FishinAJ

First time on here..

I just got my wife front brakes done a couple days ago on her 09' IS-250 with just over 64K miles.
Now when I drive over raised reflectors, small pot holes, or bumps in the street it makes a loud rattle noise, kind of like large socket in a "metal" can, not a tin can.

Here's a short video with the noise I'm talking about. You will hear a bump, which is the car driving over the raised reflectors, followed by a "metal clank" sound.
You might need to turn up the volume to hear the noise, but really can hear the loud one towards the end.

Click on the link to see the video..
http://vid1260.photobucket.com/album...psikoo6pig.mp4


The noise only happens when going over something as I described above, not over dips in the road .
But I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts? I've read some other post about the noise, but nothing really matches my sound or I just didn't come across that thread.
But there is a story behind this noise starting from after visiting the mechanics shop.....
First took the car in to get the front rotors resurface because the the car had vibrating issues from the rotors when stopping a little hard at faster speeds. Typical rotors needing resurfacing.
I got that done, BUT the next day my wife noticed when she drove down the street the car would make a repetitive noise as if the brake pads were rattling in the caliper. It would only do it when lightly pressing on the brakes but go away when you would press down harder. Also there was no sound while driving.
Took the car back to the shop and I was told the brakes needed to be replaced because they where worn uneven.
I went out to look at the car once it was on the lift and the mechanic showed me the pads. I did see the inside pad on both front brakes was worn at a slight angle and had about 20% left while the outside pads had even wear with about 50% wear. The mechanic said this is the reason for the sound, the uneven inside pad.
I was thinking BS; I'm thinking they tighten something before I saw, but I couldn't prove it.
So since the inside pads, on both sides, had the uneven wear, I had them just go ahead and replace the pads for the safety of my wife.
Miraculously the sound went away.
But wait there's more....
Now 2 days later I'm starting to hear a new sound when going small potholes or driving over reflectors or road bumps. Like I said earlier the sound is like a socket rattling in a "metal" can, not a tin can sound.
So I pulled the car in our garage to take off the front driver side tire and the idiots at the shop over tighten the lugs to were my air impact gun can't even get them off or me standing on a breaker bar couldn't get them loose and I weight about 215.
So now I have to go back the shop and have these people check again and hear what their "professional" advice is.
I hoping someone might be able to give me some info as to what this noise is prior to me going to the shop.
Thanks

FishinAJ

Thanks for your reply and to answer your question.

- No I did not take the car to the dealership for service.

- The shop is ASE certified, but I can't say the name of the shop since I don't want any "negative" things happening since I would be blasting a corporate shop.

- Pads are OEM pads

- Yea in hindsight I should have had the brakes done at the same time as the first resurfacing, but I had thought we just got the brakes done less then 12 months ago, but my wife corrected me after the fact is was 24 months ago.

- As for the cleaning of the rotors after resurfacing, I did not see if they did or not.

-IF I have to get new rotors because they're wrapped, that's going to be one of my lessons learned.

- I agree with you, they're bozos and I don't think they know what they're doing either.

I'm not going to go back to them ever again and I will not be going to them to fix the problem. I feel like they're one of those shops that fix one thing and purposely break something else.

BDSL

It can be many things....loose dust shield, loose bolts, etc...
You will have to remove the wheel to have a look.

FishinAJ

I wish I could take off the wheel but the mechanic put the lugs on so tight I can't get them off with my impact gun or even standing on my breaker bar.

I'm going to try and take the car into another shop that we've used many times and have had good luck with.

UDel

I hate when mechanics or tire places over tighten/over torque lug nuts. How do they expect the owner to be able to be able to change a flat tire if they have a flat on the side of the road when you need a torque gun to loosen the over tightened bolts.

Like others said the rattle or noise can be several things, may not even be the brakes but something with the suspension.

FishinAJ

I was burning mad because the same thoughts you had, I had. It felt like the mechanic put lock tight on the lugs.

I just dropped the car off at a mechanic that 's done work before on my truck and I've been please with his work in the past. I will know later what is wrong once he gets a chance to take off the wheels.

BDSL

Use a breaker bar.....and dont stand on it. Pull up and using your legs.

FishinAJ

Yea that's how I first was trying it but they were on WAY to tight. I tried standing on it when all else failed.

FishinAJ

I just got the car back from my mechanic and he was able to fix the issue.

1st - Lugs were way over tighten that his gun had to run for a bit before breaking them loose. He couldn't figure out why a shop would put all lugs on so tight. He said only one lug came off with ease.

2nd - The old shop did NOT use OEM pads (no part number on the pads themselves)

3rd - They did NOT use a new kit for the pads. The pads were loose and this was causing the rattle when going hard over bumps.

He also added, they over tighten the bolts on the calipers as well.

Before he did the work he asked me, "did they guarantee there work?" I said yes, but I was not going to bring the car back to them, just to have them do something else bad to the car.

Lessons learned.

Find out info on this forum before getting work done.

Double check parts and any extra parts (kits) before the mechanic puts them on.

Make sure the shop has ASE certified mechanics.

And get the work done by a trusted mechanic that understands your make of your car.

Cost for this lesson, $200

Thanks to everyone for your help and input!!

fastnoypi

ASE certification almost means nothing. You can get your ASE certification in a week watching CBTs. Experience is what counts.

Anyone with a set of tools and torque specs from the factory service manual or from this board could have done your brake job and wheel re-installation.

Glad your mechanic was able to fix your issue.



**next time you find yourself in a situation with overtightened lug nuts. Slip a long length of pipe over your breaker bar for leverage. A jack handle is plenty in most cases.

FishinAJ

I think I was so frustrated with the brakes, my brain went numb and I wasn't thinking of your idea.

I need to remember that if this ever happens again, thanks!

UDel

I would definitely skip the place you originally took it to. Sounds like they have a bunch of amateurs working there and just care about cutting corners. Brake pads are not at all hard to do. You can do brake pads yourself for around $50 or $60 bucks for fronts or rears. I had to deal with a over tightened caliper bolt when doing my front brakes, I ended up snapping the head off the bolt trying to get it off, luckily it flipped up after the bolt head snapped off and I could get the rest of the bolt out. This site and youtube are great for DIY's on stuff like changing transmission fluid, oil change, lights, brakes, etc. Saves a lot of money.