Last night, I was pulling out of my apartment complex and heard a loud THUNK in the back of my truck. It felt like someone dropped the tailgate on me (I felt it too). It was catching as I drove, almost like a dead animal was wrapped around the axle. Then it went away.

The brakes were suspect, so I took it in today.

My rear pads are @ 5%, so I need to replace them. Also though, the dealer said that my emergency brakes needed repaired. He said that's what made the noise more than likely. The estimate I got was $325.

I've never replaced brake pads before, but I didn't think it was usually that high. Does this sound like a good estimate? Is this something I could do myself. And lastly, DO I NEED the emergency brake? I only use the thing once in a blue moon as a safety precaution. Thanks!

 

Rear pads are a reletively simple procedure. Plenty of how to's, check the tech articles section.

The price estimate that you refer to can only be judged if we know for sure what is all being done.
Replace pads.
Cut or replace rotors?
Replace e- brakes shoes?
Replace e-brake cables?
Cut or replace rotor?
Replace e-brake hardware (springs and adjusters)?

If all of this is being done it is a fair price. From what I understand the small brake shoes that make up the e-brake are rather expensive over ($100.00) and a pain to work on due to their small size and being behind the axle.

My dad always said "never be cheap with brakes" for the reason you mentioned. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

me and a buddy just replaced rear shoes and axle seals on my truck. my shoes still had some surface on them but a couple started to crack and were missing some chunks. it wasn't too hard of a job, it helped that my buddy had a couple tools that worked real well to get the springs off and on (no idea what they are called). if you are going to do your own, only do 1 side at a time so if you cant remember how it goes back together, you'll have the other side to look at.

 

I'm not sure if they know all that is wrong with the emergency brake at this point in time. I don't think they disassembled it to check what all was wrong. I think I may just go with them and be done with it. I'll just make sure they aren't going to be charging additionally for the cable or anything. The rotors are fine.

I more worried about the e-brake assembly than the regular pad replacement. The THUNK sound leads me to believe there is more work to be done than just the pads on the e-brake.

 

Like Spyder said. For some reason the friction material comes off. Either in pieces or whole! That was the clunk.

Spyder what did those little shoes cost?

 

A parking brake job is pretty straightforward - like any drum brake job - except that the adjusters aren't automatic and the drum/disk is a pain to get off.

We have a 1999 f-150 XLT. A previous owner had removed all the parking brake internal parts.

Went to a brake shop and they used a BIG hammer and a lot of force to get the drum/disk off. I had them turn the rotors while they had them off. $85 for this work.

Bought Wagner parking brake shoes from Rock Auto. About $35. Also bought the combo kit which includes adjusters, springs, etc. I think this was less than $20.

The little levers had to come from Ford. I seem to recall the four pieces costing about $70. You shouldn't need these.

We do use the parking brake. With the weight of a horse trailer, parking on an incline can jam the transmission in park.

 

Well, I ended up making a trip to northern Ohio and was able to fix the truck myself in my dad's factory. One of the guys from the shop showed me how to do everything.

We ended up replacing the e-brake shoes and pads on both front/back. Total in parts was less than $100. We sent out the rear rotors to get turned. Total was $25. They only machined the surface of the rear rotors, so when they brought them back, we put them on a lathe and cleaned out the inner walls.

Dealer estimate: $325
Actual cost: $125

I thought that price sounded fishy. I'm happy because now I know how to change the brakes in the future and save BOKU money!

Side note: We didn't replace the springs or anything and the cable was fine. The adjustors on the e-brake were corroded, but we were able to clean them up and avoid buying new ones (local auto store wanted $105 per side because you have to buy the whole kit).

THANKS!

 

Ohhhh yeah... the thunk was the sound of the right e-brake shoe falling off. It was just hanging out inside the rotor. It had almost disintegrated and the other was completely missing.

 

Thanxs 4 the update. Glad to here all went well.

Dealers have a big nut to crack in the way of overhead expenses. If you can get past the expense most have darn good wrenches. Some hang out here.
Whats your dad manufacture? A lathe and mill are definitely 2 toys on my list.

 

My dad is in the school food services business. They provide big city schools with meals.

They have a full shop (huge) and LOTS of toys. The lathe has been around forever. They need to fix and maintain machines out in the production area every day, so machining parts is necessary at times.