1988_Cherokee

Hello all, I am a newbie here so let me thank you for letting me join your community.

I took my vehicle to the shop for a look see. I wanted to just make sure it was all good/safe before winter and I had an issue with the wipers...they just stopped working (wasn't the fuse I changed that). Well after having it forever they now tell me that I need new rotors and all brake parts. I am a single mom and don't want to get shafted. I am handy but have no tools and can't begin to do the work myself so what is a fair price for the work? I saw rotors on JC Whitney that start at $21.99. I don't need fancy just safe. Also, any suggestions on good low price tires? Again, safe but I am working full time, going to school and supporting my little one alone and need to spend as little as possible. Thanks for the info & have a great day.

DrShaggford

My best suggestion is find a friend or a friend of a friend that will do your brakes for a case of beer. You're looking at around $100 in parts. If you bring it somewhere to have them done they will charge you somewhere around $300-500!! and that's just for the front brakes. As for tires I would try craigslist, there are plenty of people selling essentially brand new tires already mounted on rims for $200-400 and the only reason they're selling them is because they upgraded to bigger tires or fancier rims that their stock tires wont fit.

N8N

What he said. I was just pricing brake parts for my '99 earlier today. About $150 for rotors and good ceramic pads from carquest. (IMHO carquest and NAPA are the two best chains out there. You can probably get parts cheaper elsewhere but it seems that those two don't sell ****e and their counter people tend to be a little more knowledgeable.) Shop that did my safety inspection wanted $400 just to do pads and rotors and I'm sure that didn't include flushing the brake fluid. The difference buys a lot of beer and bachelor chow. Guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow after work.

soundrew

+1 on the brake parts pricing. It's not a tough job if you can get a friend to do it. If you are anywhere near me, I have four stock cherokee wheels with good rubber on them. I'll sell them real cheap ($25 ea). PM me if you're interested.

Don't skimp on brakes and tires- especially with a little one.

hawaiian808

Were are you located? Look up the wheeling group or what ever its called haha on this forum, see if anyone lives near you that can give you a hand, there are alot of good guys on here im sure would help for a case of beer! They may be weird but cool jk jk, seriously give it a shot, also rock auto or jc Whitney works, they sell safe products for great prices, good luck! And a simple 30$ set of tools from autozone etc can have you changing your own front brakes! Do you have drum rears? O don't know crap about drums, I usually have someone do them for me haha

1988_Cherokee

Thanks everyone, great suggestions. I just talked to a different guy at the shop and now they say it doesn't need rotors but needs a rear brake cylinder, a master cylinder, brake shoes, wiper motor, wiper fuse/circuit breaker, and a tune up. The total, not including tires or tax is right at $700. They made a point to say that the tech who looked at it said "it's gonna need some work in the future". Well, duh, it's an '88. Do I even bother to fix it? I love it but I hate to dump money I don't have into it just to have it break.

I live near Knoxville Tn so I will look for some group near who may have someone who wants to do the work. Even if I only save a hundred that will be that much saved. The work may be cake to them and they could maybe use the extra money.

Thanks again.

A_Jeepr

Wiper motors don't usually just quit. Might be just a loose connector somewhere. Could be the switch.

Master Cylinders however do just quit sometimes. But rarely do they. When they are starting to go you will notice the pedal feel spongier and spongier each time you drive it. This also applys to wheel cylinders.

Look for leaks. you will have a wet inside rear tire or rim if the wheel cylinder is bad. To check the master. Take a rag and wipe the bottom of it with a rag, if its dry shouldn't worry too much about it. next take a long screw drive and pry the retainer off the master's cap. take the cap off and inspect the fluid. If its brown (really brown), that is rust and the system needs to be flushed soon. If its clear, its just fine.

Take it to another shop and get a third opinion. Make sure it is a SMALL independent shop, NO big chains, dealerships, or large shops. You will usually get the best price from the small independent. Though it may take longer for the repairs to get done (nto talking about labor, days of the week) it will be top notch.