The stuck caliper pin that turned a 45 minute brake job into a 6 hour nightmare

Broke a slide pin extractor on a 2008 F-150 in a Tulsa parking lot during a rainstorm last month, then found out the replacement pin kit I ordered was the wrong thread pitch, and I had to drive 30 miles to a dealer that closed at 6 PM, has anyone else had a one-part fail cascade into the worst day of their week like that?

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david_jones3813d ago

Tulsa Auto Parts off 51st had a 2008 kit that was close but not exact, so I ended up cutting the old pin out with a hacksaw blade and running a thread chaser through the bracket hole instead of trusting the wrong part again. That was after I already blew 2 hours on a Saturday morning waiting for the parts store to open, so I feel your pain on the cascade thing. The trick that saved me was hitting every other rusted bolt in that area with PB Blaster the night before, even the ones that looked fine, because the next one up the chain was seized too. Also, I learned to carry a cheap tap and die set in the truck, because one stripped thread can turn a simple bleed job into a whole new shopping trip. Honestly, once one thing snaps, you gotta stop and check the whole assembly for wear before you order anything, not just swap the broken piece.