My Mechanic Could Have Killed Me

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MarshRam

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Agreed with all above, he definitely didn’t take his time, and/or wasn’t paying attention, hopefully the caliper can be saved, but you are on the right track


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Thanks. Caliper is worthless to me now. I paid him $250 to put a new one on + another $55 to keep the core so I could investigate. I am looking to go down there and get my money back or will take them to small claims. Not worth my time, but I just can't let them get away with this ****, especially when it comes to brakes, this could have been a disaster.
 

AFMoulton

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Thanks. Caliper is worthless to me now. I paid him $250 to put a new one on + another $55 to keep the core so I could investigate. I am looking to go down there and get my money back or will take them to small claims. Nit worth my time, but I just can't let them get away with this ****.

Good for you, and maybe your time might save the single mom who trusts them from getting in an accident because they could do the same **** to her.


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Black Rhino Arsenal 18x9 +12mm
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66RFE/68RFE Thermo Bypass Valve Install


2016 Durango 5.7 AWD 3.07 Redline 5W-30 RP 10-48
1996 Nissan Altima 2.4 Amsoil SS 5W-30
 

chrisbh17

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FWIW, Nissan is known for HORRENDOUS caliper issues. Like maybe they last 5 years, maybe they last 5 months.

My Frontier went through 3 sets of calipers, with me doing all of the work each time....just crappy product, IMHO. The final straw was when one of them froze so solid that it made the rotor glowing orange.

Point being, even a "catastrophic" failure like that one I had, I was still able to drive (and stop) the truck. If the piston and/or sliders froze, you would get a hard pedal and maybe a pull to the opposite side, but the vehicle would still stop.

I would at least give the "mechanic" a piece of your mind, though! You pay for the job done right, if they werent going to do it right, you were better off trying to do it yourself.
 

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Check his reviews. Maybe there are other people that have made complaints about his brake jobs and hire a lawyer to find those people and use that as leverage to get your money back and maybe a little more as that could have been your life that you lost if they hadn’t gone out in your driveway but while you were doing highway speeds! Not to mention the possibility of a major accident and causing someone else to lose their lives? I’m not trying to make this a bigger deal but mentioning safety concerns when talking about cars is a major thing in the court’s eyes and they usually rule favorably for the plaintiff. The situation could have been a lot worse due to his negligence! It’s worth going down and talking to him to get your money back for the caliper and something more due to the possibilities of a worse scenario!
 
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MarshRam

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FWIW, Nissan is known for HORRENDOUS caliper issues. Like maybe they last 5 years, maybe they last 5 months.

My Frontier went through 3 sets of calipers, with me doing all of the work each time....just crappy product, IMHO. The final straw was when one of them froze so solid that it made the rotor glowing orange.

Point being, even a "catastrophic" failure like that one I had, I was still able to drive (and stop) the truck. If the piston and/or sliders froze, you would get a hard pedal and maybe a pull to the opposite side, but the vehicle would still stop.

I would at least give the "mechanic" a piece of your mind, though! You pay for the job done right, if they werent going to do it right, you were better off trying to do it yourself.

I did get about 250 miles out of it and it failed about 6 days after. It had been sitting for a couple days and when I jumped in, brakes were gone. So, what was left of the brake fluid leaked out while it was sitting. Other than that, they worked fine with no signs of issues, other than my e-brake light staying on, which occured right when I brought it home. I passed it off as needing an adjustment, but I believe fluid was already leaking, possibly tripping up the sensor
 
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MarshRam

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Check his reviews. Maybe there are other people that have made complaints about his brake jobs and hire a lawyer to find those people and use that as leverage to get your money back and maybe a little more as that could have been your life that you lost if they hadn’t gone out in your driveway but while you were doing highway speeds! Not to mention the possibility of a major accident and causing someone else to lose their lives? I’m not trying to make this a bigger deal but mentioning safety concerns when talking about cars is a major thing in the court’s eyes and they usually rule favorably for the plaintiff. The situation could have been a lot worse due to his negligence! It’s worth going down and talking to him to get your money back for the caliper and something more due to the possibilities of a worse scenario!


He actually had good reviews. Although I had to find someone to do this quickly, I did check reviews first. Funny thing is, a lot of folks said he had good prices. I think not. Rotors and brake install came in around $160 an hour. Labor alone for caliper replacement was $160. This was not some high tech diagnostic, just brakes, so those labor prices are a little out of hand in my opinion.
 

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He actually had good reviews. Although I had to find someone to do this quickly, I did check reviews first. Funny thing is, a lot of folks said he had good prices. I think not. Rotors and brake install came in around $160 an hour. Labor alone for caliper replacement was $160. This was not some high tech diagnostic, just brakes, so those labor prices are a little out of hand in my opinion.

Yes. That’s more expensive than most dealerships here until you get to the Mercedes, Cadillac, BMW level. And the cost of the caliper install should have almost been nothing since he had to have the caliper off when he replaced the pads and rotors and should have inspected it then. The cost of a brake fluid change would have been acceptable since he would have had to bleed your brakes after replacing the caliper, but it was off the truck basically when he replaced the pads alone. I call BS and unfair charges on his part!! He only would have had to disconnect the brake hose at that point which is only .1-.2 of an hour for book time (if I remember correctly from years ago and don’t 100% quote me on exact book times) extra that he should have been able to charge you for and then should have recommended a brake fluid flush and fill as a benefit over just bleeding the brakes. So, he really did take advantage of your trust in the end.
 

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Sounds like a Bunch of Hooey to me. Trick or Treat season U know, all IMHO..........................
 

