PepBoys Reman Caliper had serious hydraulic loss right after install

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outrun

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As soon as i left Manny, Moe, and Jack HQ the brakes felt like a sponge. I initially figured it was just a normal break in for the pads. 2miles later the brakes get worse and then my digital OBDI lights come..."low brake fluid" readout and the standard idiot brake light.

I put the flashers on and limp back to PepJocks. He jacks the car up while the place is closing and the remanufactured right front caliper (made by ProStop) was bleeding out. The master cylinder was empty.

The manager said 1st thing tommorrow they will replace it no questions asked.

Anyone here can give any further advice so i cover all my bases and not get screwed. I am sure a situation like this could have cost me my life if i hit the freeway with no brakes.

Would you assess the blame to the Techs or a bad reman unit?

I am a nice guy and i dont want that trait to get me screwed over by the slick corporate kiss your butt and stab you in the back types.
 
outrun, you remind me of myself 20 years ago. Like you, I drove an American car so I needed alot of frequent, unexpected repairs and had it serviced by Goodyear.

I remember driving my 1982 Pontiac 6000 away from the Goodyear shop after a brake job and within 4 blocks smelled and saw smoke coming from my front wheels! Yep, they botched a simple front brake pad change.

[ March 28, 2003, 05:32 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]
 
Probably a bad reman unit. It happens. On the other hand, a good tech should've caught it before you left the shop. Goes both ways here... Go to a better shop next time. I've heard very little good about Pep Boys service.

Malibu - ahh, why waste the time...
pat.gif
 
Tough call on whether something wasn't tightened up(defective tech) or if the part actually failed(defective part). Either way, they said they would take care of you.

I've used dozens of calipers from Peppyboys without incident. Makes me wonder if the hose/bleeder....wasn't torqued!
 
Could be either the tech or the part. If the new caliper was installed improperly (ie flex line), it may leak. It also could be a defective reman when the caliper piston seal leaks.

As others have said a "good" tech should have picked up this problem before the car left the shop.
 
Ya,

Without incident they ordered a new reman caliper and replaced the defective one. They said this one was sitting in storage for a while and it least they believed this aged-cracked the rubber seal around the Piston causing the hydraulic leak.

I was interested by the fact that after some 10years and 186,000 miles the OEM rubber brake lines are fine.

The car brakes like new again.

The ProLine PepBoys reman calipers costed 18.99$ each while the AC Delco units run about 50-75$ does that necessarily mean AC's are superior?


Thanks-
 
this is the reason i do ALL my own work on my cars.

i do everything from engine overhauls to brake jobs to tranny replacments all by myself, i wont trust a shop with my car.
 
quote:
Originally posted by outrun:
Ya,

Without incident they ordered a new reman caliper and replaced the defective one. They said this one was sitting in storage for a while and it least they believed this aged-cracked the rubber seal around the Piston causing the hydraulic leak.

I was interested by the fact that after some 10years and 186,000 miles the OEM rubber brake lines are fine.

The car brakes like new again.

The ProLine PepBoys reman calipers costed 18.99$ each while the AC Delco units run about 50-75$ does that necessarily mean AC's are superior?


Thanks-
Click to expand...
If it were my car, and I had one bad caliper, I would have replaced both fronts and both front flex lines. After ten years and almost 190K, those flex lines are probably pretty weak and they are cheap to replace. Who knows why the tech would not have recommended replacement. Probably wouldn't make any money on the job...

AC Delco parts are almost always more expensive, but not always better. For certian parts, like electronics, I only buy AC Delco. Other things, like brakes, I am not so picky (I don't care for AC Delco brake pads). If the rebuild was a quality job, it should perform just as well as a AC Delco part. Brake calipers aren't overly complex.


What make of car is this?

[ March 30, 2003, 10:25 PM: Message edited by: Oldswagon ]
 
Oldswagon,

What make of car is this?

This is my parents ride a 1993 Olds Ninety-Eight full size sedan.

3800 Series I TPI

4speed Auto FWD

186,000 miles

Synthetic for last 3 years and 50,000miles. Most expensive repair to date was 900.00$ for tie-rods (front and rear) in 2000. Everything else has been in order and standard maintence (alternators, battery etc)

Car's weakness, interior trim could be a little more durable but has held out well under daily driver abuse and not garaged. Car will need new repaint ($4-5000) and interior cloth (1-2000$) by summer of 2004 as we intend to keep it 4more years.

We assume (knock on wood) that it will last 225-250,000miles?
 
