stupid caliper bracket bolts!!

[DaveFromColorado]

okay, so last night I was drivin' northbound on highway 100 (like any of you know where that is) anyhow, I was doin' about 70 - 75ish with Jackie, and my friend Martin in the car, and I noticed I had a really bad noise commin' from the front end, so I started to hit the brakes and the noise got MUCH worse, so I downshifted (automatic trans) and started to pull off the highway, using the e-brake I get down to about 10mph, and the front passanger tire locked up! welp, I limped the car to a parking lot, where I had to buy a new jack (because the one for my car is in my garage) and took the tire off, to find the upper bracket retaining bolt was missing, and the inside of my rim was TRASHED! what a bad freekin' day! we ended up 2 hours late to Jackie's B-day dinner at a nice little restraunt.

 

anyone else ever lose this bolt on their car?

 

--Dave

 

P.S. pictures to come soon.

[conley3.1]

Actually, yeah, my Lumina did the same thing! Twice! Good thing I just have crappy steel wheels. The second time it happened, I'd just gotten back from Wal-Mart with new tires (they installed, and I won't make that mistake again)

and I hit 113 mph on the way home (Empty stretch of road 8) )

and right before i got home, i hit a small pothole and it started grinding. Both of the bolts had just fallen off! Maybe GM should look into that. That's pretty dangerous.

[PJB]

My '89 S10 did that a few times.

[DiscoStudd]

Hey, I know where Hwy. 100 is! Anyways, sorry to hear about your misfortune, Dave . Murphy's law always seems to kick in whenever you don't carry your tools in the trunk, esp. when you're wearing nice clothes! Now reading what you guys just posted, I think I'll be using some high-temp Threadlocker on those caliper bolt threads next time I do a brake job. Wonder if anyone with the 95-up fronts have had this problem before?

 

So DFC, how trashed is your rim? Did you have to use that extra wheel I gave ya?

[DaveFromColorado]

yup, I still got that extra wheel, and it's going on the car. I'm honestly pissed off about this, I can't believe these stupid things.

 

I'll have pictures for everyone tomorrow.

 

--Dave.

[PJB]

I drove probably 15+ miles at 55+ mph with the caliper thumping around on my old truck.

I ended up sticking a nut and bolt thru the caliper.

[DaveFromColorado]

here the thing tho, it's not the actual caliper, it's that stupid bracket that the caliper bolts onto.

 

the thing that's bouncing 'round behind the wheel on my car is the part you have to remove to take the rotors off.

 

stupid damn GM parts!!!

 

--Dave.

[slick]

Never had that problem before. I suggest the next time your working on your brakes to tighten them up better

[DaveFromColorado]

I didn't touch those bolts, so I'd hardly call this my fault

 

--Dave

[5speedz34]

This is somewhat related, but sometimes when my car is in reverse or rolling backwards, I get this loud moan from the drivers side caliper, and my friends Z34 did this to. Anybody know what it is?

 

-Tony

[GnatGoSplat]

I didn't touch those bolts, so I'd hardly call this my fault

 

If you want it done right, you'd better do it yourself. Can't trust hired help these days.

 

I think those bolts need torqued to 147-ft lbs or something like that.

 

I ALWAYS use a torque wrench on mine and haven't had a problem.

If you know who messed with them last, maybe you can complain and get the wheel replaced.

[DaveFromColorado]

I have no idea who was the last person to do the brakes, I think it may have been the orignial owner of the car, or maybe he had a shop do it, but that was all down in Kansas, and here I am in Minnesota. I'm not too worried about it, I can get an other set of rims from the J-yard fairly cheap.

 

I still have yet to get that stupid bolt for my car, I'm just drivin' 'round my girlfriends Acheva right now.

 

--Dave

[GnatGoSplat]

I have extra bolts if you can't find one.

[DaveFromColorado]

I've got a few layin' 'round the garage too, and if all else fails, the guys at the J-yard already said they'd give me one, so I'm set, but thanks for the offer, I guess I'm just bein' lazy now.

 

--Dave.

[Green96GTPchick]

My bf had that problem on his 92 Z34. Thought it was the tranny cuz it wouldnt go forward, jsut backward. Luckily his rim wasnt too badlt damaged that it couldnt be reused. Come to find out, every so often the slider bolts are supposed to be replaced like every time you do brakes.

[GnatGoSplat]

Come to find out, every so often the slider bolts are supposed to be replaced like every time you do brakes.

 

No service manual I've ever seen has mentioned needing to replace them, and I've done W-body brakes a million times and never replaced them. I think the problem is people don't torque them to 148ft-lbs or whatever it is.

[DaveFromColorado]

... it's not the slider bolts tho, it's the bolts for the bracket that the caliper bolts onto, I've replaced the slider bolts before, when they are showing signs of their age, but never the bracket retaining bolts.

 

--Dave.

[patgizz]

mine happened but it was the lower bolt so the thing was fine till i needed to back up.

[GnatGoSplat]

... it's not the slider bolts tho, it's the bolts for the bracket that the caliper bolts onto, I've replaced the slider bolts before, when they are showing signs of their age, but never the bracket retaining bolts.

 

Slider bolts!!!

 

I didn't catch that.

Sorry, I thought GTPChick was talking about the same bracket bolts we've all been talking about.

[DaveFromColorado]

damnit, damnit, damnit...

 

okay, so I got the new bolts to put in there (used/new to me kinda thing) and I started to put it together and I realized it totally bent the metal frame that the bracket bolts too and will lay so hard on the rotor that it doesn't turn, so I tried to bend it a little, and guess what, I can't get it bent in the correct direction, so I'm off to the J-yard to get myself a new assembly there.

 

Here's a hint, when tryin' to pull this assembly out, remove the two bolts that hold the sway bar in place, as it allow the control arm to move down further making it easier to line up the ball-joint.

 

--Dave.

[Andrew]

i have had this problem too. i was at a water park tryin to leave. backing out of my parkin spot, my car jerked and halted to a stop. i though i hit a car!! it ended up that the top bolt fell out, and pushing on the brakes while in reverse pushes the caliper up into the wheel. so i pushed the caliper down, put in reverse with no brakes, shifted into drive and took off forward. made it home the 60 miles ok.

i just recently replaced all of these bolts. when they are stripped and the threads are rusty, they are a supreme biatch to get out.

 

Drew

[Heza]

lets see...i know where 100 is...also...i guess that means you can match up that other steely wheel you got. sorry to hear about that happening man. that would piss me off. atleast it was nothing like my roommate's Bronco.

 

he had new gears put in the front end of his truck and he was going 60 when the right wheel bearing went out...then later on, the left wheel bearing went out. fixed now, but the people who put the gears in fucked his stuff up bad..

[Lumina_z34]

driving home one night comming up to a red light as soon as I started to brake my front right wheel locked up I count move forward so i had to drive about 200 yards in reverse to get off the highway I was on and to get to a parking lot.