Billing question on brakes

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this question. General Explorations was closed for new threads. It's just a pricing question.
I just had my front brakes done: a caliper was sticking.
The bill came to 560.02. Seems high but maybe I am out of line since I am not really sure what a good price would be. It breaks down like this.
Front loaded Calipers: 219.00
Front brake rotor: 139.50
Labor 140.00
Misc shop supplies 23.98
tax 36.64

Thanks, Bruce

 

[Jason94sport]

Was this both sides or only 1 side? If it was only 1 you were shafted! Both sides it's not a bad price since you got new calipers.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Speaking from 2nd Gen experience - I second the "shaft" if you didn't get (2) new rotors & calipers and/or they weren't Motocraft parts.

(2) High-quality aftermarket rotors should be no more than $100, and (1) non-ford loaded caliper should be no more than $130 after core return. Labor @ $70/hr x 2 hours sounds kosher.

HOPEfully you got new parts on both sides - if you did, the price, albeit a ton to spend on relatively easy work, is on the money.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

If you only got one side done, that is a bad idea. When a caliper sticks on say the left rear, you should also replace the right rear. Just a good thing to do. It sounds like you got Motorcraft stuff, so the price seems reasonable.

-Drew

 

[1994Limited]

It was for both sides, so it sounds like I didn't do to bad. I could not tell you the brand of parts though. Thanks for the replies.
Bruce

 

[CDW6212R]

Calipers are less than $20 each(non Ford), rotors about $40 each. You shouldn't ask, unless you actually want to do better, next time. If you don't learn from a mistake,...

Good luck, next time.
Don

 

[1994Limited]

OK, why are motorcraft parts better? Why are they more expensive? Are all the other cheaper parts made in a foreign country?
If I call tires plus www.tiresplus.com and find they used el cheapo parts, do I have a recourse? They gave a three year guarantee--usless?
Thanks for the tips. Bruce

 

[Broccoli1]

You don't have any recourse since you already signed off on the work order as well as paid, unless it states they used MC and something else is on your truck. As everyone has mentioned that's about right for having a shop do the job but now that the pain is over, keep a religious schedule on changing your brake pads since 1st gens are notorius for rotors going bad and sending the cost of the repair through the roof- as you have just experienced.

When I bought my truck the guy told me he had done 2 of those 519.00 jobs and to keep an eye on the brakes. He didn't learn until the second one, when a mechanic told him about the 1st gen brakes. I didn't think anything of it until I joined this forum and read a few post about it.

Ed

 

[Broccoli1]

While the wheels are off, the front calipers are pulled and the slides are greased. This schedule seems to keep the warped-rotor devils at bay. I have used EP-moly wheel bearing grease for this service, but changed to a waterproof synthetic at the last service. Same on the steering, BTW.

The brakes have been lasting over 40k so long as I stay on the caliper grease. I have tried the various brake brands and found that I got the most miles out of the original pads and shoes (55k). Since then, the Raybestos lasted 25k and 20k, and the Wagners are in there now. I change the rear shoes when I change the pads to keep the load on the fronts to a minimum where possible.

from this link: http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/exp.html

Under service shedule

 

[Day]

The front brakes are pretty easy to fix yourself. Buy a Chilton manual and you can pretty much do anything to first gen explorers. The rotors are a little more expensive than others for the Explorer because of the bearings inside but eveything can be done much cheaper with good parts without labor costs. Just takes about an hour to do both sides

 

[Tony H]

No input on the Brake job. General Explorations was basically split up . Look for Stock '91-'94 and Stockl '95-2001. This, I believe, is where the General questions will be for the different generations of 'X's'.
I always put my stuff in General. Now I will be using the Stock '91-'94 for my general questions

 

[CDW6212R]

My first comment was just offering condolences on the high cost of your brake job. It takes a long time to learn which parts are important to buy the best available. The trick is to know the difference, and buy the least expensive non critical parts.

I am a mail carrier, using my 93 Limited 4x4. It did well with the first Ford brake pads, and the new Ford pads that I installed. The latest "Performance Friction" pads are awful for heavy duty use on the 1st gen. Explorer. I am getting six to nine months from them, until a pad gets too thin, and becomes loose.

I know the few vehicles that I have owned well. I am installing a 99 chassis under my 93, with Sport Trac 12" front rotors. I have over 42,000 miles on my front pads of my 98 Mountaineer. I bought the four rotors and pads from EBC, for about $400. Those are 11 inch rotors, so I expect the 12" rotors to help with brake cooling, and life span.

Before you sink a ton of money into a dealer repair, come here and try to find someone with a trusted opinion about your problem. Try to discern actually which parts need to be the absolute best, and which parts you can source cheaper versions of. Good luck,
Don

 

[1994Limited]

Thank you Don for the advice. I really do appreciate your, and everyones, help. You are right about coming here first. In my case though I did not have much choice. I was down in Miami when the caliper locked up. Tiresplus was the first place I came too. Thanks to Broccoli1 for mentioning that MC means motorcraft. I checked the bill and under misc. there was MC next to the calipers and rotors, which didn't mean a thing to me untill the post. Looks like I just got lucky on the parts for my brakes. Take care, Bruce