Speedbump in my part out

[Slay0r]

Well this weekend i was planning on taking off as many aftermarket parts as i could before i drove to houston to the 'part-out party'.

My plans were to take off:
-Drilled & slotted rotors
-ebc pads
-sways
-drop

I got through the rotors and pads and sways. I had to drive about 25 mins away to drop somthing off. About 15-20 mins into the drive on the interstate i hear a clunking noise, so i tap the brakes. The pedal goes straight to the floor. I engine braked to slow down, and used the e-brake to stop the truck. ....Go figure, a Toyota with no brakes and i didnt need a police escort or find my way running into the dealership i bought the truck from:stupid:

I get out to inspect any and all damage. I noticed that the drivers side caliper had fallen off. I guess i didnt tighten those bolts as well as i had thought:motz: I had to get the truck towed to my work so we can work on it later. Luckily the brake line did hold the caliper, so its still attached to the brake line.

I called Autozone to see if they had caliper bolts, brake line, and a set of pads. All in all it shouldb less than $50 to fix as long as theres no other damage that i didnt spot.

Hopefully we can get it fixed up by wed. and have it back up and running. My question is, the mechanic said that we may only need to bleed the front brakes, and that the rears may not have been effected. I think that we would have to bleed the whole system. Can anyone shed some light?? thx

 

[BSP06XRU]

Glad you got it stopped safely! :top:
Hope the rest is incident free!

 

[TahoesHateMe]

Be glad the caliper didn't jam the wheel and lock it up. You got off lucky. The no breaks things can be an eye opener. Happened to my old vette when a chunk of metal hit a brake line and tore it open on a freeway. I swear if that thing didn't corner as good as it did I would have ate shit on a freeway off ramp.

 

[lance426]

I was under the impression, and i'm no auto mechanic, that you bleed the whole system starting from the furthest point and work back.

 

[BlackCat]

Had something similar happen to me on my MX-6. I had just gotten done replacing the pads and rotors, drove to California to visit relatives, and as soon as I got off the interstate, heard a clunking noise. One of the front calipers had lost a mounting bolt and the other one was barely holding it onto the bracket. I tightened that last bolt as best I could and drove slowly to my cousin's place a cpl miles away. Spent that weekend without a car until the local Mazda dealer opened up the following Monday and I could buy a replacement bolt. I tightened the snot out of it when I got the new one on.

 

[Slay0r]

yes, i was very forunate that there were not many vehicles on the interstate with me.

lance- yes that is how you bleed the brakes (starting from the furthest and work you way to the closest.) Im not sure why the mech. at my work said that we may only haveto do the front. but ill make sure we do the whole thing.

 

[arizonacatjetton]

Wow that sounds scary, glad you are ok

 

[Slay0r]

its deffinately a shock. But since when you drive a manual, you do have a better understanding of how slow down your vehicle (especially when you have been putting up with crappy brakes from the get go) by using other ways than jsut your brakes. Only advice i have it take a second, dont panic, put your hazards on and coast to the side if you dont engine brake or apply the ebrake.

 

[babyboi2284]

Now that's thinking with your dipstick Jimmy...I mean mike lol.

Good thing it happened in calm conditions compared to how that damn interstate usually is. And honestly I would just bleed the whole system to be safe.

 

[Slay0r]

yeh, fortunately, and unfortunately it happend on i-55 (good-no cars, bad- having a tow truck travel and extra 10miles out the way and double back b/c its above water)

 

[Grumpy]

For extra assurance on calipers & mounting brackets, use blue Loctite. Can't be too careful when it comes to working on brake, always triple check. No need to bleed since the hydraulic system wasn't open.

I bet your heart sank to the floor along with the pedal. Had that happen to me one time while driving a customer's '55 Chevy :thumbdown:

 

[Slay0r]

Grumpy- yeh it was deff. an eye-opening experience that i had to take a second and think what i should do.

So are you saying that the rear does not need to be bled? or the whole thing doesnt need to be bled?

Im not sure if u knew, but the brake pedal went to the floor b/c the caliper falling off caused a hole in the line for the brake fluid to come out, other wise the pass. side pads could have helped slow it down.

 

[Grumpy]

Normally, you would bleed just the front. But due to nature of the leak, I would do the whole system just to be safe.

 

[Torspd]

I had the same thing happen to me when doing the BBK swap. Bit of a story, but the top bolt came out. Drove from Houston to Austin. Around Austin. Then half way back, in a small town the hard line broke at the caliper, due to the caliper vibrating back and forth to much. Obviously due to only one bolt holding it in. Lesson learned!

 

[squeak]

Aren't all of the newer vehicles a split system, front and rear? I assume that's why your mechanic told you you wouldn't have to bleed the rear, but if your pedal went all the way to the floor and your rear brakes weren't working then I would bleed everything.

 

[Slay0r]

yeh, thats what i figured. the whole thing will b bled

 

[Edgeman]

yeh, thats what i figured. the whole thing will b bled

Right answer. I would never consider only bleeding only half of my brake system. Heck, it's good to flush your brake fluid every 2-3 years to clear the crap (water, air, rust, etc.) out of the lines & to ensure the stiffest pedal possible.