My Mechanic Could Have Killed Me

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Loggato

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Like most, I've done a lot of brake jobs... Unlike most, I've done it wrong more time than I've done it right (and that's based strongly on other peoples opinions on what is "right"". However, when I do something the wrong way, I make sure to do it carefully and have NEVER had a brake job gone wrong. Having said that, I have never seen a piston crack like that.. I wonder if he dropped it on the ground.
 

Mitch1204

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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.

Your problem sounds like a brake hose. They are plastic lined inside and with age and many brake jobs the inside lining breaks and acts like a check valve. It lets the brake fluid go one way and slow to not at all the other way. As many calipers you went through I'd replace the hoses.
 

WWDiesel

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Total BS!. Master mechanic for over 40 years and never heard of such bull crap. Whomever installed your new pads did not use the proper procedure and tools to depress the caliper pistons back into their housings. You need to find yourself a different shop, because they lied to you cover their poor workmanship. Calipers blowing a seal is extremely rare, mostly only happens if the pads and rotor get so worn out that it allows the piston to travel far enough out of the housing to loose the "0" ring seal.
 

Summit1

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Don't ya just love (or not) how shops refer to problems as "issues", and expect the customers to do likewise?
 

Mitch1204

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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

Your emergency brakes are totally seperate system operated by a cable. There is a switch high on the e-brake pedal that turns the light on. Sounds like your brake light is from loss of fluid.
Looking at your caliper a few things, I see pry marks about 12:30-1 oclock. The color indicates high heat stress. My guess is they previously had a hairline crack and the mechanic finished them off when he retracted them. Either way he should have inspected them closely and replaced it. You can tell a good brake mechanic if he cleans and greases the slides.
 

jjjefferson

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Ummmm....the short answer is no. Your shop screwed something up horribly. I have been changing brakes on multiple mopars for 20 years. 2000 Durango, 2006 Dakota, 2013 Journey, 2015 Ram. Never had a "seal issue". I've had to use an air-tool to get the rotors off (2015 Ram rust rust rust smh) but never an issue compressing the caliber (6 inch C-clamp or rotary tool on rears). You should have taken it back when the E-Brake light didn't go off upon release. Driving it like that for 250 miles probably means you are going to have to pay to have it fixed. Good Luck
 

Random_Walk

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

This.


I've done my own brakes since my very first car (err, Jeep) a bit over 30 years ago... I have had exactly two issues with brakes in my entire life, both of which happened on GM products - a blown ***** cylinder (drum cyl.) that literally cracked due to its age (1963 Chevy Nova SS), and a failed ABS module (old Pontiac Sunfire). I have never, ever, ever, ever seen a ***** cylinder blow out due to changing brakes, when done properly (even when you use my hamfisted method of spreading 'em with thin wooden shims and a small crowbar).
 

chrisbh17

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Your problem sounds like a brake hose. They are plastic lined inside and with age and many brake jobs the inside lining breaks and acts like a check valve. It lets the brake fluid go one way and slow to not at all the other way. As many calipers you went through I'd replace the hoses.

I did, actually! I was hoping that was the issue but I still had caliper issues down the road. Every time I replaced them I went with new rubber hoses since they were cheap and fairly easily available.

Googling around and it seemed like a very common thing, especially in the Frontier. no matter how good you maintain it the lower caliper slider would always freeze up, eventually taking the caliper with it.

Over the years all of the remanufactured calipers were remanufactured so many times that tolerances were not that great, which just compounded the issues. Not to mention by the time I got rid of it, it was 16 years old so its not like there are shiny new parts out there either.

Just before I sold my 2001 Infiniti i30, it needed new rear calipers as well. Car was 10 years old at the time. I take care of my vehicles OCD-like, so its not like I let them set and forget. Still never had any luck with any Nissan brakes. Honda/Acura? never an issue. RAM remains to be seen (truck only has 13K miles on it, but is 2 years old)
 

East0352

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I think this mechanic used a hydraulic bearing press to push the piston back in. It takes a lot of pressure to crack a piston like that. I don’t even think heat would have done that as brakes are designed to endure high temperatures because of the friction required when being used. I have raced cars where the brakes got so hot, they glassed over and I could spit on the wheel and it steamed and bounced around the wheel. Seals didn't even melt.

