Update on the Saturn, Need More Advice

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The Critic

The Critic

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Last week, I posted about a problem with my Saturn. Earlier today, I took it to the local Les Schwab for a brake and suspension inspection.

The shop came back with several findings. First, the left rear caliper was sticky, and as a result, the inner pad was almost worn out. They recommended the installation of remanufactured calipers, new rotors, new pads and a fluid flush. Also, the rear sway bar end links had significant play and needed replacement. Lastly, they recommended four new struts and an alignment as the struts appeared worn out. The technician arrived at the conclusion that I needed new struts though visual inspection only. While he tried to explain to me how he arrived at that conclusion, I didn't quite understand him.

Anyway, as I posted in the previous thread, the metal-to-metal grinding noise has disappeared over the last few days. However, my normal brake squeal seems to have gotten louder, yet oddly the brake pedal feel has improved significantly.

Nevertheless, do you folks think that the shop's recommended repairs will correct my problem? If you folks agree, I will proceed with the ordering of rear pads, rear rotors, rear hydraulic brake hoses, remanufactured calipers and rear sway bar end links. If not, please let me know how I should proceed.

Thanks!
 
If the parts the mechanic cited are worn, they should be replaced whether they fix the problem or not. I say go for it.

I always check for a worn wheel bearing when I see a stuck brake caliper because of the excess heat generated by the pad constantly dragging on the rotor. Unlikely, but possible. In the off chance that the noise doesn't go away with the recommended repairs, that's the next thing to look for.


Regarding the strut recommendation: Did the mechanic say he found lots of oil on the strut bodies? That'd be a pretty sure sign of blown dampers. Or, did he take a test drive?
 
I forgot to elaborate in my PM.... anyways the remanufactured calipers should include a new square-cut seal like I mentioned. That old square-cut seal very well may be the cause of the sticking caliper. I just noticed you mentioned new hydraulic brake hoses, did the tech mention anything about the lines being pinched?

Also check the rear sway bar to see if it actually has play...

Pretty much do everything he recommended, except try getting the rear rotors turned, and hold off on new RSB end links until you confirm that it has a lot of play. HTH.

I'll let the more experienced residents of BITOG give you additional recommendations....
 
The 4 struts is usually a markup call by the tech.

National shops do this all the time.

Take it to a good independent shop, and tell them to put a caliper on it, and new rear rotors/pads.

It shouldn't be too much coin.
 
I don't know what you need, but some of the recommendations like struts sound like a hard sell that chain shops have done to me. I have found it better to find an independent mechanic with years of experience to diagnose things without that bias. Have you inspected the parts that were recommended? That may be a way of verifying if they are needed to some degree. The longer the list of needed repairs the less I would trust the chain shop based on my experience.
 
Do everything except the strut replacement, at his time.
Does the car bounce and jiggle when hitting bumps? Is there visible oil leaking from the strut? Look a little further before diving in for new struts.
 
Took the car to Pep Boys today.

They did a more thorough inspection, but came back with the same conclusion regarding the noise. The rear pads were completely worn out, the rotors were below minimum thickness, and the calipers were sticking. They did not check the suspension, so they did not make any recommendations regarding the end links or the struts.

I'll go ahead and order new pads, rotors, calipers, hoses and end links then.

Should I replace just the rear hoses or should I replace the fronts as well? Or should I not even bother? I'm just concerned that the old hoses may act as as check valve and cause the calipers to seize.
 
change the hoses too, they cant be that expensive. i got braided stainless lines for my old mustang for under $100 and braided stainess lines with titanium pad shims for my volvo for about $200, i would assume the saturn should fall somewhere inbetween.

was there and oil on the dampener bodies? thats a sure sign of dampener failure. if they arent too expensive, then go for it. my volvo has oil on them, but you can only get OEM and they are about $800 each on a discount webpage. you can get away with monroe or kyb since you arent pushing the car very hard.
 
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I'm not sure if your rear discs are exactly like ours, but one of our cars is an 01 Saturn L300. I've changed the rear pads a couple of times and I noticed once that the pads wouldn't slip into place. The cast iron caliper had rusted and was gripping the backing material, not allowing the pad to move back and forth freely.
I ended up replacing the calipers. Now the brakes operate perfectly. Also, those sway bar links are garbage. I've changed them a couple of times as well.
 
I take apart my front brakes every year and give the rusty surfaces a good sanding, then regrease them. Sanding the rust off the rotors every year gave me an amazing 75,000 miles of use. I replaced them only because the previously stuck pad had finally worn all the way down to the metal in one spot. One of my rear sway bar links developed about 2" of play last year...
 
Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
Listen, you should find an independent parts shop and have them recommend an independent mechanic.

I'll be doing the work myself.

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
didn't you say once that you didn't believe in replacing struts?

Yup. I'll replace them only if they begin to give me other problems.
 
Here are the parts that I'll be using, please let me know if there's anything else that I should replace.

PartsList1.jpg


I also ordered:

(2) Centric 120.62037 Premium Brake Rotor- $27.05/each
(1) Centric 141.42550 Rear Left Remanufactured Caliper with bracket and hardware- $70.62
(1) Centric 141.62549 Rear Right Remanufactured Caliper with bracket and hardware- $70.62

Those parts were from Fast Undercar.

Thanks again!
 
I received the calipers and rotors from Fast Undercar on Thursday. Quality was outstanding, I would buy them again.

On the other hand, the remaining parts came from RockAuto today. The Raybestos pads were DEFECTIVE! The shim on one of the pads was loose against the backing plate. It seems like the adhesive is missing on the shim itself. Also, the hardware kit is missing.

I guess the job will have to be delayed until I receive a replacement.
 
I got Raybestos Professional Grade Ceramic pads, and Raybestos rotors for my Saturn at rock auto and they've been great.
 
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Good luck with your "adventure" Critic. Bummer about the Raybestos goof. Makes one wonder if mediocracy is becoming the norm with companies that market themselves as high quality.

Based on all the KYB raves here, I just bought 2 rear KYB GR struts for my daughter's Sebring (talk about adventure) from Car Quest. One had about a 75% paint coating.

Yah, I don't care what they look like, but with our winter salt, a little bit of paint would at least help them last an extra year.

I exchanged the "bad" one, but was generally disappointed with KYB's quality control.
 
I went out to NAS Whidbey Island last year to see my son before he deployed to Afghanistan. We were checking out his car and I noticed he needed front brakes. We took the car to Les Schwab to have them check the brakes and give a price to do the brake job. They were trying to sell us calipers, rotors, brake lines, the whole nine yards. I politely asked for a price to change the brake pads. During my inspection this was the only thing the car needed.

They said they wouldn't do it because they wouldn't be able to guarantee the job for 25,000 miles or something like that. We took the car onto the base rented a lift and an hour later the brakes were done for about $35 IIRC.

Frank D
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Good luck with your "adventure" Critic. Bummer about the Raybestos goof. Makes one wonder if mediocracy is becoming the norm with companies that market themselves as high quality.

Based on all the KYB raves here, I just bought 2 rear KYB GR struts for my daughter's Sebring (talk about adventure) from Car Quest. One had about a 75% paint coating.

Yah, I don't care what they look like, but with our winter salt, a little bit of paint would at least help them last an extra year.

I exchanged the "bad" one, but was generally disappointed with KYB's quality control.

I kept going back and forth between installing the defective ones and buying new ones, but I decided to buy a new set locally.

I bought a set of NAPA's new Adaptive One pads. The inner and outer pads are of a different formulation.

http://www.adaptive-1.com/
 
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