I was driving Monday from work and noticed a metal clanking sound when the front end of my TL would go over a bump. Even a dip in the road.

I stopped to check it out, but didn't see anything. It sounded like something hanging loose, but nothing. I also checked for any signs of damage behind the driver's side wheel, but saw nothing.

Noticed it also happened when I would be in gear and releasing brakes from a full stop, though it was more subtle.

Turns out the bottom bolt on the caliper bracket somehow came out. You ever had that problem? I haven't changed the brakes in the 7 months I've had the car -- they work just fine. But I'm assuming either wear caused it (though I seriously doubt it), or the previous owner changed the brakes (or had someone change them) and they didn't tighten the bolts properly.

Checked the top bracket bolt and it was a bit loose, so I tightened it. Checked passenger's side and they were tight as could be.

It's all good now. I was just wondering if any of you have encountered that before?

 

It appears as though the brake's caliper bracket bolts were not properly torqued.
Check to make sure that the bolt threads and holes aren't stripped from previous over-tightening.

 

Have had this problem, one of the holes was stripped, just had enough thread on it to hold the bolt until I could order & change the bracket.

 

while its always possible someone was doing it right= snug one bolt then the other then tighten both to torque spec,
and simply forgot the last bolt when someone called their attention away = bolt falls out

Its more likely the bolt was applied with some extreme force via air gun- result is 130-140 ft lbs torque!!

the resulting loss of threads from the softer bracket material- to main shaft of bolt, is a real problem
CK carefully on bolt (for those who still have it- reading this in the future)
and inside thread of caliper bracket - use a dental pick and run it thru the threads- no kidding, can be fine slice of metal - that will never tighten correctly

The other bolt was loose from the caliper banging with every use- be glad it kept the caliper on !!
Would not be unusual for last owner to have pads thrown on it when for sale- replace brakes if at minimum thickness, any visible belts as needed, and change the oil,,pretty standard sales practices,,wash and wax etc

Same thing happens to our oil pan drain bolt threads- too tight and rips out the pan side of threads = what fun~

 

Thanks, everyone! I'm a bit surprised to find that this isn't an isolated incident. But I'll do some checking on the bracket as soon as possible. Until then, I'll keep an eye on the bolt and make sure it doesn't loosen in the meantime. Thanks!

 

^ I have never, Ever Torq´d the Bracket Bolts.. I usually do it by hand and never had an issue. Probably because I don't use breaker bars to tighten up.


I recommend getting a short shafted ratchet:

Its impossible to over-torque your brake bolts (Bracket/Caliper) with it. Just tighten up snug with your hands and your DONE! using a 1/2 ratchet, air gun or a breaker bar? NOT GOOD.

 

May want to recheck the bolts again, just to be sure that the bolt's threads and holes are in good shape as 01tl4tl previously suggested. If they indeed were either over-tightened or left loose at time of brake work,........ thread damage is very possible. Check for your own peace of mind and safety !!!

 

do NOT drive with only 1 bolt in place

where have you guys found new/used brackets by themselves?

 

some of us know how much certain torque values feel like on the end of a wrench or ratchet, example: stub as shown above- held directly on top/in palm = 10 foot pounds when snug is felt

all others buy a torque wrench

 

^ I tighten by that philosophy.

 

note that EVERY bolt and screw has a specified torque value, (easily looked up by size and grade of bolt) above which point the part is damaged and will not hold correct tension

tip on torque wrench- harbor freight is ~9 bucks and may read a few pounds off actual - BUT you self calibrate it before use by testing on bolts and seeing what it reads 15 = 13 for example
ALSO keep your torque wrench set at 10 pounds when not in use/ stored
Minimum tension on spring inside keeps its accuracy -that's per the snap-on tool man

 

I checked all the bolts yesterday, and they still seem to be in good shape. I'll continue to keep an eye on them, just to be safe. But I know eventually I want to redo the brakes anyhow.

 

I just replaced both of mine due to stripping out the threads on one side. I was tightening to spec (80 lb-ft) and they stripped around 60-70 lb-ft. I got rebuilt ones from O'Reilly for I think $20 each. I replaced each one just to be sure.

