ScottyBoy
Full Access Member
@ScottyBoy that's crazy how your wheel was cut in half! Glad nobody got hurt, that could have gone way bad. I'm thinking next time a wheel is off I'll be sure to check the caliper bolts!
YES! Anytime you have the wheels off, ESPECIALLY the rear wheels, check all the bolts on the calipers, and the caliper mounting brackets. And anytime you work on the brakes, use red Loctite when reinstalling the caliper bracket bolts. If you buy new bolts, they have thread locker already on the threads. I obviously had to replace the bolts on mine since one popped out.
And then I finally found a new wheel to replace the one that got cut in half. I honestly think this would have been a very minor problem had it happened just driving around the neighborhood. But with the caliper rubbing the wheel at 75mph, AND when I pressed the brakes to slow down, that caused the caliper to just dig into the wheel even harder and that's when I almost instantly heard the loud "BOOM".
I had a caliper bolt come loose the same way on a Honda Civic I used to have about 8 years ago. But I was driving about 25mph so it didn't cause any damage at all. I just bought new caliper bolts and replaced them and that was the end of it. On the Suburban, it was bolts, brake hose, banjo bolt, copper washers, new shocks, and a new wheel and tire. I ultimately ended up replacing the pads, socks and the hoses on both sides just to be sure everything was safe to take my truck on road trips again.