Bizarre brake situation, how can this happen?

[unpolire]

I agree with you 100% and have performed all of my brake jobs on all of my cars for the past 40 years. I trust the ex-factory Porsche mechanic with brakes and regret not having him install OEM pads and rotors when the car was in his shop for full services after sitting dormant for years.

The restorer shop does complex jobs like converting classic Barracudas to Hellcat powertrains with modern ABS and big brake kits, as well as full restoration on classic Mercedes-Benz, Porsches, and VWs. They looked competent. All of my metric tools were hundreds of miles away locked in a container.

The job was done worse than I thought because when cornering, noise from something contacting metal came from the left rear and a deep groove the width and location of one of the caliper pins is in the newly installed rotor after a 35-mile drive. My photo jpegs won't load here and manual attempts did not work. I'll remove the caliper and rotor and determine what has gone horribly wrong. There were no other issues with the car when delivered to the restorer and new tires and an alignment had just been done.

[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by unpolire

I agree with you 100% and have performed all of my brake jobs on all of my cars for the past 40 years. I trust the ex-factory Porsche mechanic with brakes and regret not having him install OEM pads and rotors when the car was in his shop for full services after sitting dormant for years.

The restorer shop does complex jobs like converting classic Barracudas to Hellcat powertrains with modern ABS and big brake kits, as well as full restoration on classic Mercedes-Benz, Porsches, and VWs. They looked competent. All of my metric tools were hundreds of miles away locked in a container.

The job was done worse than I thought because when cornering, noise from something contacting metal came from the left rear and a deep groove the width and location of one of the caliper pins is in the newly installed rotor after a 35-mile drive. My photo jpegs won't load here and manual attempts did not work. I'll remove the caliper and rotor and determine what has gone horribly wrong. There were no other issues with the car when delivered to the restorer and new tires and an alignment had just been done.

Good luck and I trust that you can correct things on your own and enjoy the car in no time.

I just hate to my gut that the shop is getting away with such horrible job, and this reminds me of how I got into wrenching my cars for over 30 years.

My first car was a 72 Beetle back in 1989, and I had a VW dealership do valve gap adjustment. On my way back home, a rear tire came off of the car in the middle of intersection and I somehow managed to avoid accident. They forgot to torque lug bolts properly and I got one lug bolt lost out of them after argument but no sincere apology for potentially killing me, I was just their inconvenience. It was then that I decided to rather spend money on tools and manuals to handle repairs all myself, and basically I’m maintaining and repairing all of my cars ever since, unless the car is under factory warranty. I just started doing wheel alignment home too, while I still have to let a shop mount tires and balance them, but even then I don’t let a shop touch my 986, only bringing them loose wheels as I have two sets of wheels for summer and winter tires.

[unpolire]

Originally Posted by Boxstard

Good luck and I trust that you can correct things on your own and enjoy the car in no time.



I just hate to my gut that the shop is getting away with such horrible job, and this reminds me of how I got into wrenching my cars for over 30 years.



My first car was a 72 Beetle back in 1989, and I had a VW dealership do valve gap adjustment. On my way back home, a rear tire came off of the car in the middle of intersection and I somehow managed to avoid accident. They forgot to torque lug bolts properly and I got one lug bolt lost out of them after argument but no sincere apology for potentially killing me, I was just their inconvenience. It was then that I decided to rather spend money on tools and manuals to handle repairs all myself, and basically I’m maintaining and repairing all of my cars ever since, unless the car is under factory warranty. I just started doing wheel alignment home too, while I still have to let a shop mount tires and balance them, but even then I don’t let a shop touch my 986, only bringing them loose wheels as I have two sets of wheels for summer and winter tires.

My brother took my 1971 914 to a Sears Auto Center for tires or brakes years ago. He pays the bill and pulls onto the freeway and accelerates into traffic. 3 of the 4 wheels and tires fly off of the car, one bouncing directly into the path of an elderly couple, bouncing over their windshield. The car is on the rotors and one wheel still barely attached at the entrance ramp. They had failed to tighten ANY of the wheel bolts! No one died by sheer luck. They paid out thousands in repairs, rental cars, etc.

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[PLP]

Originally Posted by unpolire

They had failed to tighten ANY of the wheel bolts! No one died by sheer luck. They paid out thousands in repairs, rental cars, etc.

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It has never happened to me... yet... but I was wondering.
How in the world one can drive the car long enough and not feel something is wrong with wheels?
I mean, is it possible for the wheel to simply snap off in a fraction of second without any warning? Don't you feel a wobble or something? Noise?
My little brain is unable to comprehend it.

[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by PLP

It has never happened to me... yet... but I was wondering.
How in the world one can drive the car long enough and not feel something is wrong with wheels?
I mean, is it possible for the wheel to simply snap off in a fraction of second without any warning? Don't you feel a wobble or something? Noise?
My little brain is unable to comprehend it.

It can happen fast while you wonder what the heck. In my experience posted earlier, I was just 18 and owned the car for only two months, so freshman when it comes to detecting car issues, but I recall that my rear wheel started to rattle violently and shortly after that the wheel was rolling on its own before I could pull over or anything….

[unpolire]

Originally Posted by PLP

It has never happened to me... yet... but I was wondering.

How in the world one can drive the car long enough and not feel something is wrong with wheels?

I mean, is it possible for the wheel to simply snap off in a fraction of second without any warning? Don't you feel a wobble or something? Noise?

My little brain is unable to comprehend it.

He didn't get even 100 feet! They flew off as he accelerated after pulling out of the service garage. Located right next to the freeway entrance ramp. I found wheel bolts all over the freeway and roadside when I went to retrieve the car with a flatbed.

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[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by unpolire

I found wheel bolts all over the freeway and roadside when I went to retrieve the car with a flatbed.

When that happened on my VW bug, I found 3 lug bolts still captured behind the hub cap but one escaped and could not find it on the road…

[old911doc]

Before you order your bearings, be aware that the S version uses a different bearing, and half shaft, than the standard model Box.

What a mess of a situation you had. I would think that a diligent mechanic would wiggle the hub to check for bearing play, sort of reflexively, while replacing discs and pads. That simple brake service is the first thing that instructors have novices do, well before letting a novice get hold of a spark plug socket.
And, to my mind, a Boxster is a relatively easy car to care for. Lemme tellya about a Lotus Elan…

[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by unpolire

My brother took my 1971 914 to a Sears Auto Center for tires or brakes years ago. He pays the bill and pulls onto the freeway and accelerates into traffic. 3 of the 4 wheels and tires fly off of the car, one bouncing directly into the path of an elderly couple, bouncing over their windshield. The car is on the rotors and one wheel still barely attached at the entrance ramp. They had failed to tighten ANY of the wheel bolts! No one died by sheer luck. They paid out thousands in repairs, rental cars, etc.

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OMG that could have been a lot worse!

Actually 914 was my third car since that incident with my bug, the most memorable incident beside blowing up the engine with a dropped valve was when I snapped the throttle cable 90 miles away from home. I re-routed the cable from engine lid through window into the cabin, with a string attached to the broken end of the cable, and operated throttle with my left hand while shifting gear with my right hand. Using all hands and legs to drive the car back all the way home, it was a great excessive and felt like I was really operating a machine!