Brakes locked up...stranded. advice needed

[ThePhoenix]

made a turn off the highway this morning and skidded to a stop[. Front right brake locked up. I evidentally didnt get the caliper to spindle bolt tight enough.

yeah, I meant to re-tighten it

The caliper got ****eyed. and then ground the whole inside of my rim.

anyway. once I got it all back together, I have a grinding noise. I am wondering if I may have bent the pad holder slightly. It doesnt grind with the caliper off....just when I put the caliper back on and tighten those floating bolts. Do I have the floating bolts too tight?

please advise. I am at work now, but have to fix this before the 20 mile trip home. do I go to a brake shop?

 

[ThePhoenix]

Update

so I drop the expy off at a brake shop down the street. The closest one because I am not sure about the brakes.

They call me an hour later. He said whoever did my brakes, didnt get the bolts tight that hold the brake pad cradle and one was missing and the other way loose. I told him it was me who did tightened those bolts about two hours ago.

And that I stretch out my brake hose. and that I needed rear brakes. and that my upper and lower ball joints were shot.

My question is, can you stretch your brake hose?

I already knew about the ball joints. I did NOT know about the rear brakes but I am going to check them myself, knowing that I have to fully tighten the bolts

I told the guy to just get the caliper tight enough to drive it home. just pout a bolt in and I will take care of the rest with them when I have some money (so he would at least do it right)

 

[robertoa1a]

Those brake people are under extreme liability that if you get hurt that it will cost them a fortune. You pay for that. How much is a new hose? I always have a milk crate under there to set the caliper on while working. Did your parking brake come apart behind the rear rotor or what?

 

[CDW6212R]

The bolts which the caliper slide on are not very strong, likely one or both is damaged. That could give you that grinding noise.

I keep telling people to leave those tiny bolts alone. Either simply unbolt the large spindle/caliper bolts and get them tight, or do the tiny bolts and you must completely clean and repack them with grease. Under normal use, the rubber boots keep those tiny bolts sealed with grease, and they should never be removed.

You would probably do best now to replace both that caliper and the brake hose at the same time. I'd believe the shop telling you the hose is questionable(they tried to scare you into buying the hose). The caliper is cheap to buy rebuilt, so you might as well do them both together since the system will be opened and require bleeding. Also buy some red loctite(high strength) for the big bolts. Use one drop on them each time you bolt them on, and make them as tight as lug nuts. Regards,

 

[robertoa1a]

I would imagine people loosen the small bolts without really thinking about the design of it. Then realize, oh sh--!

I'm going to side with the above poster on the repair work. Let us know how everything plays out. Bleed the brakes till clean fluid comes out but don't let the master cylinder go dry or you will get air into the abs manifold (Nightmare).

 

[marragtop]

I agree with the comment about the brake shops having to ensure safety. With that said, I'm surprised they are not recommending replacing the left side caliper and hose since most shops recommend doing them in pairs.

Also, I use heavy duty long wire ties to support the caliper/hose when removed.

 

[ThePhoenix]

I learned a lot this go around.

when I do the left front tire, I will fully support the caliper and make sure no hoses get stretched out and the bolts are super tight

I ended up having them just put new bolts in (evidenatly one was completely gone after the 2 mile drive to the shop). I opted for no new hose and no new caliper. It runs and stops just fine now

I just felt the guy was trying to sell me the whole nine yards yesterday. I told him when I went in that I need new ball joints, and that I was saving up for them...yet he tried to sell me ball joints. I just wanted to do the minimum to get the truck running.

so $46 later for a double check and two bolts, I was driving home

this is my first experience with brakes and doing them myself. aside form not getting the bolt tight enough, I think I did a pretty good job

Thanks for the advice guys. I hope others learn from my experience and MAKE SURE YOUR CALIPER BOLTS ARE TIGHT