Labor costs for brake lines and bleeding?

Joined
Oct 7, 2012
Messages
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Location
Staten Island, NY
Vehicle in question is a 2006 Taurus, less than 60k, SE with a Vulcan V6
Been off the road since 9/18, it blew a brake line at the stop sign on the corner coming home from having it's tank filled, hasn't moved much since
With nothing but time on my hands these days, It's time it gets back on the road
I bought a battery, and installed it
Starts and moves just fine, you'll just be going for the parking brake to stop

I ordered

-Dorman full stainless steel line kit
-Raybestos master cylinder
-All 4 rubber flex hoses

Screw in all new hard and soft lines, new M/C and bleed it out (That's it)

How many hours (hourly rates are regional) would you feel is appropriate for this work?

All bleeders are functional, I've soaked every union and fitting in Kroil (I'm nice like that
wink.gif
)

No machining, cleaning and lubing, or replacement of friction materials, as all were damm near new right before this all happened

And if they need anything, we can handle that



What say you?
 
It depends on how much has to come apart to get them in. IMO NiCopp would have been a easier/better solution and possibly a lot less labor. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with SS lines but pre formed lines can be a bugger access wise.
 
I bought preformed lines for an 03 Monte Carlo that had the same problem and the mechanic couldn't use them. Brake lines are usually routed in such a way that they can't be installed complete without removing major components. I guess they're installed on the assembly line before the drivetrain, steering rack and other essentials. I learned this the hard way, it pays to get underneath there and see what's practical to install preformed before you order.

The mechanic I used was able to use a portion of one or two of the preformed lines but had to form the rest by hand. Ran me about $600 but he said it would have been about the same cost whether lines were supplied or not. Lesson learned, I'm now doing NiCopp brake lines on my 96 Grand Prix and making them by hand is not as bad as I imagined.
 
^ this.

I'd budget 5-6 hours for this. It's usually "a lot of money" for the customer in this situation, so your level of charity is up to your conscience!
 
To the OP, are you getting a mechanic to replace the lines?

I would just replace the portion of the lines that are rusted through. Did you get under the car to see where the lines are leaking?

As mentioned by others, you won't want to pay the labor price to make the brake lines look the same as the day the car rolled off the production line.
 
What the others said. Costs can be significant due to needing to take other things apart (which will be rusty) to place the lines under the car. On a 2006 Taurus you take care of what's broken rather than make it a showpiece.
 
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I can usually have them done about $150 each.

A local chain called Ken Towery's wanted $1,600 to do 4 and would only do 4 when only 1 was bad. Car had 170,000 miles so not interested in putting all that into it. That was 4 years ago and 45,000 miles so the other did not have the problem. They also wanted to charge me a diagnostic fee to determine the problem. I told them I was leaking brake fluid on the ground and could see the rusty ruptured line. Didn't matter this was their policy. I said see ya. Will never go back to that rip off place.
 
If you have a lot of time on your hands as you suggested, do it yourself and save the $$. It's not that difficult of a job. Any "decent" shop will quote based on around $80-100 an hour. It's the lesser competent ones, looking for work who usualy charge less.
 
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Do you have a shop you know and like to use?

I'd personally return all you ordered and let the shop use what they use.
 
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