Most F-ed Up Reason For A Brake Repair - EVER!

[stopbush]

So I go to the brake shop today to get my front tire examined. The passenger-side tire is making a funny noise, but not all the time. They get the tire off and take a look, and what do they find? Why, the remnants of a plastic bag caught up between the disc and calipers. And unfortunately, the plastic had gotten heated up, melted together...and proceeded to form a hard chunk that gouged the rotor into "must be replaced" mode.

So the cost of fixing everything ran to $297 that I really couldn't afford. Shit!

That's one big problem with Vegas: there's so much construction going on and people throwing their garbage out of their windows that there's shit all over the roads. I've lived here under two years and I've had 5 flat tires from picking up nails that are all over the place. But a plastic bag screwing up your brakes? That's a new one.

[Catch22Dem]

1. Wow, now THAT'S bad luck

Real bad.

[politicaholic]

2. Random occurances based on a series of seemingly chaotic factors...

suck.

It guess it's time for some overtime.

Sorry.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Yeah I always buy the road hazard protection when I get tires

Same thing in my area of So Cal...so 10 bucks more than pays for itself over the life of the tires

[tridim]

4. That sucks..

An easy solution would be to learn how to do your own brakes.. It's not very difficult, and you'll save thousands of dollars. Professional brake jobs are a complete rip-off.

[stopbush]

5. How do you re-tool a rotor without a lathe?

I guess you could just buy two new rotors (the new one cost me $69) and save on the ridiculous labor charges.

[BlueJazz]

6. I hate to tell you this but Rotors are about 20 bucks each.

[tridim]

8. Yea.. Rotors are unbelievably cheap

The job only gets tricky if you have to replace calipers and/or fittings.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. And the rotor was so shot it couldn't be turned?

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Some places have guys who will turn the rotors...

although I've never bothered when doing my own brakes.

Depending on this, that, and whatever, replacing rotors could be slightly tricky. Bearings 'n stuff, you know.

[Schema Thing]

9. Wow, that plastic is on sterioids!

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. That's why I approve of the death penalty for litterers