What NOT to do When Doing Brakes... DOH!!!

[RVTSP21K]

So, I was doing rotors and pads on all four corners of my 2013 PPV yesterday. Got the front done and started working on the rear. I had everything disassembled and the rear rotors off, calipers hanging. I started to think about the growl I am getting from my rear end while driving (think its the pinion bearing as I have recently done axle bearings/seals/etc.). I get the bright idea to start the truck and put it in drive to get the diff to spin to see if I can pinpoint the location of the growling. Habit when starting your vehicle is to push the brake pedal. DOH!!! I pushed the rear pistons all the way out of the calipers and it was impossible to push them back in. So, another few hundred bucks later, I have fully functional brakes again.

Just thought you folks might like a chuckle on your Monday morning. LMAO!!!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Been there, done that, except that I was lucky enough not to bottom out the brake pedal, so my pistons did not pop out of the calipers. But, it was probably the closest that I've come to having a heart attack.

 

[RVTSP21K]

Been there, done that, except that I was lucky enough not to bottom out the brake pedal, so my pistons did not pop out of the calipers. But, it was probably the closest that I've come to having a heart attack.

It was a total shaking my head "MOTHER F*$*&er" moment.

 

[Denali Homie]

Ouch, glad the only one hurt was your wallet I'll share mine:

Just did a 4 wheel brake job a day or two prior, when pulling into a strip mall I heard a _very_ weird noise from the front passenger wheel well. Since I was at my destination I parked, and I usually back in and I noticed the noise went away when backing in.

Get out and obviously take a look at problem site and discovered that the caliper had rotated off the rotor partially and was hitting the inside of the wheel The bottom caliper bolt had wiggled its way out, causing the caliper to move in this way. When going in reverse, the caliper would move (almost) back into its original position, and the noise went away, go figure.

Since I was a short distance from home I took side streets as slow as I could and braked delicately, to say the least. I've done plenty of brake jobs before this one, but honestly just tried not to over torque it and never measured. This time it backfired, but I'm glad it was me driving and not someone else. Lesson learned.

 

[alpha_omega]

Ouch, glad the only one hurt was your wallet I'll share mine:

Just did a 4 wheel brake job a day or two prior, when pulling into a strip mall I heard a _very_ weird noise from the front passenger wheel well. Since I was at my destination I parked, and I usually back in and I noticed the noise went away when backing in.

Get out and obviously take a look at problem site and discovered that the caliper had rotated off the rotor partially and was hitting the inside of the wheel The bottom caliper bolt had wiggled its way out, causing the caliper to move in this way. When going in reverse, the caliper would move (almost) back into its original position, and the noise went away, go figure.

Since I was a short distance from home I took side streets as slow as I could and braked delicately, to say the least. I've done plenty of brake jobs before this one, but honestly just tried not to over torque it and never measured. This time it backfired, but I'm glad it was me driving and not someone else. Lesson learned.

Bummer. Lucky catch though.

Gotta make sure to clean out those threads of all the old threadlocker and apply new.

 

[2008yukonxlslt]

Ouch, glad the only one hurt was your wallet I'll share mine:

Just did a 4 wheel brake job a day or two prior, when pulling into a strip mall I heard a _very_ weird noise from the front passenger wheel well. Since I was at my destination I parked, and I usually back in and I noticed the noise went away when backing in.

Get out and obviously take a look at problem site and discovered that the caliper had rotated off the rotor partially and was hitting the inside of the wheel The bottom caliper bolt had wiggled its way out, causing the caliper to move in this way. When going in reverse, the caliper would move (almost) back into its original position, and the noise went away, go figure.

Since I was a short distance from home I took side streets as slow as I could and braked delicately, to say the least. I've done plenty of brake jobs before this one, but honestly just tried not to over torque it and never measured. This time it backfired, but I'm glad it was me driving and not someone else. Lesson learned.

Thx for sharing guys!! I’ve done the OP thing as well and I second Homie’s comments for sure, had a front caliper bolt back out after my own break job when my son was driving it, he thought he had messed up dad’s truck, quite the contrary, I messed up his day!! I learned!!! be sure to clean up the bolts on the wire wheel and nice and dry and torque to spec with new thread locker for sure!!

 

[89Suburban]

Thx for sharing guys!! I’ve done the OP thing as well and I second Homie’s comments for sure, had a front caliper bolt back out after my own break job when my son was driving it, he thought he had messed up dad’s truck, quite the contrary, I messed up his day!! I learned!!! be sure to clean up the bolts on the wire wheel and nice and dry and torque to spec with new thread locker for sure!!

That same exact thing happened to me but I was the kid driving my Dad's 78' Dodge 4WD ESC Utility Bed truck. (He was a mobile heavy equipment mechanic.) When I would hit the brakes the l/f wheel would lock up HARD. I pulled over on the shoulder and climbed under there and saw the one bolt missing so the caliper was acting like a cam lock against the inside of the wheel.

I used the tools on the truck and a bucket of bolts he kept in it to get it fixed and back on the road.

I never told him about that, I didn't have the heart. I just fixed it and kept it trucking. I was 16 y/o.

 

[MrMonte]

Thanks for sharing, I swear I was laughing with you not at you. Reminded me of a few DOH moments of my own.