Lost BOTH brake caliper mounting bolts today

[95g atl]

Yes sir.....
On the way back from the farmhouse today, with a mini-ex in the bed of the pickup AND towing my buddy's hunting club truck on my trailer, I hear clank and clank and some funny noise from the front. Pull over to a parking lot --- happened to be Mavis tire. Parked, went reverse and fwd. Weird noises from front end and clunking. Parked and spoke to the shop. They are closed. Manager said he wouldn't help even if I paid him cash money. Thankfully one of his employees helped me with loaning a 24mm wrench (I cash app'd him $10 for his help). Customer towing a camper helped me with everything and his dad took me to home depot to try and find some bolts. Sunday evening..............why does this always happen on Sunday's......!!!!!!!!

Long story short, got two more bolts, the wrong thread size of course b/c depot doesn't carry metric in 5/8" diameter. Took one bolt off the other caliber bracket, put it on the missing caliper bracket. Used the two wrong size threads hand tight and then 1/4 turn w/wrench. Drove the 12 miles home safely.

Could not have done it without a feller named Jeff, his daddy, and Jeff's patient little girl.

God must have been helping out with the situation..........could have been MUCH worse.

 

[riskyb]

If there is an Oreilly’s close they sometimes stock them in the help isle

 

[95g atl]

If there is an Oreilly’s close they sometimes stock them in the help isle

auto zone was close. Called them.....nope.

 

[jiminbogart]

...mini-ex in the bed of the pickup...

How big is the mini ex and how big is the truck?

We once put a stand up jet ski in the trunk of a rental car in Vegas to go to Lake Mead. Got a flat at Lake Mead and popped the trunk to find the spare flat. Drove on the rim back to the airport to get another rental car.

We had to air down the tires to get unstuck from the desert sand where we backed down to the lake. Lost the bead.

 

[95g atl]

How big is the mini ex and how big is the truck?

We once put a stand up jet ski in the trunk of a rental car in Vegas to go to Lake Mead. Got a flat at Lake Mead and popped the trunk to find the spare flat. Drove on the rim back to the airport to get another rental car.

We had to air down the tires to get unstuck from the desert sand where we backed down to the lake. Lost the bead.

It ain’t no 1/2 ton truck.

RAM 3500 Dually diesel.
Mini ex is small. Less than 3000 lbs.

I believe the truck is rated for 6000-7000 lb payload.
Had the Supply yard put in 6000 lbs of bagged rocks last week. Wasn’t an issue for it at all.

 

[Doboy Dawg]

Use some Blue Loctite on them.

 

[jiminbogart]

It ain’t no 1/2 ton truck.

RAM 3500 Dually diesel.
Mini ex is small. Less than 3000 lbs.

I believe the truck is rated for 6000-7000 lb payload.
Had the Supply yard put in 6000 lbs of bagged rocks last week. Wasn’t an issue for it at all.

I've got the same truck. I figured you must have a flat bed. I never thought about putting my mini ex in the truck bed. Seems like it would be tough to load.

 

[blood on the ground]

Never heard of both caliper bolts just coming out! I'm glad it didn't cause more issues than it did.

 

[95g atl]

Have to remove the tailgate first. then back up the heavy duty aluminum ramps. Using the bucket to prevent tipping. A little skill is req’d. Not bad.

Yes sir on the loctite. 100% on my mind. Both sides.
never heard of both bolts coming loose. Could have been so much worse. And fortunate it happened where it did and when it did. Would had been horrible if it happened in traffic or in the middle of nowhere.

 

[bany]

Glad that all worked out for ya! Could have been a really, really bad day.

 

[95g atl]

UPDATE:
Napa sold me the wrong bolts. Called dealer, bolts are discontinued.
Went to Ace Hardware in Buford. Found them.

Installed with red loctite. Seem to be working.

 

[GoldDot40]

UPDATE:
Napa sold me the wrong bolts. Called dealer, bolts are discontinued.
Went to Ace Hardware in Buford. Found them.

Installed with red loctite. Seem to be working.

Gotta give Ace Hardware props. My local Ace has one of the best fastener selection around. They even have bins labeled for automotive application fasteners. A LOT of the miscellaneous bolts, washers and screws on my Camaro restoration came from Ace.

 

[Doboy Dawg]

UPDATE:
Napa sold me the wrong bolts. Called dealer, bolts are discontinued.
Went to Ace Hardware in Buford. Found them.

Installed with red loctite. Seem to be working.

Should have used Blue Loctite. With Red Loctite you will have to heat them up to remove them when it’s time for new brake pads.

But on the good side, they won’t fall out again.

 

[95g atl]

Should have used Blue Loctite. With Red Loctite you will have to heat them up to remove them when it’s time for new brake pads.

But on the good side, they won’t fall out again.

Torch it is..........haha.
The brakes are pretty new, so I should be good for awhile.