Brake Job

[doctorhrdware]

I was going to do the brakes on the gp but the wifes Explorer front brakes started to act up. What a unpleasant adventure with the retarded parts monkeys at Autozone. I ended up having to go to 4 stores to in order to find the right caliper bracket. The Dorman bracket that they have in stock is the wrong one. I also replaced the front rotors too. So it has been a very frustrating day to say the least. Just a big pain in the ass and my lower back also.

[doctorhrdware]

Here is the reply that I recrived from Cardone.

Stanley Choynacky <[email protected]> wrote: I come up with a part number 14-1104.

[tblake]

Thats all they had to say? sheesh.

[doctorhrdware]

Yes that was it. Did not seem to get, that the caliper brackets were absolute crap. The one caliper had gouge marks where it bolts the car. I take a Dorman or Wagner and BWD over cardone any time.

[doctorhrdware]

Well I got the passenger rear caliper bracket back on and guess what the one from the dealer fit with no problems.

[doctorhrdware]

Well I have the acetylene torch and I am going to heat the track bar bolt and nut. Hopefully I will get the bolts and the nuts off.

[tblake]

Check my alignment thread.

[richtazz]

Originally Posted by doctorhrdware

But when I was at the Harley Davidson shop the have freeze spray that is for getting rusted bolts off of screws. Does anyone know how well it works. Also is it worth the price?

Being a Harley owner, I can say this. Why would a Harley dealership have something for seized bolts? With as often as you have to retighten everything from vibrating loose, how can they get seized?

[doctorhrdware]

Originally Posted by richtazz

Being a Harley owner, I can say this. Why would a Harley dealership have something for seized bolts? With as often as you have to retighten everything from vibrating loose, how can they get seized?

We are Harley owners also. I have a Harley trike and the wife has a sportster and I could not tell you why that is. But you're right I have to retorque all the bolts and nuts once every other month.

[doctorhrdware]

Thank God I am finally done with all the suspension and the brakes. I did not know where the track bar mounts to the car that it can be removed from the under the car. It made it so much easier to remove the track bars. I had to also replace the trailing arm on the passenger side also. It was bent at the mounting plate that attaches to the car.

[richtazz]

Good to hear you got the brakes done. On the Harley part, my 01 Fatboy has been bulletproof dependable. I have no issues at all with my bike, just normal maintenance, turn the key, and ride. My dad's old 77 Sporty he had back in the day, now that bike was a pile!!! When it ran, it really ran, but that wasn't very often. The AMF years for Harley is where 90% of the jokes come from, and most were correct. My bike doesn't vibrate excessively (I say that because all V-twins vibrate), doesn't "mark it's spot" with oil, and has never let me down or left me stranded.

[doctorhrdware]

My wife Sportster never did until she had a local HD stealership worked on her bike. She had it painted it a pearl green and had a bigger tank. Well to find out the tank was not a Harley tank but a jap piece of junk. When the tank was painted, paint over spray was in the tank. The tank also had rust in it. Needless to say it did a number on the carb. I tried several times to rebuilt the carb but I could not get the bike to idle. So the bike was brought into another dealer in Indiana and $1k later it is running, they had to rebuild the whole carb. We are also talking to our attorney about paying for Harley parts but not getting them. So we will see what becomes of the letters sent to that stealership.

[SNKPWR]

Are you sure you installed the cardone caliper brackets on the correct side if the mounting flange...having worked in oem automotive manufacturing, this severe of a discrepancy seems highly unlikely...

[doctorhrdware]

Originally Posted by SNKPWR

Are you sure you installed the cardone caliper brackets on the correct side if the mounting flange...having worked in oem automotive manufacturing, this severe of a discrepancy seems highly unlikely...

Yes, I tried the one caliper bracket that the width was too small, on both sides of the car. It was mounted properly, but had the same results on both sides of the car. The width of the bracket was too small. This would cause the rotor not to spin. The front of bracket would touch the front side of the rotor. The other rotor bracket the height was too low, so much so that it would ride on the top of the rotor. I also tried that on both sides of the car with the same results.

[SNKPWR]

Wow that is really bad...Chinese made I'm sure...