Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Spicyhoneydip!
If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car.
*This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.*
***
Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair.
***
# **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR**
### **Rule 1 - Be Civil**
Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome.
### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful**
Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation.
### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only**
Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion.
### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers**
Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous.
# **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don’t do the work but they have to be. Idk what could cause their to happen over and over. Idk anything about cars. Would locktite work? Is the only cause of this loose or broken bolts?
Yes the bracket is literally 2 bolts. It couldn't come off if they were secured properly. You can use locktite but it shouldn't be the only thing holding them, if they're coming out like this you have another issue.
Nope alignment is nothing to do with it. There really isn't anything else that could cause this. If the bolts are correct and not damaged, and the threads are intact, and it's tightened properly, that's all there is to it.
Licensed mechanic here. Your upper bolt for the caliper bracket is not threaded into the mount and or torqued to spec.
Don't know what vehicle thay is but caliper bracket bolts range from like 100ft/it's to 240ft/lbs. On top of this I've never worked at a shop where brake bolting hardware allllllways gets a line of blue permatex. Gross negligence I would file this under.
Yessir. 2021 dodge challenger btw I had the wrong knuckle, rotor aswell as wrong caliper. The bolt he out thru the knuckle only fit caliper so it was just rattling around the knuckle bolt hole which made them loosen up so bad this mechanic twisted it off with his fingers
OK either they weren't tightened properly, the bolts are wrong or damaged, or the threads on the bracket are damaged. All of which should be spotted by a mechanic.
My guy has worked on my cars foe years highly
Trusted and been in this for 15+ years..
He told me he tighten them and even he is just confused and said some
Thing is breaking the bolts? Idk how that’s even possible tho.
I dunno what to tell you. It's 2 bolts. Once they're tight they shouldn't come out. Somethings wrong. I'd check that the threads aren't stripped and make sure they're the original bolts.
Doesn't look like the rotor is the right size? Or something else is wrong. Wrong size rotor would torque the caliper bolts in directions they weren't meant to go
Well ok since you asked:
Grammar:
noun The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.
Spelling:
noun The forming of words with letters in an accepted order; orthography.
You used the wrong letters to form a word. That’s a spelling mistake.
Umm I never asked you made a weird comment trying to petty. Like what does the spelling of the work have to do with anything??? 😂😂😂 don’t correct my grammar grow tf up please!!! I don’t need the advice and the spelling of the word literally has no correlation to a mechanic messing my car up man. 👎 do better
you gotta be spanking my balls
you can see in the picture it's missing a bolt. how about the lower? probably gone. the caliper retaining pins have a torque spec.
No both bolts were in. They were so lose that he took them out by hand
The issue is it’s the wrong caliper. The dude that did my breaks put the wrong bolt in. The bolt he put in was too thin for the knuckle butt fit inside the caliper. So the caliper is wrong.
I just had someone take off both sides and compare. I need a thicker bolt and different caliper that takes a thicker bolt. I hope this makes sense. Dude could have killed me
So what you’re saying is that you had new callipers fitted to your car, and the mechanic was so fucking thick, they didn’t realise that the fucking thing is rattling around like marble in a tin can, since the calliper bolt should be very close in circumference to both the first hole of the calliper as well as the fixing point on knuckle, both of which should match. We’re talking about something thats not easy to fuck up, but rather was left like this out of pure laziness, even with a smaller bolt, it shouldn’t have this much play.
I would pursue legal action against whoever did the work on your car, since if they did it to you, they did it to other and they’ll do it again, they’ll end up killing someone.
He tried to say oh my baring snapped and blah blah then I have someone come look st it so I can see for myself and personally idk shit about cars but I knew right away when he removed the caliper and showed me the bolt hole difference. Correct bolt goes thru knuckle but not thru bracket.
Also the rotor was too big. Just messed up.
As others have said, this could only have happened from the calliper being loose, from the amount of material that was ground of, not for a short period of time either, I’m surprised you haven’t heard a dreadful noise coming from it.
The way these are mounted, there are three main parts, the calliper, which is mounted to the bracket with pins in the back (its meant to slide on them) and a spring on the outside. The knuckle is the part everything attaches to (the strut, the bearing, the brakes, the steering, the control arms, the wheels and everything).
