2002_TAWS6

Took the car to get an alignment done and on my way out the car was acting like it wanted to hop! It squeaked really bad and started putting grooves in my new rotors (1 week old) . Had to pull back @ NTB and ask for help.

They told me I need 1 new caliper, 1 new caliper bracket, fluid and labor = $360 . I knew it was the driver side rear caliper that is bad as I got the guide pins greased when I changed the pads and the corresponding pad looked REALLY worn out at the time. Greasing the guide pins did not fix my problem unfortunately.

1) I took a look at the rebuild kits but have no idea if I should do this: http://www.installuniversity.com/ins...sity/index.htm. I was told this *might* not be the right way of doing things and could only delay my problem. Can someone confirm this??

2) NTB wont rebuild my calipers for me. Ill have to drive somewhere to get my caliper rebuilt. How can I move the car without chewing the rotors? Can I remove the rotor and drive?

3) Can someone confirm if these are the right part numbers that I would need if I decide to rebuild the driver side rear caliper:

12530687
12453509

4) would I need anything else??

Help!!!!

*cough* *cough* @ mitchtx & trackbird

HotRodNeil

That's way too much. Look for a used complete caliper for about $100. Even a new Baer caliper set is cheaper than that.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

I'd tow it home, that will save the rotors.

Then, you must determine if the caliper is siezed (piston is stuck in the caliper) or if the guide pins (slider pins) are stuck.

If the piston is stuck (it will be hard to get off of the rotor), I'd go to autozone and get a caliper, change it, bleed it and be done with it.

If the slider pins are stuck, I'd go to the dealer, get a PAB and slider pins (and boots), remove the caliper, change the PAB and pins and put it all back together.

That's my best guesses.

2002_TAWS6

Thanks. Im trying to let that be my last resort. In the meantime can someone please answer my 4 concerns above?

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

I called O'reilly's and they offer a reman rear caliper for a 2002 Firebird for $73 complete, exchange.

Get the caliper, pay the core, buy new crush washers and maybe new bleeder screw if it doesn't come with the caliper, remove the old caliper but leave the brake line attached, mount the new caliper and pads, remove the brake line from the old, use the new crush washers, attach to the new caliper and snug the banjo bolt.

Open the bleeder screw and let it gravity bleed. Once the fluid begin to come out, close the bleeder screw. Clean area with brake cleaner and dry. Get someone to pump the brake pedal and check for leaks around the bleeder screw and banjo fittings. Clean if a leak is spotted. Tighten in SMALL increments till the system seals.

If you have greased the guide pins, you should be good to go for under $100 and about an hour's worth of work.

A 16mm, 12mm and 11mm wrench should be all you need.

1) I wrote that rebuild article before reman calipers were available. It's quicker and more cost effective to buy a reman caliper

2) Do not drive without that brake hooked up. If you leave the rotor hanging or with a rotor to squeeze on, you hit the brakes, it will push the pistons out and you'll have NO brakes

3) I can't confirm those part numbers. I don't work at a dealership

4) See above

HTH

2002_TAWS6

Thanks a billion. On my way to oriellys now.

For some reason NTB said I need to purchase a caliper bracket. Im going with the reman now. Do I need to purchase a caliper bracket? Can I reuse my stock one?

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

You'll only need the caliper bracket (PAB) if the slider pins are stuck in your current one (in which case, you may not need the replacement caliper at all, you may just need to replace the caliper bracket and use the old caliper).

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Kevin, you might've missed this little nugget.

That tells me the guide pins are not stuck.

But, you never know ...

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

I sorta missed (ignored?) it, but I also wondered when those pads were changed/pins were lubed. If it was a while ago, it could have siezed in the meantime. I try not to assume too much when I don't know the car first hand, but I may just be paranoid.....

However, if your thoughts are correct, then he will be caliper shopping very soon.

2002_TAWS6

Sorry for not being entirely precise. Let me clear things up by stating what happened in order:

1) One day, a squeak sound appeared in relation with tire movement. Was too busy to inspect it and kept driving everywhere (squeaking all around town).

2) Finally went to brake check to inspect. Rear driver side pads were 75% worn. However, rear passenger side pads appeared almost brand new… hmmmm… Brake check guy pointed out that my rear brake lines were swinging everywhere (put a different rear end and the installer forgot to zip tie the metal braided lines). Some rotors also seemed to be grooved.

3) Bought 4 new pads and 4 rotors and zip tied the metal braided line by the rear end. Also greased the guide pins (thanks to mitchntx’s advice in an earlier thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346466). This was all done 12 days before the caliper problem occurred:

4) Everything was fine until I noticed some vibrations. Took the car to get a tire alignment and the wheels balanced. Got that done. Tried driving home until the car made MAJOR squeaking noises and felt very bumpy. I felt as if the car was about to hop on me (nope I don’t have any funky hydraulics – average joe here).

5) Pulled back at NTB and got the car on a lift with the handbrake disengaged. The driver side rear tire did not move at all. The passenger rear tire had *maybe* an inch worth of leeway movement. Thats when I found out which caliper was messed up

Thanks to the awesome ls1tech board, logic now tells me that the caliper needs to be replaced and the bracket need not to be changed as the guide pins were greased 12 days earlier (should not be seized).

I went to oriellys & purchased a caliper. Unfortunately, transportation difficulties did not allow me to visually check if the guide pins were stuck. Im now trying to get a hold of the NTB mechanic over the phone to inspect the guide pins for me..

I’ll post my findings and hopefully someone will find this thread helpful one day.

Thank you mitchntx and trackbird.

2002_TAWS6

YOU WOULD NEVER BELIEVE THIS!

I found out I had nothing wrong with my calipers. Im getting my refund tomorrow.

When I swapped rear end I bought axles with very long wheel studs (bolts). After putting new rims on the car, the wheel studs extended out too far out the rim so I had them cut (shortened). When they were cut the wheel studs became loose and eventually one of them fell and got caught up in my axle!!!

the **** you run thru sometimes is unbelievable! Man it feels good getting a refund!

Woohoo

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Wow, I didn't expect that.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

That was my next suggestion ...



Glad it worked out ... not the wheel stud ...

The most disturbing part is your mechanic's inability to diagnose such an obvious problem ...