New member, with a question

[Soupnazi]

Hi All! Just discovered this site.

Question:
I have a 99' Explorer with 70,000 highway miles (mostly)that went in for service on the brakes, the mechanic said that the rear axle seal on one side was shot, and the leakage was spattering on the brakes...he said it would do no good to replace the rear brakes without first repairing this seal. The total for the entire job (Front/rear brakes, turned rotors, parts, labor, axle seals, etc) was $850!

I told him to do the front brakes only and wait on the rear axle seals and rear brakes until I did some research on this...

I'm mechanically inclined, but lazy nonetheless...however, at a cost of roughly $375 to do 2 X rear axle seals, most of that labor, I'm inclined to do this myself, how tough of a job is this?

I was considering on taking the Explorer to the dealer to do the back brakes without mentioning the rear axle seals to see what THEIR take on it was....kinda like a second opinion.

Any observations, experiences, etc. welcome!

 

[section525]

The rear axle seals are pretty easy to replace. I'm pretty sure AhhJaws has a good how-to writeup on his website. www.4x4ord.com Good luck and welcome to the site!

 

[Soupnazi]

Thank you sir!

 

[section525]

I went back and looked at his writeup and it seemed to be more of a bearing than a seal writeup. But you get the idea. All you need to do is remove the shafts. Just get the wheels off the ground, take off the tires/brake caliper brackets, take off the diffy cover and remove the slide to you can remove the c clips. The shafts will slide right out. Just change out the seals and reload.

I think I got it all. I'd say do it yourself and save $350!

 

[410Fortune]

Also any brake mechanic worth a grain of salt would also inform you of the condition of your e brake, you see the ford 8.8 disc brake e brake is an actual drum brake setup inside your disc rotor. The drum shoes go bad,either with heavy use or over time, the hardware is quite expensive as Ford is the only place to get it.

If they are working on the rear brakes, to the point of replacing axle seals they should have suggested/informed you of the condition of the parking brake, without removing the rotor, the condition of the seal is not visible

 

[Soupnazi]

Good info, thks guys.

Just for grins, I contacted the dealership where I bought the vehicle new in 1999. For the labor alone on the rear axle seals, the dealer wanted $150+parts, that is $175 cheaper than the rip-off artist at Meridian Transmission and brakes wanted. Grrrr! My wife had originally dropped the vehicle off, the guy at Meridian Transmission and brakes probably thought he could pull a fast one on her.

 

[ahhjaws]

Hey, my site's getting known in the world. WaaHoo!!

I do need to re-write that write-up, it's a little plain.

EDIT: If you need more help, just ask.

 

[TPLYNCH]

Hmmm, go 92K on my '99. May need to check and make sure I don't have the same problem.

Welcome to the site, and remember.....

"NO SOUP FOR YOU!" (sorry, couldn't resist - still ROFLMAO at that Seinfeld episode)

 

[Soupnazi]

TPLynch, though I don't watch much TV, that Seinfeld series cracks me up!

 

[Soupnazi]

Update:
Took it to another mechanic locally that was recommended by a friend...bottom line was that we saved $320 for getting "a second opinion" so to speak.

I can only imagine the first guy at Meridian in Bonnie Lake, WA was trying to rip my wife off.

Lessons learned: When you think you are going to pay too much, you probably are...get a second opinion. This is a job I would have done myself a few years ago but because of my schedule and my family I find it hard to work on my own auto's anymore...