Every vehicle I have ever worked on only needed the bleeder screw opened and then slow even pressure applied to the piston. I’ve done most with just my thumbs and no compression tool.

Nissans require a special tool that rotates the piston back into place like a screw. I think Hondas do that too, but I’ve never worked on one. I have had Nissan calipers last thirty years, so I don't know what is happening with the guy that can’t get them to last two or three unless he isn’t using the tool.
 

madtrucker2016

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never heard of it.....mechanic for 40yrs....didn't use proper caliper compressing tool...don't you think if this was true it would be all over the internet and mopar would be doing damage control...mopar calipers are made by the same company that make them for multible car manufacturers....I cry B.S.
whats wrong with flopping the old brake pad over and applying pressure to it with a large c-clamp. Been doing that for ever never had a problem, it apply s equal force to the brake piston when pushing it back into the caliper.:banana-mario:
 

chrisbh17

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I think this mechanic used a hydraulic bearing press to push the piston back in. It takes a lot of pressure to crack a piston like that. I don’t even think heat would have done that as brakes are designed to endure high temperatures because of the friction required when being used. I have raced cars where the brakes got so hot, they glassed over and I could spit on the wheel and it steamed and bounced around the wheel. Seals didn't even melt.

Every vehicle I have ever worked on only needed the bleeder screw opened and then slow even pressure applied to the piston. I’ve done most with just my thumbs and no compression tool.

Nissans require a special tool that rotates the piston back into place like a screw. I think Hondas do that too, but I’ve never worked on one. I have had Nissan calipers last thirty years, so I don't know what is happening with the guy that can’t get them to last two or three unless he isn’t using the tool.

That guy was me :) never have luck with them for some reason, especially on the truck. The fronts dont require the special crank back tool, I was just using the pad flipped backward and a speed clamp, or the actual caliper piston retract kit (with the flat plates, etc) from Harbor Freight. Always crack the bleeder so Im not fighting the fluid nor am I sending dirty fluid back up the lines. Even followed the caliper replacement up with a complete fluid change as well.

The rear calipers on the i30 lasted 10 years before replacement, THOSE require the "cube" but I had the HF kit by then so I had much better tools than the stupid cube that would never stay engaged in the slot.
 

gto64gto

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I know this is a ram forum but I want to reply. I'm 73 and cannot count how many brake jobs I've done (I am not a mechanic but have always done my own work). I recently did a complete brake job on my 2009 Charger RT with twin pistons up front. I take one of my removed old pads, turn it so the back matches the piston and use a C clamp to slowly compress the pistons. I have never had any problems until this change. Every thing went normal with no problems, I went out and did a panic stop at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 MPH. No problems. Even, quick braking. I parked the car. The next evening, We went out to dinner and I noticed that at 45 MPH I had a vibration. I have never experienced this before. Over 45, a vibration. Under 45, none. I drove about 10 miles to the restaurant and 10 miles back. I felt the all the rims and the left front was fairly warm but not hot. I replaced the caliper and that took care of my problem. The pistons on the caliper must have stuck after getting hot when I first took a test drive. I have never had this happen before. So in this case, I think I would side with the mechanic.
 

Lucy Girl

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********, I’ve changed a lot of brakes on Mopar sand never had that issue. Only time I’ve ever seen that is when someone ****** up installing or removing it.


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Thanks for telling it like it is
 

AFMoulton

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Thanks for telling it like it is

I’m told a lot that is a problem, and I should be less abrasive, but **** em, I don’t have the time for that!


2018 2500 6.4 4x4 4.10 Amsoil SS 0w-40, Softopper
Black Rhino Arsenal 18x9 +12mm
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66RFE/68RFE Thermo Bypass Valve Install


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1996 Nissan Altima 2.4 Amsoil SS 5W-30
 

Ram1958

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Changed brakes on my and three friends |rams in the past two years and never had an issue. These were 2015 to 2018 Rams. one had 97000 km's on the original brakes. Find a Mechanic.
 

muddy12

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just throwing in my $.02, and for full disclosure, I bought my truck used, so I have no idea how it was treated or serviced before I owned it.
About a year ago, what started out a a simple brake pad swap on the front of my 2012 1500, ended up requiring new calipers due to broken pistons.
the pad change went smoothly. As I have done many times, I used the old pad and a C-clamp to compress the pistons, and all seemed well. About 10 miles down the road, one of the calipers locked up. I managed to free the caliper and make it home (always keep at least a basic took kit in your vehicle). I pulled everything back apart and discovered that both front calipers had cracks in the pistons that were hidden by the dust seals.
I suspect that the pistons had been cracked for some time, but for some reason, hadn't caused any issues until I pushed them back into the caliper bores.
73c2508f3b923e45ed01f6d35e89bf89.jpg
 

demonram

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So, apparently a very common issue with Mopar Calipers iszzzzz.. When you put new brakes and/or rotors on, the seals in the calipers are prone to blow. What this equates to is, you do the said replacement and you might find yourself driving down the road and your brakes don't work shortly after install. This is what I was told by a mechanic and is what happened to me. Luckily I was in my driveway when it went out (rear driver side).

I am reaching out to the community to determine if this is true or not.

I paid a shop to install some new brakes and rotors. After install, I drove home and had it parked for a couple days. Went to drive it again and when I disengaged my e-brake, the e-brake light was still on. It was fully disengaged, so I figured it was merely an adjustment that was needed. Drove about 250 miles over the weekend and parked it for a couple days Next startup and pedal hit the floor, no brakes.

Upon eyeball inspection, I could see my inner guide pin boot was dislodged and mangled in the caliper. But that is a dust boot, so was not causing the leak. There was obviously brake fluid all over the place.

Mechanic shop claims no error in compressing the calipers. Said and I quote, "this is a common issue with brake replacements, especially with Mopars, the seals blow."

There is way more sauce to this story that I may share as needed. But, I need some experienced input (personal experience or from a certified mechanic) that this is in fact true before I waste my time with the whole story.

I paid $55 to keep my core for inspection should I need to proceed to taking this to the next level. So, I really need some intelligent input on this matter as a starting point.

I'll edit the OP with more details, depending on what gives here.

Thanks
 
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MarshRam

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BIG THANKS to everyone that chimed in. I got a refund and know more about a Ram caliper than I did a week ago!
 
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TomB 1269

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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.
That's not a metal piston is made of Phenolic. Yes they are easily chipped and cracked particularly if someone tries to 1/2 a55 the job by using a C clamp on the rim of the piston. However, high heat loading, temperature shocking, foreign object (i.e. dragging caliper, hot brakes submerged or soaked in cold water, stone chip or grit from mud) can cause this as well, there is also the possibility of it being mishandled (i.e. drop or bounce off something).

Sorry to see this happen to you. I would suggest that if you are at or over 100K then replace both calipers on that axle. It has been my experience that once you replace a high mileage caliper on one side the "cleaner / easier" movement of the new one ends up causing the other to hang up with in 20K miles. So therefore I tend to replace both one I do one particlaurly if they are high mileage (i.e. 100k or more use)
 
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MarshRam

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That's not a metal piston is made of Phenolic. Yes they are easily chipped and cracked particularly if someone tries to 1/2 a55 the job by using a C clamp on the rim of the piston. However, high heat loading, temperature shocking, foreign object (i.e. dragging caliper, hot brakes submerged or soaked in cold water, stone chip or grit from mud) can cause this as well, there is also the possibility of it being mishandled (i.e. drop or bounce off something).

Sorry to see this happen to you. I would suggest that if you are at or over 100K then replace both calipers on that axle. It has been my experience that once you replace a high mileage caliper on one side the "cleaner / easier" movement of the new one ends up causing the other to hang up with in 20K miles. So therefore I tend to replace both one I do one particlaurly if they are high mileage (i.e. 100k or more use)


Thanks. I'll let the caliper die out that wasn't replaced. Am at 110k, but that was the first brake job the truck ever had. Truck is almost all highway miles, so the OEM went a long way in my case...
 
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