. So, they recharged, and added purple dye and told me to bring it back when it blows warm again. They charged me $45 again. I didn't tell them what Ford told me, as I want to see if they come up with the same $1200 repair again, and then I will attempt to explain to them that they did not fix the original leak. The Ford mechanic told me that he has never seen both parts go at the same time, and that when a compressor goes there is usually black around the area where the compressor was. Mine is clean.

These places have you over a barrel though. I'm sure it will be almost impossible to resolve this without me spending $1200 again to get it fixed once and for all.

"Scott M" wrote in news:ZHKic.5989$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.socal.rr.com:

All I can say is AKRON, OHIO....Good year corporate office....have ford mechanic document "normal" repair mistakes and keep this....if ya yell loud enough and to the right people...it'll probably get fixed...btw...did or did not ford replace dash evaporator...it they did...and it's still messing up...better find another tree to bark up....

Hi Patrick,

I paid Ford $90 to diagnose the problem. I did not want to proceed with the repair until after GoodYear folks had the opportunity to give the same diagnoses. Plus, $1200 is a little tight for me now, since I'm still paying off the $1200 from the previous repair. I may have to enjoy the FL summer without a/c until I can afford it.

Right now, I am waiting till the car blows warm air again, so that I can bring it back as instructed. Ford says that it was leaking as fast as he could fill it. Seems like an easy thing to find if what he says is true.

Thanks, Ben.

"Patrick Gilmore" wrote in news:2L_ic.9631$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:

===================== A month or two and it blows hot from leaking is a pretty big leak and someone should be able to find it. Sounds like they might be on the lazy side looking for it. If it really is the evap core or they cant find it I would explore the use of 134A with leak sealer in it. I have used it a few times with very good results and know another guy who swears by it. Ask around and see if you can find a different mechanic. Im in CA and you can buy 134A in a can with the sealer, or a small can of sealer/oil by itself. It says its brand "interdynamics". I put this stuff in my nephews honda as a last resort (before buying an expensive compressor) that was blowing the freon out the front compressor seal in a day. that was 2 years ago! still good! GL

Well if you've been to ford and they've diagnosed....then just take it back to Goodyear.....blowing cold or warm...they dropped the ball and the 1200 you paid for the compressor was a "donation" to goodyear...it didn't fix the problem....had friend go to pep boys for an ac recharge after 3 trips he got pissed...called pep boys corporate...they sent mechanic from southern california to sacramento and the is mech from southern california did a complete 134a conversion to his van...seems like the local yokels were recharging a R22 system with 134A...replaced compressor, accumulator, orifice tube, flushed complete system, recharged...at no cost to him...imvoice listed all parts at retail price.....over $1000 and amount due was $0 they did it as a warranty item....all shops have some kind of warranty and if they blew it they'll have to eat it...if they did the job right the first time they wouldn't have to do it again.....well you've got the rock and they are between it and a hard space...swing fast, hard and accurately.....go get 'em dude...I quit wrenchin' for a livin cuz every shop I worked for ended up pushing volume instead of quality..and don't forget if the mechanic is on comission...and a lot are....the bigger each ticket is the more he makes...can make a serious difference in how he does repairs if it's the first of the month and he's got to make that house payment, car payment, braces for the kids teeth, payment on his new truck...etc,etc,.....it's sad but it's a fact we can't ignore...

"Ben Dover" wrote in message news:fV5jc.492020$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.tampabay.rr.com...

What automobile manufacturer made a HVAC system with R22? I know Ford did not, that would be R12 as the industry standard before R134a came along. More than likely all that replacement was done to make sure the problem was fixed, amazing what you can do with the "shot gun approach" disguised as "customer relations".

well excuse my fat fingers....typo there R12 is right....but then I "hoped" that anybody reading the post would get the picture but then they're's no accounting for "nits" is there...