Brake noise went from clunk to a horrible grind in a hurry

[louiskathy]

During our repair trip of 2012... (that's about all we did the entire five months on the road) we had stopped in Bismarck and had the last of our repairs done.

We replaced brake pads, put on new rotors when we put the 19.5 Vision Aluminum wheels and tires on the front (only) of the F-350 pickup. Then we drove back to Oregon and parked it.

This year we left Oregon in April (after putting 19.5 aluminum Vision wheels and tires on the rear) and by June we were in Michigan.
About a week ago we heard a slight clunk and felt a slight thud when we stepped on the brake. Hubby took a look underneath but he didn't see a thing wrong. He knew the issue was connected with stepping on the brake.

Monday we left Michigan and headed to Darien, IL. WEST bound I-94 from St. Joseph, Michigan to the Indiana state line was HORRIBLE. Rough and full of unavoidable pot holes. (and we were not going over 65 mph ever but when we hit those bumps and holes it was one jolt after another.)

We were on I-294 just a few miles from I-55 when the most horrible grinding noise I ever heard happened. Hubby had tapped the brake and it just seemed to almost lock, then grind. We exited onto I-55 and prayed we would not have to step on the brake again. It was tense. Not a place to pull over. We got off at Hwy 83 (Kingery Hwy) and got it parked safely.

Here's what the issue was... somewhere along the way the bolts holding the brake calipers came loose... and then one fell off... and that allowed the brake caliper to swing into the aluminum wheel.
photos here

Whether it was the rough roads... or maybe they were never tightened correctly... I don't know. What I would like to say is that when you are checking your rig for a trip... check your bolts.

And if you are thinking whether to get aluminum wheels or steel... I'd vote for steel.

[louiskathy]

Good news on that wheel. We are good to go and all it cost was the labor/time to do the inspection and torque the bolts. $50. We were told that we must have caught it right away and that there was no damage to anything.

Ford Dealer service tech inspected it and said (in writing) "Wheel ok at this time. Loctite and Torqe to Factory specs - all caliper and caliper bracket mounting bolts."

We were told that the underside of our 1999 Ford looks cleaner than a 1 year old truck. Well, it's never been driven on salted roads... And they also said that they had never seen a Ford truck as old as ours in that nice of condition.

I guess we'll keep her.

[louiskathy]

Well.... We called the business and talked to the owner of the place in Bismarck ND where we had the work done in Aug 2012... we had the 19.5 Vision wheels/tires put on the rear and... (my receipt says)" new front shocks, Pads, Seals, Rotors, bearings, (Front and rear)".

I talked to him... sent him an email with the pictures and since the funeral was today, I asked that he wait until I call him. I did. I called him at 4pm and left a message that he could call me back now. I did not get a phone call back yet. If he had, I would have asked him how tight to torque those bolts.

But we've got an appt to have a safety inspection tomorrow morning at a local Ford dealer (where we bought the bolt we put on ourselves). We only have to drive this truck 8 miles tomorrow. I think it's safe to do that. They will check and tighten everything.

The score on the aluminum wheel is not very deep. Not much more than a thumb nail deep. Very Very lucky on that. God is Good. But we'll get an opinion on that, too. I've called Vision here at the Chicago Division and no one (and I mean no one) has a 19.5 machined aluminum wheel in stock.There's a 90 to 120 day wait for them. If I had to have one... I'd have to go with another brand.

I'm not going to wait here for 120 days to finish this trip. I can tell you that. I'd be happy with another truck and I don't think hubby would object.

[John_Wayne]

Should have been put on with blue lock tight.

[rhagfo]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
One more reason I do my own work and look up all torque specs. On my 01 Ram those similar bolts get torqued to 200 ft. lbs.!

"the bolts holding the brake calipers came loose"

I think you need to look at the spec again. 200# is way too much.


I just looked at the picture My comment was wrong I thought she was talking about the slide bolts. 200# is not out of the question!

Look again, 200# on the Caliper Bracket. Section 5-3 of the service manual actually states 210ft. lbs.

On edit, I didn't see your edit, yes real tight. Thank heavens for a good 250 ft.lbs. torque wrench! Took a bit with my impact wrench to get it out.

[Cummins12V98]

rhagfo wrote:
One more reason I do my own work and look up all torque specs. On my 01 Ram those similar bolts get torqued to 200 ft. lbs.!

"the bolts holding the brake calipers came loose"

I think you need to look at the spec again. 200# is way too much.


I just looked at the picture My comment was wrong I thought she was talking about the slide bolts. 200# is not out of the question!

[mich800]

powderman426 wrote:

rhagfo wrote:
One more reason I do my own work and look up all torque specs. On my 01 Ram those similar bolts get torqued to 200 ft. lbs.!

Are you sure?? I have never seen any caliper bolts that take that kind of torque.

.

It looks like the caliper mounting bracket that was not properly attached not the caliper. The caliper bracket does get a pretty good torque setting.

[loulou57]

midnightsadie wrote:
WOW!!! he did this on the side of a road?? better bake him a apple pie. my kinda mech. congrats.

As he said you gotta do what you gotta do.....with a lot of cursing going on. Somewhere out there, is a blk Chevy with one non factory bolt. The next time brakes were done, heads must have been shaking.

Kate.....That noise sounds familiar. I would also question if I would get the brakes serviced at the same place. You were very lucky that no serious accident occurred.

[powderman426]

rhagfo wrote:
One more reason I do my own work and look up all torque specs. On my 01 Ram those similar bolts get torqued to 200 ft. lbs.!

Are you sure?? I have never seen any caliper bolts that take that kind of torque.

[rhagfo]

One more reason I do my own work and look up all torque specs. On my 01 Ram those similar bolts get torqued to 200 ft. lbs.!

[louiskathy]

eHoefler wrote:
You also need to replace that wheel. It is compromised, and it can/will split at the score mark. A good pot hole or hard turn can set it off.

Thank you for that suggestion. I called them this morning and sent pictures. I would not have thought of that wheel failing. Just too much going on right now. We are at a funeral. unexpected things going on.

And yes, at the first sound of something we should of had it inspected. But with other things going on... and it was only a "slight odd sound" and my hubby did look under there himself.... it did not seem urgent.

To those reading this.... take all of this in. Don't make our mistake.

[eHoefler]

You also need to replace that wheel. It is compromised, and it can/will split at the score mark. A good pot hole or hard turn can set it off.

[jfkmk]

The type of wheel, aluminum or steel, and the road surface conditions had nothing to do with the brake caliper bolts loosening up and eventually coming out. Simply put, the person who installed the brakes for you didn't properly torque the caliper bolts. I would go back to them and raise heck. You should get at least a partial refund on the brake job and I would make it clear to them you will never return. I'd also share my story on whatever sites are rating the shop. Obviously, this is a huge safety concern and you could have had a catastrophic brake failure due to their negligence.

[midnightsadie]

WOW!!! he did this on the side of a road?? better bake him a apple pie. my kinda mech. congrats.

[loulou57]

We had almost the same thing happen on one of our trucks. Instead of the bolt falling out it broke off with the threads still inside. That was not an easy job to fix on the side of a dirt road, a few hours from nowhere, LOL
This was one of those times I was happy about my hubby buying tools.
Of course it was an odd size bolt. Hubby had to drill out the old bolt then rethread a bolt we had.