 

I just replaced a brake caliper that had a screw come undone. The caliper lodged in the wheel while driving and brought me to a halt real quick.

 

Sounds like a fun trip.

 

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I've come across the same issue and it's nearly impossible to find a replacement bolt. I had a guy do the AV6 swap for me and had him do the front brakes and motor mounts while he was at it. Last night I get a clanking sound and find the LH top bracket bolt loose and the bottom missing. I can get brackets all day long just up the street from me but the bolt? ...nope. The service manual seems to indicate that it's a M12-1.25 flange bolt but doesn't say whether it's full or partial threaded or what the thread length is. Anyone have any ideas on sourcing a replacement or equivalent?

 

So after a bit of research; it looks like the TL and RL bracket are interchangeable. That being the case it stands to reason that the bolts are as as well. A U-Pull-It yard about 20 minutes away from me just so happens to have a 2000 RL available for me to wrench on. Unless I can find option A (new bolt), that is option B. ...fingers crossed.

 

where are you located?

 

Grand Rapids, MI USA

 

I'm sure the dealer has one for $10.

 

Funny, the dealer is the LAST place I ever consider. They are checking on it now.

 

 

The dealer did indeed have four of them in stock so I bought them out. The bracket threads were not stripped so after torquing to spec everything's good. I feel like I need to go over the entire front-end of the car with a torque wrench though as this was not the only deficient item I've found after the AV6 swap. The AV6 itself works great but his attention to detail was... shall I say... ...lacking.

 

^ Funny enough being torque spec´d is what probably got them to snap....
Acura is not very smart when some torque tolerances are involved, A few of them:

Transmission drain and fill plugs
Transfer Case drain and fill bolts (On equipped cars)
Rear Diff case drain and fill bolts (On equipped cars)
Caliper bolts
Caliper bracket bolts
Engine oil drain plug

All of these are guaranteed to snap or strip the bolt head because of Acura idiotic torque specs.

 

I dunno, 80 lb/ft (caliper bracket bolt) seems kinda low to me actually. The bracket bolts on my wife's Traverse are sped'd to 160 lb/ft.

 

I've never had a problem with the torque specs on this car. I *have* had a problem with a torque wrench that was way out of spec. I see I posted about it earlier in this thread. At the time I didn't know the wrench was way off. I was probably tightening the bolts to 120+ ft-lbs. 80 real ft-lbs is perfect. I've never felt like anything properly torqued was over tightened, and I've never had anything come loose.

 

I've had enough of stripping oil pan drain plugs because of Acura Torque Spec.. Been tightening the drain plug by hand for over 10 years now and ZERO stripped threads since then..

My caliper and bracket bolts have a slab of Anti Sieze in them and tighten by Hand, Zero problems in +7years.

 

Aside from torquing most bolts (including everything related to brakes), I tighten all drain plugs by hand.

 

When I bought my MDX I could not remove the Transmission Fill Plug for my Life, Broke a socket (Granted wasnt the best quality) broke an extension, and my breaker bar with a cheater bar would not buldge it.... I had to go to a dealership and they brought in the longest breaker bar they have in the service dept so they could undo the bolt, The technician there told me that bolt was tighten to Acura Spec.

I tighten the bolt myself and I can easily undo it with my shortest wrench now.

 

I think I've had the same problem for, at least, a couple years now. I got a new wrench in June and EVERYTHING seems like it's too light now. 100 lb/ft seems like a breeze with the new wrench. Not that it's hard to reach 100 lb/ft. More like; torquing away and waiting for a click that never seemed to come.

 

I only torque bolts that have mechanical or inertial forces applied to them.

 

I would highly recommend a digital torque meter for anybody, in order to calibrate your torque wrench. My brother got one and we found out the torque wrench we were using was way, way off. Something like this:

 

I got one from Harbor Freight and it actually is dead nuts accurate. I have a buddy who has a commercial calibration setup and tested it ......he was impressed.

 

Nice.

It's funny how they say to always store your torque wrench at the lowest setting because of spring "set". I *never* do that cause I forget. My brother is paranoid about it an always stores his "properly". When we got the calibration tool, we found out mine was spot on and his was way off. LOL!

Even if it's right on though, it's good to double check every now and then.

 

Absolutely