Locked calipers! Need opinions today! Dealer trying to rape me?

[mustang_jr+]

I had a caliper lock up on my 96 mystic cobra (driver side rear).

The disc went white hot, and warped, the caliper cooked.
I didn't think the other caliper was affected.
The brake pedal went rock hard and I think somehow the parking brake got stuck, but I've never see the car do anything like this.

The dealer wants me to replace both calipers and rotors, however he won't
warranty the parts or work if I don't buy the parts from him at his markup.
He says that even oem boxed products would be considered "Aftermarket".

So do I spend $800 and have the new oem calipers and oem rotors go on with the upside being the one year warranty on all work.

Or

Take the $800 and have a local guy do the work with no certain guarantees on the work, but with the same money be able to get a 4 piston caliper willwood set put on both sides with cross cut / drilled rotors.

That or save about $250 by getting the oem parts myself off the internet.

My pal says I should have the dealer do it because the heat might have cooked the bearings, but I don't know about those. He also says that the parking brake install for the rear calipers is tricky and another reason to have th dealer do itl

Opinions?

 

[n0v8or]

A dealer would absolutely be my last choice. I would let him do the job only if there were no other mechanics within 20 miles.

Any decent independent shop will warrant their work and parts for 90 days. If you don't have a problem in the first 90 days, the calipers, pads, and rotors will likely last for years.

If you're concerned about the bearing, ask the shop to check it, or just get a quote to replace it as a precaution while the brake work is being done.

Be sure to have the brake system completely flushed and the fluid replaced. Whatever jammed the caliper (likely rust or corrosion on the piston or cylinder surface) may have contaminated the fluid.

There is nothing particularly unusual about the parking brake design and linkage.

 

[mustang_jr+]

Anyone else? I'd like to get at least three opinions.

 

[Torinalth]

now if this was me i'd see this as an oppertunity to do a full brake upgrade, get all 4 corners with new rotors, calipers, pads, and get SS lines up front and the steeda speed bleeders. flush the systm and start fresh with new gear. though i'd do the install myself. it really is not that hard to work on, i change my own brakes all the time. it'd prolly take you as solid weekend to get it done, but it'd save a ton on labor.

if you HAVE to have someone else do it, then i'd get the wilwoods like you mentioned and have a private mech do it, or even get the oem and have a private mech do it (no real need for upgraded rear brakes without upgraded fronts). dealers suck. i never trust them. do all my own work, and if i cant then i get a private guy to do it.

on a side note, another option you have is to upgrade the front calipers and move the current fronts to the rear.... just something to think about

Torinalth

 

[Thundermouse]

if you got the rear disc hot enough to warp the rotor, I would not be considering buying a cross drilled rotor. they will warp much quicker than a smooth rotor

 

[mustang_jr+]

I ran over something in the road, by the time I pulled over, it was white hot. Normally I am very light on the brakes and tend to coast a lot.

 

[bdcardinal]

i would buy the oem parts and do it yourself. the rear brakes are tricky ya, but not impossible.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Rear brakes on these cars are easy.

I wouldn't worry about your bearings. They are inside the axles and surrounded by a lot of metal that will absorb any excess heat.

Secondly, no need to touch the opposite side brake. Simply buy a set of pads and replace both sets of pads so you have even wear. Take the other rotor to a auto parts store and have them turn them for $10 or so.

Replace the cooked rotor. Fordparts.com shows a rear Cobra rotor at $72 each. A parts store rotor would be cheaper.

The caliper should be easy to replace. ALL 94-98 Mustangs have the same rear calipers. They just use different brackets and pads. That means if you score a used rear calipers off a V6 at the boneyard you can use it as long as you use Cobra pads and your original Cobra caliper bracket. You can also go to Autozone and get a caliper. They show the rear calipers for $55 plus core (your old caliper).

The parking brake is easy on these cars. It simply hooks over the lever. Nothing to worry about.

You'll have to bleed that one rear brake as well

SO that;s about $150 in parts and 1 hour of work.

 

[Mike97gt]

A dealer would absolutely be my last choice. I would let him do the job only if there were no other mechanics within 20 miles.

Any decent independent shop will warrant their work and parts for 90 days. If you don't have a problem in the first 90 days, the calipers, pads, and rotors will likely last for years.

