caliper bolt fell off on the freeway
07-16-2008, 01:37 AM
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caliper bolt fell off on the freeway well i was coming back from picking up my new puppy, and when i was in 6th, i tapped the brakes and had a loud hard knock come from the front drivers side. come to find out my top caliper bolt that holds the whole assembly to the spindle came out and the caliper was dragging onto my rim. i drove 20 miles like this on the freeway 
anyone know where to get a replacement bolt besides the dealer?
anyone know where to get a replacement bolt besides the dealer?
07-16-2008, 02:31 AM
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That really sucks, I had that happen to me a couple years ago. Now when I take my calipers off, I always use locktite to put them back on. To answer you question, I think it might be a dealer only part.
07-16-2008, 06:28 PM
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You got lucky. At those speeds it could have been alot worse. I had a bolt fall out on me after I changed my rotors and the caliper dug into my rims locking that one side up. Luckily I was only going 15mph, but imagine highway speeds. And yes I have a nice ring in mine as well 
07-17-2008, 03:49 AM
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i didnt realize you had this posted in two places. i thought i was going crazy!
https://ls1tech.com/forums/western-members/954964-caliper-bolt-fell-off-freeway.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/western-members/954964-caliper-bolt-fell-off-freeway.html
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07-17-2008, 10:47 AM
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You got lucky. At those speeds it could have been alot worse. I had a bolt fall out on me after I changed my rotors and the caliper dug into my rims locking that one side up. Luckily I was only going 15mph, but imagine highway speeds. And yes I have a nice ring in mine as well
07-17-2008, 06:51 PM
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i got 4 new ones with lock washers, and put blue loctite on them. so they shouldnt go anywhere hopefully.
yea i posted in the western section to see if anyone had some spares local to me. none of the auto part stores had any, but the bolt place had em
yea i posted in the western section to see if anyone had some spares local to me. none of the auto part stores had any, but the bolt place had em
07-20-2008, 01:54 PM
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That happened to a guy I know after a shop replaced his rear gears. They didn't tighten up his rear calipers and the bolts fell out while he was driving. Now the rear disc is fucked.
07-20-2008, 02:02 PM
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Happened to me about 3 times now. Not cool at all. nice ring around 2 of my brand new c6 z06 rims. I then learned to locktite the hell out of them. They arnt comming off anytime soon. Next time ill probably use a lock washer aswell.
07-21-2008, 08:31 PM
#17
I have been working on car for a living for a long time now and have never used loctite or any other anti-seize on anything. hundreds of cars all years makes and models. everything from jags, to mercedes and porsches for old 60's cars and ive even done corvettes and f-bodys. I've never seen a properly installed caliper come lose. Loctite is not necessary at all.
07-22-2008, 11:34 AM
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I've had it happen to me twice. First time the people changing my pads (prior to me "getting into" cars) didn't tighten it down enough. Bottom bolt fell out, caliper rotated outwards, locked up the right front.
Second time I was on a road trip to Houston for a National Tour (SCCA autox), pulling a 500lb tire trailer behind the car. Started the trip at 11pm to get there by 5am. Bolt fell out 30 minutes into the trip. Finished the trip by only using the e-brake to slow the car. Turns out that I had not tightened it enough.
That being said, I've now road raced my car for 4 years. Never used locktite and never had any more problems. I torque mine to about 150ft/lbs. If you don't feel like getting a torque wrench out, use a 1/2" drive with a 6-pt socket. Once you get it as tight as possible by hand, whack it a few times with a hammer. This ensures that you've gotten it tight. Don't worry, you won't break the bolt or strip the threads.
The reason I'd stay away from locktite is getting it off. I already have to use all my strength to get my bolts loosened. I can't imagine getting them off with locktite on there. And, you've got to remove them to change pads.
Second time I was on a road trip to Houston for a National Tour (SCCA autox), pulling a 500lb tire trailer behind the car. Started the trip at 11pm to get there by 5am. Bolt fell out 30 minutes into the trip. Finished the trip by only using the e-brake to slow the car. Turns out that I had not tightened it enough.
That being said, I've now road raced my car for 4 years. Never used locktite and never had any more problems. I torque mine to about 150ft/lbs. If you don't feel like getting a torque wrench out, use a 1/2" drive with a 6-pt socket. Once you get it as tight as possible by hand, whack it a few times with a hammer. This ensures that you've gotten it tight. Don't worry, you won't break the bolt or strip the threads.
The reason I'd stay away from locktite is getting it off. I already have to use all my strength to get my bolts loosened. I can't imagine getting them off with locktite on there. And, you've got to remove them to change pads.