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Reason I do my own brakes.
Not difficult and I know they are done, correctly.


OP, Your mechanic was at fault for this brake failure.
You are at fault for taking it back to him to repair yet again.
There was a reason this guy could squeeze you in and your own, acknowledged excellent mechanic could not.
Learn your lesson and leave that guy behind, like yesterday Meatloaf in a toilet bowl.
Schedule your next required work, with your known terrific mechanic and park the damn thing till he can fix it right.

Good Enuff is rarely Good Enough and can quickly become a Holy **** what was I thinking Experience
 
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MarshRam

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Reason I do my own brakes.
Not difficult and I know they are done, correctly.


OP, Your mechanic was at fault for this brake failure.
You are at fault for taking it back to him to repair yet again.
There was a reason this guy could squeeze you in and your own, acknowledged excellent mechanic could not.
Learn your lesson and leave that guy behind, like yesterday Meatloaf in a toilet bowl.
Schedule your next required work, with your known terrific mechanic and park the damn thing till he can fix it right.

Good Enuff is rarely Good Enough and can quickly become a Holy **** what was I thinking Experience


Only reason I took it back to him was to give him the opportunity to own up and fix his mistake, which I shouldn't have to pay someone else to do. . Luckily I do have two trucks and can allow a truck to sit, but the situation with family coming to town required an immediate need to get the truck up and running to haul everyone around. The brakes and rotors have been in my garage for over a month, just bought a house as well, so very busy. Local Mopar club buddies would have come over to do the brake job with me, but my garage is a little boxed in from the move still. Thanks for your input, I agree they screwed up and I'll be having a talk with them after I get a final word from my trusted mechanic!
 

madtrucker2016

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Yeah, I should have bought crows feet before I started.


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They are called line wrench,s
 

madtrucker2016

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You need to edit the title from “Mopar brakes could have killed me”...to...”My Mechanic could have killed me”
Good post because that's a false statement the writer posted I would say so
 

madtrucker2016

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That story might happen all the time in HIS shop but I've never even heard of that.

I've been doing brakes both professionally and for myself for 40+ years. I'm on my 3rd Ram and Never had that happen. Never even heard of it happening.

I call B. S.
I agree lame story, same here never ever seen that occur .when a seal leaks you still have brakes but a lot less just a fishy story don't pass my smell test
 

madtrucker2016

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I'll get some more pics of the Caliper up close a little later now that it is off the truck. And, I'll provide some more of that sauce I mentioned that gave me the feeling I was being BS'd..

@AFMoulton
Giving mechanic the benefit of the doubt with the title initially, but sounds like I might change it soon based on the feedback!

Anyhow, here is a pic of the caliper while it was on. See the inner guide pin dust boot, it's all mangled. I know it was the seals that blew and no fluid leaks from this boot, but I'm wondering if it was like that after install or if that happened because the seals failed. If it happened at install, it is additional proof of carelessness.

View attachment 184423
That's the dust and dirt cover OK I do see a oil like substance on the metal this picture is proving ?
 

madtrucker2016

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Thanks. Caliper is worthless to me now. I paid him $250 to put a new one on + another $55 to keep the core so I could investigate. I am looking to go down there and get my money back or will take them to small claims. Not worth my time, but I just can't let them get away with this ****, especially when it comes to brakes, this could have been a disaster.
Maybe the mechanic has a after high school worker doing brake jobs for him
 
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MarshRam

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So, nit a rusty caliper like they first told me. And not a blown rubber seal like they told me the next time. I have 2 fractures in my piston.

IMG_20191026_134559522.jpg
 

chrisbh17

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So, nit a rusty caliper like they first told me. And not a blown rubber seal like they told me the next time. I have 2 fractures in my piston.

View attachment 184436

They dun broke it.

Probably tried a clmap directly on the piston to retract it. And/or didnt open the system (master cylinder cap or bleeder screw) while they were retracting it, so they ended up fighting hydraulic pressure.

Although you did mention the brakes lasted 100K miles? Maybe the pistons got too hot at some point.
 
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MarshRam

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They dun broke it.

Probably tried a clmap directly on the piston to retract it. And/or didnt open the system (master cylinder cap or bleeder screw) while they were retracting it, so they ended up fighting hydraulic pressure.

Although you did mention the brakes lasted 100K miles? Maybe the pistons got too hot at some point.


Yeah, I don't know. If it was already cracked, why didn't it leak before. The 110k first time change is a little high, but this truck is mostly all highway. The first year of the truck alone put 40k miles with trips back and forth from Cali to Florida, so far less braking with all the highway driving. But, I've started thinking about it more and am having a hard time understanding how that thick iron potentially got cracked when they either removed or put them back on.
 

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Either way, it should have been seen and mentioned and not put back on. Which makes me hope that it happened after they put it on
 

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Why not change post title to "I ignored my e-brake light not going out, and drove truck without checking fluid level or anything. It could have killed me".

:Big Laugh:

A 100k brake component had a failure. Yes it's unfortunate it happened right after a service. Yes it may or may not be their fault.

But if you didn't drive truck with e-brake light on it may not have happened.
Or it may have already happened. We will never know because by your own admittance you share partial liability in this incidence.

Matter of fact if you had hit and injured someone after knowingly ignoring a brake fault light, your mechanic would be the last person involved who would be worrying about going to court.

Hopefully I've added the appropriate level of "drama" to this thread that you were looking for.

As far as the "My Mopar could of killed me" part. I totally agree.
It plainly states in the owners manual that ignoring critical systems warnings in your instrument panel may result in serious injury or death. :roflsquared:
 
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