Relaxo wrote:Thanks man!
How do you feel about the theory that the wiggle could be the rear pads "breaking in" ?
since the wiggle/pulsation does NOT occur when I pull the ebrake handle, I believe the pulsation is from the front brakes.
(I also have almost no idea what I'm talking about)
Again it is the front breaks doing most of the work, not the back breaks. The emergency brake is just that, it is for emergencies and locks up quicker than applying the breaks.
I use occam's razor when applying diagnosis. If this pulsating happened after you only got the back breaks fixed the front brakes should still work as normal. They don't go out of line just because you fixed one and not the other. I'd be suspicious of just what the mechanic did if the front breaks are suddenly pulsating.
assuming it was the rear pads/shoes breaking in, how do we feel about several hard stops to clean the surface and make it smooth?
No, do not do this. You are not cleaning the surface, everything should be smooth if everything is brand new. The pads surface to the drum surface might be misaligned. I'll also note if this is the case this mechanic is garbage. Even I can align shoes to drums and in most cases it does this automatically without fiddling with it, that is how they are designed.
Breakdaddy wrote:I know that on my own car, the manual says that if the brakes feel like they are pulsating regularly when you brake, that there could be rust on the calipers and that it needs to be seen by a mechanic. Hope that's not the issue youre experiencing, chief. That gets expensive with a quickness.
I highly doubt this is it. If your calipers are rusted not only would you get the wiggle but you'd be panicking because it is not stopping as fast as your used to. And, again this wouldn't happen over-night.
The more I think about it, it does sound like your front brakes. Your rotors surface may need to be milled or replaced. If it is thick enough just milled.
Like I said it is very hard to diagnose something without actually seeing it. I just find it bizarre that you'd have this problem after the back brakes was fixed. And, by the mechanics explanation he is either inept or screwing with you. It isn't beyond reason to think he replaced your front rotors with crappy ones so you'd have to go back and get the front ones fixed. I've run across a few of those, over the years. If they think you have no idea about fixing cars they can make-up things that need to be fixed that really don't need to be. I only go to a mechanic if it is something too big of a job for a back-yard mechanic. They've tried to screw me over, but I know what the problem is, I just can't fix it. That's when I call them a asshole and go to another mechanic. Problem is it is very hard to prove anything. You have no idea what your front rotors used to look like, so you have no idea if they where replaced with shitty ones.
Also don't think that big chain mechanic business' are better than the smaller local ones. It has been my experience that local mechanics are less likely to try and sell you stuff you don't need. Local mechanics depend on repeat customers and if they start getting a reputation of screwing people they won't be in business long.
Again, if it is the calipers (which I doubt) they are not hard to change. I really wish I lived closer to you, I'd saved you a ton of money.
Really the only advice I can give you is go to another mechanic and tell him what you just got fixed, what the new problem is and exactly what the other mechanic said.
In the future most mechanics will diagnose the problem for free, and if it isn't too serious get a quote from him, say you'll think about it, then go home and start phoning around for other quotes with your new knowledge (You'll need to know make, model, year [sometimes how many doors] and type of engine.) Those should all be in the manual you got with your car. If you don't have the manual it should be pretty obvious what it is. Your engine should tell you what it is by opening the hood and looking at the top. It'll say something like 3.4 liter or whatever. A lot of cars had different versions and you'll need to know that. But, it'll be on the car somewhere on the outside. Mine is a Chevy Blazer, but in the same year they had different kinds of Blazers. Mine is the Blazer LS (It says so on the side of my truck.) and I think there were three other models of different sizes with different engines.
You'll be surprised just how different the quotes can be. You also have options. Most mechanics will not tell you your parts options, most will just install factory parts. These are usually the most expensive. There are "generic" parts that are cheaper. They'll tell you they are not as good as factory ones, which is true, but not as big of a gap as they want you to believe. If you have an older car go with the generic. There is no point of getting factory parts for a old car. Factory and generic all have warranties and the warranties on generic are usually shorter. But, if the part doesn't break before the warranty is up then there are really no worries about it failing after the warranty ends.
You also can get rebuilt parts which are also good and cheaper and if you have a decent scrap yard that sells parts these are usually dirt cheap and most scrap yard parts, the people there will only sell it to you if it is in good shape. My front shocks needed to be replaced. I got two front shocks at a scrap yard for $25. I installed them 3 years ago and they still work perfectly. Though I doubt any mechanic will give you that option because they have no warranty. So, really that is for the do-it-your selfer. So, this doesn't apply to you.
I know the above seems a little overwhelming, but telling and doing are two different things. Actually going out and getting this info is pretty easy.
Mechanics like yours pisses me off. I'd tell everyone I know to not go to this mechanic. Word of mouth can be a killer.
