a general laugh about brake noise

I had a customer want me to look at her brakes , the description was a " faint noise from the front " . Now I test drove the vehicle and turned directly around to take front tires off and found pictured . Only one brake pad steel left and half the piston on the caliper gone too . I just figured someone out there needs a laugh today !

Did you suggest a hearing test? maybe the stereo is turned up too high and she wears gloves!

Sadly, not the first time I've seen this. :eek:

Agreed , I also had a good friend with a f350 cube van (always over loaded ) ask me to do his brakes . Later that night 2 hours away he was sitting on the side of the road with a wheel locked up . He had to panic stop on the expressway and that was the last press of that pedal . It looked just like your picture above .

Yep. Back here we called these Billy Baker Air brakes. Our local Esso, later Exxon, station had one hanging in its "hall of fame" above the workbench. Billy Baker was a local character that ran everything thin. Dandy Dave!

My neighbor has a small repair shop in his garage to keep him busy in retirement(12 hours a day, 7 days a week) and I can't count the number of times he has called me over to look at the latest disaster. The phrase "Dumber than a box of Rocks" comes to mind often when thinking about some drivers.

...about as sharp as a marble...

nowadays i'll take that sharp marble , over the "can't afford to fix that right now " while there is a $1000 stereo system in the vehicle . This I see daily .

But the stereo is a status thing. My Stereo system is an Edison wind up Phonograph so I guess I'm a little out of date. Dandy Dave!

And these brakes could have passed most states annual inspections. Florida decided inspections were to costly and elminated all private passenger vehicle inspections. That leaves more money for people to have and use I-Phones and not be annoyed by the "faint noise".

But.....No light came on. I mean besides the one telling me I had to work out. It kept telling me to work on my ABS. How was I supposed to know my brakes were bad?

In all my days as a brake mechanic, I have NEVER seen a rotor as bad as those posted above!! WOW! You would think that the teeth would have rattled out of the driver's heads....

I have had 3 this past year alone . It is even better when they don't think they need a caliper when half the piston is ground away .

When I worked at a shop, that focused on Austin Healeys, a customer called to tell us his brakes didn't seem to work very well and there was a "funny noise". There's always a funny noise. He soon showed up and it sounded like Hop Sing ringing the dinner bell at the Ponderosa, as he came up the alley. We pulled the wheels off the back and the rear shoes were completely worn down. One side had worn down to the ribs and the ribs cut the drum in half and the loose piece was clanging around, making the "funny noise". What a boob.

There was a guy who put a clock movement in one of his sons rotors that looked like Joe's photo. It made such a nice gift.

There was a guy who put a clock movement in one of his sons rotors that looked like Joe's photo. It made such a nice gift.

Like. About all it is good for after that abuse... Dandy Dave!

Amazing... and to think we are on the road with some of these Billy Bakers.

I think it's time I review my insurance policy again. Anyone know if they have uninsured bakers dozen coverage ?

Guess they never heard the phrase "brakes and tires are the two most important things".

Going/moving is optional, stopping is not; however, there are two stopping options: "The easy way (under control and with good brakes)", or the "hard way". I don't think any elucidation is needed for the "hard way" which is nearly always painful, expensive or both.

Checkin' my brakes,

Grog

I first started driving I thought brakes were "ok" as long as you had a GREAT clutch to downshift to a lower gear . Later I realized couple nights out a week equaled the brake job parts . we all have to grow up at different stages .

Try to breaking Newton's law of motion, the minimum sentence can be a bit painful.

In all my days as a brake mechanic, I have NEVER seen a rotor as bad as those posted above!! WOW! You would think that the teeth would have rattled out of the driver's heads....

I suspect, keiser, that it might have something to do with the fact that Michigan doesn't have anything that you or I would call hills! (No offence to anyone in the US midwest or Canadian prairies.) I've been over the Siskiyou several times in my 30 foot motorhome and that's not a place where brakes like that would do you much good! In British Columbia we have the Coquihalla summit on Highway 5 which is the same elevation as the Siskiyou (4400 feet) and has a 17 kilometre 8-10 % downgrade which is referred to as Smash Hill (speed limit is 120 kph - big rigs do that speed!!). There is also Pennask summit - Highway 97C - which descends from 6000 feet to 900 feet in just 30 kilometres, and Heckman Pass on Highway 20 (elevation ?), but it has a 10 kilometre 18 % downgrade with switchbacks and no guard rails. I think good brakes might just be necessary. :eek:

Terry