[DeTomaso] Don't let this happen to you.

[Ken Green]

It seems like an unusually high level of occurance.  I've had a lot of cars that required removing the caliper to replace brake pads, and none had any features to lock the caliper bolts in place.  Any theories on why the bolts come loose easier on a Pantera?
 
Ken

--- On Sun, 8/2/09, bill gaino <gaino at earthlink.net> wrote:


From: bill gaino <gaino at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Don't let this happen to you.
To: "tony DiGiovanna" <tonydigi at optonline.net>, detomaso at realbig.com
Date: Sunday, August 2, 2009, 5:57 AM


Same thing happend to me on the same corner of the car.  It was my fault though, the stock caliper bolts have a dual hole lock washer with tabs that bend to match the hex of the bolts. I replaced my rear pads and neglected to bend the tabs. One bolt fell out and WOW what a scary sound.  I found a bolt that was a bit undersize and used the dual washer to hold it in place untill I could get down the mountian, and found the correct bolt at a local shop in a bucket.... How do you lock a round head hex bolt?   Bill1362

-----Original Message-----
>From: tony DiGiovanna <tonydigi at optonline.net>
>Sent: Aug 1, 2009 8:17 PM
>To: detomaso at realbig.com
>Subject: [DeTomaso] Don't let this happen to you.
>
>Here's one for the annuls of luck:  Two week ago, I took the Pantera for a spirited Sunday jaunt down the highway 10 miles and back through the surface roads.  As I approach a red light under normal braking, in the last 15 feet, I hear a god awful grinding sound.  Something worse than a failed wheel bearing but not as bad as the cluster gear I once broke in a Nova.  When the light turned green, I wasn't sure the car would move, but it pulled thru the intersection just fine and I pulled into a parking lot.  Initial visual turned up nothing obvious, but then I noticed my right rear brake caliper fell off.  It fell off. O-F-F It fell off!  It was still there, and connected, with no brake line damage.  Even the mounting bolts and washers were still there, but there was no denying it fell off.  I got one bolt in by hand and drove home 5 miles idling in 1st gear.
>
>Diagnosis:  One caliper mounting bolt backed out.  Once clear of carrying any shear load, the braking force on the one remaining bolt was enough to break it.  The bolts were stainless socket headed cap screws provided in the aftermarket caliper conversion kit I bought two years ago.  They are now all carbon steel socket-headed cap screws and have loctite on them.  All the bolts on the other 3 corners were still tight.
>
>In a related story, I found the 5/16 hex drive socket I lost two years ago.  How does that happen:  A torqued bolt you want to stay in, comes out, while a hex drive you accidentally leave behind stays put during the same two years?
>
>Could have been a whole, big bad, bunch worse.
>
>Tony "Lucky this time" DiGiovanna
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
>Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
>DeTomaso mailing list
>DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
>http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso

_______________________________________________

Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA

Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/

DeTomaso mailing list
DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso