Free brakes!
Last night I changed the brakes on the Exploder. I bought the first set, 14 sets ago, 1n 2000. ANd because I bought the lifetime brakes, the replacements were free. Autozone hates me.
All day today, I felt a wobble that hadn’t been there before. I checked the lugs and they were all tight, so I had no idea. On the way home it seemed to get worse, or maybe I was just more annoyed by it. So i pulled in the drive, lifted it, pulled the wheel, brake caliper, caliper bracket, and the disk.
There, under the disk, was a piece of rust, that had probably fallen in between the rotor and the hub. It was .005 thick. I cleaned and replaced everything, and it’s rock steady.
That’s knowing your vehicle, when you can feel a .005″ thick piece of rust between the hub and rotor. Guess driving the same truck for 350,000 miles has a few advantages.
14 comments Og | Uncategorized
Heh. Instead of the princess and the pea, it’s Og and the rust flake.
That’s being in tune with your ride, fer sure.
Just busted 150,000 and I heard the squealing go off on my brakes this morning.
It’ll be the second set.
My Uncle loves this game; he’s much better at it than I am.
Granddaddy’s ’66 Chevy truck is on God only knows which sets of shocks, brakes, battery, belts, hoses, etc. Uncle started buying lifetime warranty parts for it sometime in the late ’60s-early ’70s, and still has ALL the receipts.
I forget who, but somebody’s even still honoring lifetime replacements for it from Montgomery Ward. Yeah, they hate him too.
“The Exploder’.
I freaking laughed for 5 minutes-that caught me off guard!:)
LOL! It’s always been “The Exploder”. I got it about the time they were recalling all those tires. it just sort of fit. Glad to make you giggle, it’s a high honor.
I had a Saab in college, which I simply called ‘The Bitch’.
Nothing seemed expensive after that…
God forgive you.
Saab tend to be monday-friday cars. If you get a car made on a wednesday, they’re OK. The cost of brakes etc. can really blow your mind. Fun to drive, but so is a Ford, and you can afford that.
Og, it’s great that you’ve gotten 350,000 miles on the Exploder. My only question is what parts haven’t you rebuilt or replaced?
If you can make Chris Muir laugh for five minutes, you have real talent.
Wasp: I’ve replaced the alternator. The transfer chain. The front pulley. Oil, brakes rotors. A few gaskets.the ac filter and radiator. Uppers and lowers and bushings. Ujoints. Everything else is original.
14 sets of brakes in 9 years?
What in God’s name do you do to that thing?
Drive it, Sig. Drive it hard. 110 mile round trip every day on Chicago expressways. Stop and go. Lots of brake riding. Lots of other nastiness.
.005″! I never thought that value would be funny, but now it is.
I be your Exploder feels somehow different after someone else has driven it, too.
Mr. Muir should make a character out of you, because you are.
“I be your Exploder feels somehow different after someone else has driven it, too.”
YES!!! Which is why I rarely LET anyone else drive it.