Brake job disaster - advice please...

[alank2]

Hi Everyone,

I took my wife's Scion to a local tire place (I'm not mentioning them for now) to get the front brakes done on Saturday. While driving it today I notice a bit more noise than is typical coming from the front drivers side tire so I pull it to check on their work only to find the caliper free floating with no bolts holding it down.

Here is a link to what I think the part looks like that is not missing (the two gold bolts):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARLSON-141...ke:Scion|Model:xB&vxp=mtr&hash=item5ae4c04cbc

I think the pins are still there and they have a rubber gasket on them that isn't in the above picture.

Needless to say I'm pissed off doesn't even begin to cover it. When you take your car in for something as serious as brakes, you expect they are going to be done correctly and to find this really has me mad. I've checked the other 3 brakes and all of them seem tight and correct.

I found no luck finding this part today at end of day at the few parts places I called, but I'm hopeful I will get it tomorrow from the Toyota parts department.

My question is to those of you who are familiar with this - To tighten the gold bolt, do I need to use a wrench to keep the silver one from spinning? Do you use any sort of threadlock on something like these or are they simply tightened?

I'm calling the manager at this tire place tomorrow morning and demanding a full refund for the work plus the cost of the two bolts I need to now go out and buy. I'm sure they will want to cover themselves by getting my car back in their hands, but I have no confidence in them at this point.

Thanks,

Alan

 

[AGI]

Sorry to hear that man. One of the local tire places here in Bartlesville ran my girlfriends car into their wall after a brake job.

Lesson learned here: Dont take your car there for anything but tires!


Glad no one got hurt...could have been ugly.

 

[XD-9Guy]

I lost a caliper bolt on my F-150 and ended up having it special ordered at the dealership b/c no one sold them. Brakes are troublesome sometimes. To address your question, you should pick up the Haynes manual at an autoparts store - it will have removal/replacement instructions and torque specifications.

 

[awddsm]

you should pick up the Haynes manual at an autoparts store

True, the following site looks like it has some shots of the smaller bolts that look like they just screw through the caliper into the caliper mounting plate (step 2 & 3 show them) http://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-front-brake-pads-and-rotors-fwd

You may want to check the break line too, just my .02

 

[Robert871]

my parents own a truck one model year older than mine, they just had the breaks done, new pads and such, through the dodge dealer, and they squeal now, claimed they would break in and stop screeching when applying the breaks, another 10k miles and they still screech. the stock breaks that came on the trucks new do not have this issue, they are pretty much silent.
my truck being basically the same truck, still has the original break pads, and does not screech.

makes me fear having them work on my truck even more hearing this.

not to mention i took my truck in for a recall on the front suspension, told them that it was not aligned real well, and to check it when they did the recall. they said "the will have to re-align it when they replace the recalled parts". now it pulls even harder to the right. . ..

and this is a step up from the ****** techs at the local ford dealers. those worthless slobs cant pop the hood without tearing up something else. we had three trucks they literally hit the freaking coolant tank with a freaking hammer, cracking them, and then thoughtfully leaving it, so when you get on the highway it sprays coolant everywhere and you realize something is wrong when the **** is spraying out form under the hood onto the windshield. and do not even get me started on the expeditions engine they ruined by admitting they dropped something down in the cylinder, and then after we got it back it strangely started to knock, but they naturally claim to have nothing to do with that.....

and do not even get me started on the guys that still have our mustang!

i swear its impossible to find worth a crap mechanics in this damn time.

 

[justshootin]

Call the buzzrds that worked on it first thing Monday morni

---

ng!
If its a reputable shop, ie firestone hibdon goodyear etc, they will offer to have it towed at no charge to you. If they don't , get a num.ber for their district manager and explain the situation. Tell em u damn near ran a busload of blind kids off the road because u have no brakes. There is a great liability in brake repair and the tech that did this needs to be held accountable for his actions. By not doing so, this could happen again and again.

 

[lstdonsldr]

I would definitely follow up with the shop, whether its a big place or not, its their issue.

 

[alank2]

Hi,

It is one of the places mentioned in post #6.

I am apprehensive to let them work on it at this point. After calling around today and not finding the proper bolts anywhere, I'm not so sure I have confidence in them that they will go all the way to Toyota to get the right one. I really have no confidence in them at all at this point. I know they will want their hands on it for liability reasons - I'm not sure if that is in my best interest or not.

Thanks,

Alan

 

[Stainless]

I would imagine you would not have any luck finding scion parts at the local parts stores. Best bet is the dealership for that car. Call up the manager of the tire place and tell him your taking it to the dealership to get fixed or find parts and you'll be sending him a bill and no longer doing business at their tire store.

 

[justshootin]

That's exactly what u need to tell them. Give em a call and go from there. Jmho and worth what ya paid fer it. Lol

Going to the dealer and sending tyhem a bill will get u no where