The calliper bracket has threads in its fixing holes, and sits between the brake disk and the mounting holes on the knuckle, it’s held on by 2 bolts.
There are 2 holes on the knuckle behind the disc, that the bolt is meant to sit through, and goes into the threads on the bracket, which should line up mm perfect with them, and it should really wiggle even if the bolt are very loose, thats how tight their fitment should be.
If it’s the wrong calliper, it shouldn’t line up exactly with the holes, it would rattle about even with the bolts in, and this isn’t something that can be fixed by just tightening them or using thread sealer. Any self respecting mechanic that has any experience knows this, and knows why it’s important.
Again, this is out of pure laziness and incompetence. This person needs to be called out on it by some form of an authority body, be that legal, or if they have any accreditations then by their governing bodies, I’ve seen people fired for less.
I am an IMI ATA accredited senior met technician, and that comes with being legally liable for any damages or bodily harm caused by incompetence or negligence, including manslaughter charges if it comes to that. Working on vehicle suspensions is not a joke.
Probably put on rotors too small or calipers too big. It’s happened to me where i got a caliper that fit but it was too larger because it was for the same car with a bigger brake package.
Ended up being wrong caliper, wrong knuckle also rotor was too big. Dude fucked my shit up. I’m grateful to have found. Better and honestly mechanic that showed and explained every part to me and showed what he was doing also comparing
Both sides.
The dude that messed my car up put on a wrong caliper.
So the bolt holes on the caliper were smaller than the bolt holes on the knuckle.
I went to auto advanced parts 3 times to get
Bolts. They gave me the correct bolts at first
But he said no they need to be smaller to fit the caliper. So we found some that fit the caliper.
The tag my caliper fell off I kept
Hearing a knocking and rattle sound. Luckily I was in the parking lot
When it fell off. But basically the bolt fit the caliper but was too small for
The knuckle so it was just bouncing around in the knuckle
Thread causing it to loosen up. Also the top bolt was gone but the bottom was in and if I would
Drive anymore caliper and break line and rim would
Have been fucked.
That dumb ass made my car worst than it was when I brought it to him.
I wish I could
So something atleast give me the damn money back? It’s so frustrating that people do this. Put my life and others at risk for a few hundred dollars? Ugh
the only 2 things that i am aware of that would cause this is 1. the caliper bracket bolts are loose/missing. or 2. the wheel bearing is very bad and has play that allows the rotor to impact the caliper.
They could be using cheap chinese bolts and over torquing. Or using old bolts and they are done.
I would insist on some new OEM bolts. On many vehicles, the service spec is to replace these caliper bolts as part of normal service.
Not trying to be a stickler, I’m just asking out of curiosity, as even on Volvos and Audis the manufacturer only state a new bolt is needed in case the old one is damaged, which manufacturer are you referring to?
Yeah, that part I’m aware of, however I haven’t encountered them on calliper bracket bolts, more found self locking bolts. I’m in collision repair and have access to most direct from manufacturer methods, just haven’t come across one that specifies it for these ones.
Could also just be a case of broken bolt because they ugga-dugga'd the wrong way, or too hard. May have been the wrong thread, wrong length, brittle, who knows.
Should have added to my post: eventually EVERY bolt is torque-to-yield you just have no idea what that number is!
Haha yeah, op wrote a bit of a mish mash comment, from what it seems like he had the calliper replaced, they fitted the wrong calliper to their car, and it seems the fixing holes on the knuckle are larger than the bolt the calliper takes.
Okay so when you say the bolts are still in do you mean the calliper slide pins that mount the calliper to the calliper bracket, or the calliper bracket to the steering knuckle you’re looking at a minimum of 4 bolts here in order for the calliper to be securely fastened in place.
I hope you get your money back from this so called mechanic lucky nothing serious happened while driving .this dude needs to give you every penny back that you paid him and you need to find a new mechanic whice sucks cause so many are not good and just lie.
