Brakes bout got me killed this weekend
12-18-2006, 08:05 AM
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Brakes bout got me killed this weekend Anyone ever heard of the brake caliper bracket bolts shearing clean off? It happened to me yesterday and about caused a serious accident. I was on my way home in my Z-28 going about 80 mph on I-40 torwards Knoxville, I pressed the brake pedal to slow down and the pedal went to the floor. I then
tried pumping the brakes trying to figure out what the hell was wrong, the car started vibrating so I put on my blinker to get over to the shoulder when I heard a loud snap and then the car went sideways with the passenger side front tire locked up. I just floored it to get straightened back out just missing a tractor trailer in the lane next to me. Luckily I was able to get to the shoulder and access the damage, I still can't believe what happened. The two bolts that hold the caliper bracket to the spindle sheared clean off and the caliper fell and got hung in between the spoke on the rim and the rotor. It destroyed the rim, the rotor was warped and the caliper was cracked. All of the brake components in the front of the car were new, the caliper was bought from Napa with all new bolts and hardware so if anyone bought a caliper kit from them I'd stay away from the bolts. Those are supposed to be grade 8 quality but that was proof they weren't. I hope this was helpful information because a brake failure like that could easily get you killed and I'm lucky nothing worse happened.
tried pumping the brakes trying to figure out what the hell was wrong, the car started vibrating so I put on my blinker to get over to the shoulder when I heard a loud snap and then the car went sideways with the passenger side front tire locked up. I just floored it to get straightened back out just missing a tractor trailer in the lane next to me. Luckily I was able to get to the shoulder and access the damage, I still can't believe what happened. The two bolts that hold the caliper bracket to the spindle sheared clean off and the caliper fell and got hung in between the spoke on the rim and the rotor. It destroyed the rim, the rotor was warped and the caliper was cracked. All of the brake components in the front of the car were new, the caliper was bought from Napa with all new bolts and hardware so if anyone bought a caliper kit from them I'd stay away from the bolts. Those are supposed to be grade 8 quality but that was proof they weren't. I hope this was helpful information because a brake failure like that could easily get you killed and I'm lucky nothing worse happened.
12-18-2006, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by mitchntx
Wow!
So there is still a portion of the bolt threaded into the abutment bracket?
Any sign of damage to the knuckle?
So there is still a portion of the bolt threaded into the abutment bracket?
Any sign of damage to the knuckle?
Yes, the heads of both bolts were gone but the bolt itself was still threaded in the bracket, actually part of the bolt was in the bracket and part of it was in the spindle. It sheared clean off at two points on both bolts, I still cannot figure out how in the hell that happened. Napa is replacing the pads, rotor and caliper but I'm using all OEM GM parts and not aftermarket stuff this time. I am having them buy me a new powerslot rotor though. As far as I can tell the knuckle looks fine, although as violent as the breakage was there might be something wrong with it. I'm going to look it over really good tonight when I get home. I went with Wagner semi metallic pads for the front this time, they are suppose to be a cleaner pad and hold up really well to hard braking. I'm going to replace the rear's too so it has new brakes all the way around, I went with Wagner Carbon pad's for the back brakes. I hope and pray this problem is fixed and the brakes work right.