I have seen a large number of those older 3.8's hit 250K, even poorly maintained ones. They are pretty durable little engines, and one of the few V6's that I like. Those Olds Ninety-Eights are pretty decent cars too, one of the last traditional Oldsmobiles.
 
quote:
Originally posted by cryptokid:

quote:
Yeah, no one has ever heard of someone screwin' up their own car......
Click to expand...
i am fortunate enough to have never screwed anything up, ever.

i am sure i will sooner or later though.
Click to expand...
But how long have you been trying? 1, 5, 10+ Yrs

Brakes are one part of a car I personally would never used anything remanufactured.
 
Greg,

I am not sure if they were the tie rods. They were these heavy 40 pound suspension peices...one for the front one for the rear that apparantely were wearing down. As a matter of fact as the car aged these peices started making a weird & irratating humming sound as you drove the car. we intially thought it was an engine problem. But one of the smarter techs at the dealer figured it out. And no it was not one of those tie rod ends that you were thinking about.

My dad flew down to texas bought the two heavy suspension peices and brought them back to delaware. My friends at the parts counter were able to get a cash wholesale price for us.
 
Mike-

Brakes are one part of a car I personally would never used anything remanufactured.

I see the reasoning in your want of new parts. However I do not see the rationality.

What is the difference between a Reman Caliper and a new one?

Here are my assumptions...the reman one uses the same core with simply new bleeder valves, seals, and a piston(s).

Whereas a brand new one contains the EXACT same above parts the only exception being the a virgin metal core casting.

That raises the point what is the REAL difference? I reason it like an alternator, reman engine, trans, differential etc: Why toss the stuff in landfills when they are perfectly recyclable?
 
Why?

Because many reman. companies use parts that are often of lower quality then the originals. I have seen a great many reman. parts at a friends repair shop over the last 30-40 yrs and they often don't compare in quality to the parts on the car they are designed to replace. Also they tend to generic the parts and make one size top fit several applications often down grading some to compromise.

Now if it were say an AC Delco branded parts and it was remanufactured, I would considere it but some no name part in a box that does not even list who reman'd it or the county of origin, its junk IMO.

True story
A guy I worked with had starter problems on his 1992 Chevy Cavalier. He asked me for help and I told to go to GM dealer and have them install a new AC Delco. When he inquired, he was told the starter was $125 + installation. So he called a repair shop close to home and they quoted him $45 for rebuilt starter and $30 to install. He went there, 1 month I get a call in the AM from him saying his starter is dead and pick him up. He calls the shop and they said they would get a new starter and install it. 3 Months later that started failed, called shop again and guy says, Something is wrong with that car but we will check if out. They put on another reman. starter and the next day its dead after work. He finally had enough and took it to a Chevy dealer and told them, put on a new starter. That has been over 3 yrs ago and the car has started 5 days every week since. The guy at the repair shop told him that he was sick and tired of all the junk that was being remanufactured and sold but what was he to do? All everyone is interested in is, How Much? He said that 99 times out of a 100 that when he tells them the difference in Price between a new GM, Ford DC parts, they will opt for the cheaper no-name rebuilt part. And often they come back and blame him for selling them junk and he loses a customer.

Thats my reason. In 40 yrs of driving, I have had nothing but problems whenever I used rebuilt parts. Often thats the only choice but whent that happends I would rather go used from the auto recyclers. If an auto repair shop is honest, they will tell you the same thing.

A friend works at a independent parts dealer and we were discussing this very topic several months ago. I saw him in the store packing these parts in a carate and he said they were defective rebuilt parts going back. He said they have a high failure rate. When I asked why they sell that junk he says, that what sells, the cheaper the better as they get hundreds of calls a day and the only concern is, How much? I can get it cheaper at NAPA or Pep Boys etc. ALso said that they sold about 4 different brand of rebuilt parts in the last year, some the failure rate is so high the have to send a load back.

[ April 03, 2003, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: Mike ]
 
I was under the impression that there is a difference between reman and rebuilt. Reman is where they bring the part back to factory tolerances with the majority of the components being new. Or they throw out the core if it can't meet the new part specs. These are slightly less expensive than new but much more expensive than rebuilt parts which have only enough replacement components to get it to work on the bench. And it does not have to meet new parts specs.

Whimsey
 
Remanufactured parts are by a source in volumm.

Rebuilt is usually considered done on a one by one basis, e.g. You went to parts store and purchased a kit and had the work done locally. e.g. Rebuilt you carb, mater cylinder. Or a local parts store machine shop rebuilds it for you etc.

I tend to use the 2 terms to mean the same but you are correct they are different.
 
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