Engine repair question about 2008 Town and Country 3.8L

Well, I have news and I don’t. This is kind of a long post and a bit of a rant, so I apologize in advance.

The garage I took the van to said they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. :BangHead: As far as I know they did no compression tests, didn’t pull plugs and check the cylinders, nada. All he said was they added antifreeze and pressure tested it, and could see the leak but they couldn’t tell 100% where it was leaking from.

Additionally, he said I needed $700-$800 worth of brakes on the rear. :wtf:
I noticed they were spongy on my drive to the shop and mentioned it. He came back later and said I need new pads, rotors, calipers and hoses on each side. Said the caliper on the driver’s side is dragging, and the one on the passenger side isn’t working at all. That cost estimate seems like a major screw-job to me. I’ve done the brakes on this van. Using only a hydraulic jack and jack stands, with no air tools, it took me about 45 minutes to an hour, per wheel, start to finish. And that was in 90°+ heat and little shade. Are brakes really that expensive to have a shop do these days? $700-$800 for just the rear? Last time I paid to have brakes done, it cost me $400 for front disks and rear pads on my ‘92 Ranger. That was in early 2002.

Needless to say, I declined service, and he didn’t charge me anything. I’ll do the brakes myself Tuesday when the rest of the parts get here. Still have to figure out the engine, though. One step forward, two steps back.