If you're concerned about the bearing, ask the shop to check it, or just get a quote to replace it as a precaution while the brake work is being done.

Be sure to have the brake system completely flushed and the fluid replaced. Whatever jammed the caliper (likely rust or corrosion on the piston or cylinder surface) may have contaminated the fluid.

There is nothing particularly unusual about the parking brake design and linkage.

it's not just dealers... private shops rape people too.... i even saw a woman pay too have headgaskets done at some private shop on a windstar that was less than a year old with 14k on it... hey told her headgaskets are never covered under warrenty... that it's considered a wear item like a clutch.. well too make a long story short she paid 2,500 for head gaskets... and tried too sue ford and the dealer for it... too this day i wonder if it needed headgaskets...

i would be very carefull where you bring your car... dealer or private shop.. .there are more hacks then techs out there... so if you find a good guy you trust go too him...

anyways the reason they want too replace the calipers,pads and rotors on both sides is... if you replace one side then you "own" it... meaning if the do one side and your not happy with the repair, then you will want the rest fixed for free... we dealer with this stuff everyday... for every legitimate gripe.. there is 20 gripes that amount too the customer tring too get a freebe...

so it's easier too replace both calipers and rotors the first time (why would you want one rotor ) then too replace one side and have you come back in a month complaining about the brakes...

 

[Spreadman]

Depends. Did the slide pins lock or did the piston lock? If the slide pins locked up, then you just need a new brake arbor (sp?). It's the piece that you bolt the caliper piston to.

I've had to replace 2 of them so far. Cheap and easy to replace.

 

[mustang_jr+]

I've been looking for mustang performance shops by me.

I had the damn dealer do it, 1. I live in a city with no parking 2. I have a bad back and can't lift the rotor or the wheel.

They ripped me a new one, but it's the last time I ever go there It's really my fault for not having found the mustang performance places by me.

I would advice anyone to know the performance ford places by them so that you can have it towed there instead. It took me about 15 days to find info on good places and as a result I wound up having the work done way overpriced.

The only upside is that there's a 12 month warranty on everything he did.

 

[warment]

I had the same thing happen to my 2000, except both rear calipers seized. The problem was due to a lack or grease (or a crappy low temp grease) on the sliders in the calipers. My car had less than 70k at the time.

I went with new stock calipers and high temp grease. Hopefully, it won't happen again.

I have heard of way too many people having this problem. Maybe Ford should have had a TSB or recall on the issue...

Bill

 

[GT-03]

Who replaced the brake pads last?

You are suppose to lube the slide pins each time you replace the pads. However, I have yet to see a non-dealership mechanic do this, especially for their $29.95 brake job special.

If you don't lube the slide pins, the calibers will lock or seize.

I guess I am trying to say, I would found out who screwed up initially, and make it a point to not go there again!

 

[Roger_4.6_96]

Opinions?

Just go buy a new caliper and rotor.. For $800 you can almost get some alcon brakes

 

[Mustang5L5]

I've been looking for mustang performance shops by me.

I had the damn dealer do it, 1. I live in a city with no parking 2. I have a bad back and can't lift the rotor or the wheel.

They ripped me a new one, but it's the last time I ever go there It's really my fault for not having found the mustang performance places by me.

I would advice anyone to know the performance ford places by them so that you can have it towed there instead. It took me about 15 days to find info on good places and as a result I wound up having the work done way overpriced.

The only upside is that there's a 12 month warranty on everything he did.

You don't really need to go to a Mustang Performance shop for this type of work. Brakes are Brakes. Nothing fancy about a disk brake setup. Any competant mechanic could do it. As around for a good mom and pop type shop. They usually take pride in their work and don't gouge you too much...definitely not as much as the dealership.

There is one shop near me that i always recommend to people. I found them when i wanted to install my rear end gears. EVeryone wanted $300+ for the labor alone. I found this shop through a friend and it was a gas station garage. Come to find out, the mechanic had a 10 second nova, a 450HP Stngray, a GN and other performance cars. He charged me $175 for the gear install and had it done in a couple hours.

If you can't do your work yourself, ask around and find a place like that near you.

 

[98stangv8]

get all new aftermarkets and put them on yourself...