I have a dude that works at a car shop says he will do it himself. He showed me everything and explained and compared parts to the other side of my car. I asked the guy for half the money back atleast
What he did was negligent and I could have sued him if I had any further damage. I am exposing his business and leaving a review I’m glad I found an honest mechanic. That dude needs to stay away from cars man
Wrong knuckle, wrong caliper and rotor. Also bolt was too small to even go inside the knuckle but fit caliper. So it was just rattling inside the knuckles bolt hole. It was so loose the dude legit twisted it off with his fingers. Then after getting correct rotor and caliper, he realized the knuckle is wrong. The bold hold where he attached the caliper too were too long compared to the other side
I fucked up and got bad work done I can’t blame myself but I kinda do. I didn’t know better and expected a mechanic to be honest my mistake and a hard lesson to learn. I’m glad I didn’t lose my life or take some else bc of this thi
Either of them being stripped would be very easily noticeable upon refit, which would make this gross negligence, and depending on the car, they could be stretch bolts or self locking bolts, in which case they shouldn’t be reused at all.
I know that lol it’s getting fixed right now it was wrong caliper and rotor size rotor was too big. Old dude fucked my shit up man I’m lucky I didn’t wreck my cae
I don’t ask tho 😂😂😂 don’t correct my grammar grow tf up please!!! I don’t need the advice and the spelling of the word literally has no correlation to a mechanic messing my car up man. 👎 do better
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Spicyhoneydip! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This cant happen without a missing/broken bolt or broken casting. Either one should be obvious to a mechanic. Repair was not done correctly.
Are the bolts still in?
I don’t do the work but they have to be. Idk what could cause their to happen over and over. Idk anything about cars. Would locktite work? Is the only cause of this loose or broken bolts?
Yes the bracket is literally 2 bolts. It couldn't come off if they were secured properly. You can use locktite but it shouldn't be the only thing holding them, if they're coming out like this you have another issue.
What could other issues be tho? What else could cause this? Also to mention I do need an alignment. Idk if that’s makes a difference
Nope alignment is nothing to do with it. There really isn't anything else that could cause this. If the bolts are correct and not damaged, and the threads are intact, and it's tightened properly, that's all there is to it.
Ok
Yes
Are they tight?
Licensed mechanic here. Your upper bolt for the caliper bracket is not threaded into the mount and or torqued to spec. Don't know what vehicle thay is but caliper bracket bolts range from like 100ft/it's to 240ft/lbs. On top of this I've never worked at a shop where brake bolting hardware allllllways gets a line of blue permatex. Gross negligence I would file this under.
Yessir. 2021 dodge challenger btw I had the wrong knuckle, rotor aswell as wrong caliper. The bolt he out thru the knuckle only fit caliper so it was just rattling around the knuckle bolt hole which made them loosen up so bad this mechanic twisted it off with his fingers
My caliper got loose breaks locked up had it towed and fixed now it fell off again within a day
OK either they weren't tightened properly, the bolts are wrong or damaged, or the threads on the bracket are damaged. All of which should be spotted by a mechanic.
My guy has worked on my cars foe years highly Trusted and been in this for 15+ years.. He told me he tighten them and even he is just confused and said some Thing is breaking the bolts? Idk how that’s even possible tho.
I dunno what to tell you. It's 2 bolts. Once they're tight they shouldn't come out. Somethings wrong. I'd check that the threads aren't stripped and make sure they're the original bolts.
You know people make mistakes right? 15 years of experience doesn’t mean anything. We’re all human. The caliper is literally held on by two bolts.
Understood I don’t know much about cars. Sorry for my ignorance….
Don't be sorry. People make mistakes. I would take the advice u/reillyd833 gave you! Good luck.
Well he did a shit job and screwed up your car.
It has to have the wrong bolt or damaged threads. There’s no way it would or should come loose like that if the proper bolt is properly torqued.
Doesn't look like the rotor is the right size? Or something else is wrong. Wrong size rotor would torque the caliper bolts in directions they weren't meant to go
Well that's a bummer. So he messed it up twice. Find a different mechanic. Your mechanic is incompetent and he could have caused a serious accident.
Well maybe you should use brakes instead of breaks so that doesn't happen.
Okay captain grammar the message was still reciprocated 😂😂😂
Captain Spelling*
Uhh look up the definition of grammar and hush💖😭🤣
Well ok since you asked: Grammar: noun The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences. Spelling: noun The forming of words with letters in an accepted order; orthography. You used the wrong letters to form a word. That’s a spelling mistake.
