What to expect?

[tais]

Bought a 98 2WD Ranger XLT. 168k miles, and apparently never any brake service. Grabbing and bucking when braking from anything much over 30 or 40 mph. Gonna take it to the local national chain brake place, and was hoping to get some idea of what realistically might be needed. You know, to be able to defend against any potential attempt to upsell work not truly necessary...

Thanks from a guy who isn't too knowledgeable beyond theory and doesn't want to get screwed TOO badly!

 

[gotmudd]

if it has never had service, which is possible, i'd say turn the rotors and drums if they're within tolerances , @100-150bucks to do front and back, then you'll need pads and shoes @100 bucks or so, and then i would recommend a brake flush @another 50-100bucks.now these are just averages on parts prices depending on your location plus thats not counting labor. i have seen places like LES SHWAB or MIDAS advertise the threehundred dollor "special"but its anybodys guess what you get since i do my own brake work except for the rotor and drum machining. hope that helps and don't be too suprised if you need everything

 

[Simple_serf]

Well...

If there hasn't been any brake work up till 168K miles....wow.

Mine is lucky to go 10K without any, granted I DO live in the salt belt. Last year I ended up having to replace just about every part in the brake system on my truck, including the lines. I think everything came to about $1100 (parts). In my case, they still aren't right....but oh well.

Also, front rotors and hubs are one piece on your truck, so the front bearings should be serviced/replaced at this time.

 

[Joshs93four-oh]

It could be over 1000 dollars- worse case scenario- de-laminated rotors that cannot be turned, bad calipers, bad hoses, new seals with the new rotors, axle seals leaking and contaminated shoes, leaking or siezed wheel cylinders, drums with huge rust ridges and under spec...and on and on. Thats why I cant see how a shop can advertise a brake job price because rarely is it just a "pad slap" if done correctly. Things that you can watch out for are if one wheel cylinder is bad then it needs both, rotors, calipers etc. MAP standards indicate that nothing that I just mentioned has to be replaced in pairs to be a correct job. However it may save money in the long run if the parts that were ok end up failing shortly thereafter anyway to just replace things in pairs.
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