HELP!!! With scary Brake Repair bill
 

Whats going on guys. Been a while since I've visited the site. Opened a business about 12 months ago so I've been on a rampage. Anyways, I have my 4x2 2007 Harley Davidson F150 with the Saleen Supercharger kit (Just in case there's difference from the non-SC 4x4 model) and I need to change my brakes.

I'm having nasty vibrations when breaking at high speeds and my rotors (from what the tech tells me) don't have enough life left to resurface (truck has approximately 70k miles so I can imagine they're hitting their peak.) I'm Mr. Paranoia when it comes to servicing my car, so I always go to the dealership because I rather pay a little more for the service but have a location that knows specifically how to work with my truck. When I visited the dealership, they're telling me that the (2) front rotor replacements with brake pads and installation will run me about $750.....JUST FOR THE FRONT! When I asked what made this service so expensive to the point that I'm looking at a $1000 bill for a full brake job, when I see that rotors cost about $110 online for standard OEM fitment. the tech tells me it's because of a specific type of rotor thats needed for the truck and if we put the wrong one it could cause problems so on and so forth.

So I guess my question is this....does that pricing sound in line with what that service should cost me....or am I better off buying the parts myself and either take them somewhere to be replaced or if I should try on my own.

Thanks in advance for any help guys.

Well as you might know by now, given your past trips to the dealership, you will always pay much more going through them to have things done. It's pretty much that way everywhere and common knowledge. BUT... the thing that makes dealerships expensive even without their expensive labor and parts, are the parts themselves. They do use OEM parts which are always by far more expensive then the average brand online.

Personally, I would do it all myself. With something that I don't have the capabilities of doing because of tools or time, Yeah, I might consider the dealership. But I don't remember the last time I've had a shop really do anything...

I don't really know the cost and such which you're asking, but I hope this helps a little in some way.

Josh

Do it yourself. The front rotors are expensive b/c they are an all in one unit with the bearings. You can get good quality product like Wagner Thermos and you will love the performance. I have the same truck and that is what I used. Good luck

Brakes are not a hard thing to do, but the rotors with the bearings in them are going to require a larger than average socket to remove. I hope we have someone here who can chime in on the exact size of the metric nut that holds the shaft to the bearing, but you will definitely not find it in your better than normal socket set.

Other than that, if you have any doubts, grab your camera and take pics as you take it apart, and line your bolts up in the order they came off. you tube the brake job, and I'm sure you will gain all the confidence you need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD2MCgKIGA8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb0cBLVIdnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsTJCRljAs

This should get you started...

:thumbsup: there are some good hints here, thanks :bows: for the imfo.

wow wasn't exepecting such helpful feedback to so quickly. There are no THANKS buttons.....but thank you guys so much. That front brake assembly looks to be the tricky one that's going to kick my rear end. Thanks again.

The fronts are really a snap. Hard to make a mistake. The special socket is a 36mm deep axle socket. I bought mine at Nothern Tool for about $18.

That's in line with typical dealerships price. You're mainly paying for the labor itself as the parts are cheap. As far as doing it yourself vs buying the part and taking it elsewhere, I would do it myself any day of the week. Learned the hard way after a Firestone Mastercare experience years ago that ended up costing twice as much as it would have originally cost at the dealership. No thanks! lol

I came on here basically asking the same thing for my 2006 F150 with 60k on it. I am looking at the Centric Automotive hub kit as a good replacement as it separates the hub and the rotors so next time, you simply replace the rotors (after adding the hub, you use the 4x4 rotors) without needing to get that really big nut off there that is supposed to be torqued to 300 lb-ft. Do some searches on here as the info is out there. It is an exact fit, nothing needs to be changed with your calipers or anything.

Hey, thanks for posting the videos. It would very useful for those seeking DIY car repair

I know this is an old post but I want to chime in. My wife took our truck to Ford while I was out to sea for brakes. They ripped her for 750 for the fronts. I was going to go ballistic, but then said, atleast its got new rotors and everything. She then tells me they didnt even do new rotors!!!!!! So basically I paid 750 for front brake pads???? To make it worse, the truck literally went back 5 times, cause they didn't do them right. However, atleast one of those times, they F'd up so bad the calipers came loose, and busted up the rotors, so in the end I have new pads, rotors, and calipers. I hate Ford dealers so much I'm really considering buying an inferior truck next time around (Atleast GM and Dodge dealers have treated me right!).

Whip,
I'm in the same boat as you. I don't intend to ever take my truck back to a dealership again. My '06 was "certified pre-owned" and they hassled me about EVERY little thing I brought to their attention. They outright refused to replace several things that were covered under the CPO warranty until I spoke to the sales manager (who's over the service manager!?!). The whole situation still bit them in their behind because the truck ended up needing a new engine, covered 100% because of the CPO warranty. They did manage to stab me in the wallet for another $150 though. The fuel pressure regulator began leaking right after the install of the new engine. They adamantly claimed there was NO WAY it was their doing. That was the nail in the coffin for me. Of course this was all AFTER I had bought it. Everything I asked for before I signed the paper work was all smiles and nods. I've had it for about a year now and what do you know, the brakes are toast. Money and time are both tight right now so I slapped some new pads on it and intend to do to the centric upgrade in a month or two, if the new pads are already toast I'll replace them again at that point. Live and learn... next time I buy used I'll ask for full oil changes, brakes, tires etc before I sign.

I would just do it myself, so its done with care. At ford your pads are but $80, but can find the same Motorcraft pads for $50 online. Rotors are about $80/ea @ ford and probably $50/ea online. I think that was too high for brakes, but don't take it to joe's shop, cause I do think a Ford Dealer is the place to go; so that, you get real Ford parts.
Below is a link to how I did my brakes. (you need to watch it on YouTube and please subscribe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw8L0NJ-z_A&t=15s&index=3&list=PLnXWHkICsiVDZ1_be3uuNXz-5niWWX3e5


2014 Ford F-150 3.5L EcoBoost | MOTORCRAFT front brakes for 2004 - 2014 Ford F150