Why does nobody talk about how long a simple brake job can go sideways

I spent 6 hours last Saturday chasing a seized caliper pin on a 2008 Civic that should have taken me 45 minutes tops, what's the longest a "quick fix" has dragged out for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

richardrodriguez13d ago

Man I feel you, my record was a 2012 Ford Explorer brake job that turned into a full weekend. I snapped a bleeder screw off the back caliper (you know, the one that's impossible to reach) and spent four hours trying to extract it before I gave up and just replaced the whole caliper. Then I realized the new caliper had the wrong thread pitch for my brake line fitting, so I had to run to three different parts stores to find an adapter. Ended up driving 45 minutes to a Napa that actually had one in stock, got home at 9 PM, and the job that should have been a two hour lunch break cost me my whole Saturday. At least the car stopped eventually, right?

umab8612d ago

Wait, you drove 45 minutes for a brake fitting adapter too? I spent a whole Sunday tracking down a weird metric fitting for an old Toyota, only to find out the caliper was bent and I had to order a whole new one anyway.

ryan65312d ago

You said "snapped a bleeder screw off the back caliper" but I think you meant the front one. The back calipers on those Explorers are a pain but the bleeder screw is actually pretty easy to get to. The front ones are the real nightmare because they're tucked behind the steering knuckle.