Umm I never asked you made a weird comment trying to petty. Like what does the spelling of the work have to do with anything??? 😂😂😂 don’t correct my grammar grow tf up please!!! I don’t need the advice and the spelling of the word literally has no correlation to a mechanic messing my car up man. 👎 do better
You said look up the definition of grammar so I did what you asked. I didn’t correct your grammar I corrected your spelling. Do better.
Caliper bracket bolts are gone
you gotta be spanking my balls you can see in the picture it's missing a bolt. how about the lower? probably gone. the caliper retaining pins have a torque spec.
No both bolts were in. They were so lose that he took them out by hand The issue is it’s the wrong caliper. The dude that did my breaks put the wrong bolt in. The bolt he put in was too thin for the knuckle butt fit inside the caliper. So the caliper is wrong. I just had someone take off both sides and compare. I need a thicker bolt and different caliper that takes a thicker bolt. I hope this makes sense. Dude could have killed me
So what you’re saying is that you had new callipers fitted to your car, and the mechanic was so fucking thick, they didn’t realise that the fucking thing is rattling around like marble in a tin can, since the calliper bolt should be very close in circumference to both the first hole of the calliper as well as the fixing point on knuckle, both of which should match. We’re talking about something thats not easy to fuck up, but rather was left like this out of pure laziness, even with a smaller bolt, it shouldn’t have this much play. I would pursue legal action against whoever did the work on your car, since if they did it to you, they did it to other and they’ll do it again, they’ll end up killing someone.
He tried to say oh my baring snapped and blah blah then I have someone come look st it so I can see for myself and personally idk shit about cars but I knew right away when he removed the caliper and showed me the bolt hole difference. Correct bolt goes thru knuckle but not thru bracket. Also the rotor was too big. Just messed up.
As others have said, this could only have happened from the calliper being loose, from the amount of material that was ground of, not for a short period of time either, I’m surprised you haven’t heard a dreadful noise coming from it. The way these are mounted, there are three main parts, the calliper, which is mounted to the bracket with pins in the back (its meant to slide on them) and a spring on the outside. The knuckle is the part everything attaches to (the strut, the bearing, the brakes, the steering, the control arms, the wheels and everything). The calliper bracket has threads in its fixing holes, and sits between the brake disk and the mounting holes on the knuckle, it’s held on by 2 bolts. There are 2 holes on the knuckle behind the disc, that the bolt is meant to sit through, and goes into the threads on the bracket, which should line up mm perfect with them, and it should really wiggle even if the bolt are very loose, thats how tight their fitment should be. If it’s the wrong calliper, it shouldn’t line up exactly with the holes, it would rattle about even with the bolts in, and this isn’t something that can be fixed by just tightening them or using thread sealer. Any self respecting mechanic that has any experience knows this, and knows why it’s important. Again, this is out of pure laziness and incompetence. This person needs to be called out on it by some form of an authority body, be that legal, or if they have any accreditations then by their governing bodies, I’ve seen people fired for less. I am an IMI ATA accredited senior met technician, and that comes with being legally liable for any damages or bodily harm caused by incompetence or negligence, including manslaughter charges if it comes to that. Working on vehicle suspensions is not a joke.
I will expose his business. I could have lost my life and even worse killed someone else. What he did was negligent
Probably put on rotors too small or calipers too big. It’s happened to me where i got a caliper that fit but it was too larger because it was for the same car with a bigger brake package.
Yes at first the rotor was too small. Now it’s wrong caliper prob just wrong bracket honestly.
Possible it Just needs a different one to accommodate the different pad size. I’ve seen a lot of wrong parts that were missing boxed.
Ended up being wrong caliper, wrong knuckle also rotor was too big. Dude fucked my shit up. I’m grateful to have found. Better and honestly mechanic that showed and explained every part to me and showed what he was doing also comparing Both sides. The dude that messed my car up put on a wrong caliper. So the bolt holes on the caliper were smaller than the bolt holes on the knuckle. I went to auto advanced parts 3 times to get Bolts. They gave me the correct bolts at first But he said no they need to be smaller to fit the caliper. So we found some that fit the caliper. The tag my caliper fell off I kept Hearing a knocking and rattle sound. Luckily I was in the parking lot When it fell off. But basically the bolt fit the caliper but was too small for The knuckle so it was just bouncing around in the knuckle Thread causing it to loosen up. Also the top bolt was gone but the bottom was in and if I would Drive anymore caliper and break line and rim would Have been fucked. That dumb ass made my car worst than it was when I brought it to him. I wish I could So something atleast give me the damn money back? It’s so frustrating that people do this. Put my life and others at risk for a few hundred dollars? Ugh
the only 2 things that i am aware of that would cause this is 1. the caliper bracket bolts are loose/missing. or 2. the wheel bearing is very bad and has play that allows the rotor to impact the caliper.
Where’s the inner pad?
They could be using cheap chinese bolts and over torquing. Or using old bolts and they are done. I would insist on some new OEM bolts. On many vehicles, the service spec is to replace these caliper bolts as part of normal service.
Not trying to be a stickler, I’m just asking out of curiosity, as even on Volvos and Audis the manufacturer only state a new bolt is needed in case the old one is damaged, which manufacturer are you referring to?
Torque-to-yield bolts are all over the place, only with a true factory service manual would you know to replace them or not.
Yeah, that part I’m aware of, however I haven’t encountered them on calliper bracket bolts, more found self locking bolts. I’m in collision repair and have access to most direct from manufacturer methods, just haven’t come across one that specifies it for these ones.
Could also just be a case of broken bolt because they ugga-dugga'd the wrong way, or too hard. May have been the wrong thread, wrong length, brittle, who knows. Should have added to my post: eventually EVERY bolt is torque-to-yield you just have no idea what that number is!
Haha yeah, op wrote a bit of a mish mash comment, from what it seems like he had the calliper replaced, they fitted the wrong calliper to their car, and it seems the fixing holes on the knuckle are larger than the bolt the calliper takes.
Okay so when you say the bolts are still in do you mean the calliper slide pins that mount the calliper to the calliper bracket, or the calliper bracket to the steering knuckle you’re looking at a minimum of 4 bolts here in order for the calliper to be securely fastened in place.
Is the caliper locked up? That can break the slide pins or bolts if bad enough
cant tell anything from that photo and help if people say the year make model
2021 dodge challenger
I hope you get your money back from this so called mechanic lucky nothing serious happened while driving .this dude needs to give you every penny back that you paid him and you need to find a new mechanic whice sucks cause so many are not good and just lie.
I have a dude that works at a car shop says he will do it himself. He showed me everything and explained and compared parts to the other side of my car. I asked the guy for half the money back atleast
What he did was negligent and I could have sued him if I had any further damage. I am exposing his business and leaving a review I’m glad I found an honest mechanic. That dude needs to stay away from cars man
Are you missing a brake pad?
Perhaps the caliper mounting bracket came loose.
Bad wheel bearing.
Wrong knuckle, wrong caliper and rotor. Also bolt was too small to even go inside the knuckle but fit caliper. So it was just rattling inside the knuckles bolt hole. It was so loose the dude legit twisted it off with his fingers. Then after getting correct rotor and caliper, he realized the knuckle is wrong. The bold hold where he attached the caliper too were too long compared to the other side I fucked up and got bad work done I can’t blame myself but I kinda do. I didn’t know better and expected a mechanic to be honest my mistake and a hard lesson to learn. I’m glad I didn’t lose my life or take some else bc of this thi
Someone never tightened up the sliders
Someone didn’t put the bolt in all the way or didn’t tighten it
Brake bolts are stripped or the bracket itself is stripped. If both are ok then thread locker needs to be applied to the bolts so they don't back out.
Either of them being stripped would be very easily noticeable upon refit, which would make this gross negligence, and depending on the car, they could be stretch bolts or self locking bolts, in which case they shouldn’t be reused at all.
I'm not sure why you were downvoted. This is very likely the reason....
The caliper bolts can be good and a guide pin is missing or?
Idk anything about cars so I can’t answer 😭😭
Then there is no getting around taking this to a mechanic man
I know that lol it’s getting fixed right now it was wrong caliper and rotor size rotor was too big. Old dude fucked my shit up man I’m lucky I didn’t wreck my cae
How on earth did that happen??? When did you get your brakes done last?
Did your dumbass put antiseize on the bolts?
I don’t ask tho 😂😂😂 don’t correct my grammar grow tf up please!!! I don’t need the advice and the spelling of the word literally has no correlation to a mechanic messing my car up man. 👎 do better