I been having this weird clunking sound while braking and it had been getting worse, so I jacked her up put it on a jackstand and had a look....lo and behold the damn bolts that hold the caliper bracket (the thing that holds the pads and bolts to the knuckle), had backed out. The top one was gone and number two was on its way out. They were already replacement bolts from the local hardware store and that may be the problem? I torqued em good and installed frsh lockwashers but I fail to see what more I can do, and I fear that this isn't the last time I'll have this problem. It is on the drivers side if that matters.

 

Edit: The replacement bolts are those gold colored heat treated hard ones, maybe they need to be softer? I am without a clue.....

I would goto the junkyard and get the correct bolts, and ASAP. Inspect the threads on the caliper bracket, and make sure they are not damaged by the aftermarket bolts. If they are, grab those from the junkyard as well.

 

Chances are, you will have a hard time finding the right grade bolt from any hardware store.

 

-Brian

ya, get the bolts and caliper bracket from a JY and replace yours, that could have been a very bad situation, good thing you caught it in time.

 

 

~Josh~

Were the replacement bolts from the hardware store the proper thread? Most hardware stores don't carry metric, but they may have had a close american thread one. But not close enough to hold tight.

No this store carries a good selection of Metrics and this bolt is very clearly Metric. It's same length as the one that came out (and was subsequenly lost) and it has the same type of lock washer on it........Perhaps I forgot to torque the bolts down I wonder....? I see NO reason why replacement bolts should not work, The ONLY possible differences are that it takes a 19mm wrench instead of the 17 tho old bolt took (I think it was 17).

 

Took a mid post break to go check the bolts (the car has seen 3 days and 350 miles of HARD use on the replacement bolts, and they show no sign of loosening)....Knowing me I prolly forgot to torque them LOL *heavy sigh of relief*. Maybe I smoked too much wacky tobaccy that day LOL

Well, I've used a number of hardware store bolts (mine carries a good selection of metrics too, but I've found many don't) to replace several things on my cars (not brakes though), and haven't had any problems before. You're probably right that you just forgot to torque them. I forgot to torque my crankshaft pulley bolt once. Lost power to the alternator and water pump about 50 miles later...

 

No this store carries a good selection of Metrics and this bolt is very clearly Metric. It's same length as the one that came out (and was subsequenly lost) and it has the same type of lock washer on it........Perhaps I forgot to torque the bolts down I wonder....? I see NO reason why replacement bolts should not work, The ONLY possible differences are that it takes a 19mm wrench instead of the 17 tho old bolt took (I think it was 17).

 

Took a mid post break to go check the bolts (the car has seen 3 days and 350 miles of HARD use on the replacement bolts, and they show no sign of loosening)....Knowing me I prolly forgot to torque them LOL *heavy sigh of relief*. Maybe I smoked too much wacky tobaccy that day LOL

hardware store bolts are fine, so long as you use a comperable/better grade bolt - most are grade 7 on the soob, some are slightly higher - my usual hardware store carries grade 8.8 or 10.9 - I usually use 10.9, because I like as much overhead as I can get, but either should work fine. Usually the heads are slightly larger too - a 12mm bolt head on a stock bolt would be 13mm on the replacement bolt. I have seen ones as low as grade 5 available, but I NEVER use them.

 

The grades are standardized, so you can be *fairly* comfident a higher grade will work as well/better than the stock bolts