So i noticed a whirling friction sound coming from my rear wheel. I took off the wheel and unscrewed the caliper lock bolt that you can rotate the caliper on. The bolt came out all wobbly and misthreaded. I just re-installed the misthreaded bolt for now, but im not sure what to do. Do you think this is the cause of the sound im hearing from the back wheel? Can i retap the thread or should i buy a whole new caliper knuckle? Any help is greatly appreciated since im driving across country in 10 days!

the rear calipers aren't really worth much so getting a used one should be cheap and easy. probably cheaper than the helicoil/rethread kits. $25 should get you a rear caliper or bracket if that's all you need. post in the parts wanted forum, maybe someone here has one for you.

 

you can chase the threads with a tap and die and/or get a new bolt and just chase the threads in the bracket with a tap.

 

or helicoil/timesert it.

 

i'd probably opt for trying to do something with the existing set up so as to avoid bleeding the brakes. although if you clamp it off and/or swap quickly/prefill the calipers i've been able to swap them out without bleeding the entire brake system.

 

not that there's anything wrong with new fluid in all the lines, that would be most wise...it's just a lengthy process sometimes.

Thanks for the advice!