rear brake cost

the rear calipers on my 92 continental rusted to the point where they were frozen together...the brakes are gonna need to be replaced along with the e-brake cable which rusted out. the mechanic quoted a price of around $900 for both things to be fixed. does this sound right to anyone? it sounds too high to me.

...the mechanic quoted a price of around $900 for both things to be fixed. does this sound right to anyone? it sounds too high to me.

The going shop rate for parts & labor is around $100 per wheel here in So.Calif. Add another 30% for New York :) That's around $20 for loaded calipers (loaded w/shit pads) and the rest goes for whatever machining is needed to the rotors and labor. If the rotors are replaced rather than machined, they'll most likely use the cheap-shit chineese ones (brand new) and raise the price to around $120 per wheel.

The brake cable is another story. I'm thinking $30/$60 new plus labor IF there's no damage to the car at the cables' mounting points. Add 200% of the parts cost on this job to calculate labor. ($60 parts = $120 labor) They'll deny the formula bt like I said, it depends on the job.

I can see this getting up toward $700~$800 at a shop for ALL FOUR wheels, including the brake cable.

If you wanted to DIY, I figure around $400 in parts (all four loaded calipers, all four premium rotors, and the cable).

The cable might prove to be a PITA depending on which piece is replaced. On some fords the rear axels have to be pulled to get to that end of the crossover cable.

thank you very much...like i said its gonna be $900 for just the rear ones plus the cable for my 92 continental..this is from monore muffler here in upstate ny. not a dealership...so yea i figured that it was a little high myself.....it also needs an exhaust from the catalytic converter back thats like $1300 which i can understand casue its dual....plus one final thing the oil pressure display keeps on registering low pressure. this happens intermittently and it shows one bar and flashes and the chime goes off...it happens for a minute or so at the most and when done the pressure goes back to the normal range. while this is happening the car is otherwise fine. it just had an oil change a week ago.

..plus one final thing the oil pressure display keeps on registering low pressure. this happens intermittently and it shows one bar and flashes and the chime goes off...it happens for a minute or so at the most and when done the pressure goes back to the normal range. while this is happening the car is otherwise fine.

I had my dual pipes, two cats replaced in my F-250 at a Latino owned shop for $250 total. Screw Monroe, Midas and the rest of those racketeers! :thefinger

The Oil Pressure sensor is the most likely cause for your other problem. Sometimes its just a loose connection, but usually it's the sensor going out.
It's less than $10 for the sensor, and easy to change if you have some basic mechanical skills and tools.

well i dont have a latino owned shop to go to to spend 250....which leads me to wonder about the quality of the work in any event...hows it been holding up for you? yea thats what i figured about the oil pressure...try telling heritage lincoln mercury that....theyre a local dealer in syracuse, ny....but i digress...

well i dont have a latino owned shop to go to to spend 250....which leads me to wonder about the quality of the work in any event...hows it been holding up for you?

Well, that was 2+ years ago, in 'n out of the water with the boat 100's of times, holding up fine. I'll definately be returning if I have another need for pipes, cats, or mufflers.

Wish there was a cheaper way for you out there in NY.

You can easily replace the rotors and pads, etc yourself. It is very simple and you normaly do not need many tools. You might need one special tool depending on what holds the caliper on. Usually it is a torques or allen bolt. You remove the wheel and then you find the two bolts that hold the calipers on. THe heads point towards the inside of the vehicle. You take both out then remove the caliper and the pads just pop off. The rotor then falls off by itself. It might have a small screw in it just to hold it in place but usually not. You can then use a c-clamp to compress the caliper and put the new pads in but if you are replacing them just take off the brake line and install the new ones the exact opposite. Parts prob cost in the area of $300 if you are doing pads, rotors, and calipers. You can check prices at www.schucks.com (http://www.schucks.com) also just get cheap rotors for the rear they don't do enough braking to get hot and warp. Also Replace rotors don't machine them unless new ones are just extremely expensive. When you machine them they warp even easier. The cost usually is around the same for either way.

...You can then use a c-clamp to compress the caliper...

Watch out :uhoh: when you C-Clamp our caliper pistons, all the newer ones screw in, the c-clamp will just punch a hole in the piston.

I have only seen the screw in calipers on a Ford Taurus and similiar Fords. Do you know for sure of the Continental have the screw in ones or not. It would be pretty hard to punch a hole in one. Image the pressure they apply to the discs. You think you can just c-clamp a hole in it? OK.

I have only seen the screw in calipers on a Ford Taurus and similiar Fords. Do you know for sure of the Continental have the screw in ones or not. It would be pretty hard to punch a hole in one. Image the pressure they apply to the discs. You think you can just c-clamp a hole in it? OK.


Let's apply some basic physics here:
1) The piston uses it's entire surface to push against the pad, forces are spread out over the entire surface.
2) The c-clamp uses a 1/2" to 3/4" 'foot' applying pressure to the thinnest part on the surface of the piston.

I won't take a genius to figure out what's going to happen if that piston dosn't move, and more pressure is added to that pressure point.

My 1996 pistons screw in.



AS FOR YOUR PERSONAL ATTACK TO MY EMAIL AND THESE VEHICLES:



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Why do you go behind me and contradict me. Do you get off on that or
what. I can see you are mechanically smart and not dumb like alot of
the people on here. But you do not have to contradict every post I do.
Oh, and by the way you must be a little dumb since you bought a junker
cruiser. Piece of crap. Like you siad some of the newer calipers
screw in. the dam car was a 94 12 years old. How newer do you get. In
fact rear calipers have not been out long at this point. Especially on
bigger cars. Keep doing it I will start contradicting every post you
do. And just having a 96 TC does not qaulify you to post on all
lincolns. I have owned all of them except the LS and and newest ones and the continental. I currently drive a Navigator.



GET OUT OF HERE IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE BEING CORRECTED

EDIT: Sorry folks, anger mamagement relapse.

I emailed you, this is the correct thing to do. Why post this publicly. You want the attention or what? Take your ego and you leave

Can someone do a Test for us. See if you can punch a hole in a caliper with a c-clamp. Stop when either 1 you bust a hole in it or 2 cannot turn the c-clamp anymore by hand, Then post your results here. I do not have any old ones lying around. And does anyone know for certian if the calipers on the Continental turn in or compress in. Since of the compress in I did not need corrected by Wise Guy up there.

Look I found a guy that used a c-clamp on a screw in type caliper and what do you know. No hole, his statement is it won't budge.
Can be found at http://experts.about.com/q/Ford-Repair-811/rear-brake-caliper.htm (http://experts.about.com/q/Ford-Repair-811/rear-brake-caliper.htm)

Please LINCOLN TOWNCAR back up your statement that you can bust a hole in the caliper and that it is indeed a screw in caliper. Or just shut-up.



"I'm changing out my rear rotors and pads. The pistons on both sides seem to be fully extended and i cannot contract them into the calipers. I tried using a C-clamp and a specialized tool, but piston would not budge. Please help!!!

97 Ford Mustang V6, no previous brake work..

Thanks,
Anthony "

Look I found a guy that used a c-clamp on a screw in type caliper and what do you know. No hole, his statement is it won't budge.
Can be found athttp://experts.about.com/q/Ford-Repair-811/rear-brake-caliper.htm (http://experts.about.com/q/Ford-Repair-811/rear-brake-caliper.htm)

[COLOR=blue]"I'm changing out my rear rotors and pads. The pistons on both sides seem to be fully extended and i cannot contract them into the calipers. I tried using a C-clamp and a specialized tool, but piston would not budge. Please help!!!

97 Ford Mustang V6, no previous brake work..
Thanks,
Anthony "


What a nimrod!! Just whom do you think Steve H is.... :smokin:
Anthony broke through the piston, he was too embarassed to post it there.

You weren't even a sperm yet when I was doing 160 across the dry lakes. Change your diaper!

BTW, I'm pretty sure the points of this thread are all pretty much covered.
Catch ya on the next one fool.

160 huh in what your cruiser. And if you are really that old then you should not be posting on things that are out of your field. Go back to your model A. These cars are too advanced for you to understand.

whoa whoa whoa....back up the cart here for a moment....i NEVER started this post thinking that it would cause as much of a stir as it did....that having been said i am not mechanically inclined in any way shape or form. furthermore i dont understand why every least little thing on this stupid lincoln that i have is so expensive and as much of a big deal as it is. also why is that every lazy fat old slob has one of these continentals (88-94) sitting in their driveway or garage rotting away but yet NOBODY knows enough about them to be able to fix them properly...not even the stupid lincoln dealership in my hometown. granted theres more than one but forget that...they want too much money for whats nothing more than a stinkin gussied up ford taurus...and yes that is all my continental is. so that having been said any help anyone would be able to provide as to cost of repair and whether $900 for the rear brakes is reasonable would be greatly appreciated....all that having been said i thank everyone who has responded thus far...thank you

You can do them yourself and save tons of money even if you are not mechanically inclined. $900 is way too much. Parts only cost maybe 200-300 at best. The labor is not extensive so $600 in labor is quite a lot for about 1-2 hours of work. Maybe you could get prices for labor only and you supply the parts. This way the parts won't be inflated. autozone or schucks would carry these parts.

The only problem for a novice might be the parking brake cable, but with a little help from the forums :)

I have a CD copy of the 1992 Factory Service Manual for all the details if you need it.

Can you get hold of basic tools, and a place to work including a jack and stands? If so, we can walk you through this one.. you'll be amazed at your abilities.






edit: remove ref to rear axles, duh!

unfortunately not towncar..which is why i'm stuck paying through the nose but i think i'd rather pay through the nose than do it myself and not have any idea where to even begin