Re: [DML] Bay Area Bull*

[William T Wilson <fluffy@xxxx>]

On Fri, 13 Apr 2001, Christian Williams wrote:

> I simply cannot beliieve my bad luck when it comes to cars and the
> shops that fix them. I've got a relatively small problem with my car

Seems mostly with the shop at this point.

> right now. My brakes squeal, and there is a clicking sound coming from
> the left rear wheel. I took the car to my local guy that I've used a

Squealing brakes are most commonly the result of brake pad issues. If
your pads aren't worn, don't worry about it - try a different brand of pad
next time.

Squealing brakes can also be the result of glazed rotors. This happens
when brakes get overheated and isn't the result of normal use. Turning
rotors will usually cure this. You can usually tell glazed rotors by
looking at them - instead of the normal silvery-gray color (rotors are
iron) they will be a sort of blue or yellowy color. It is *not* necessary
to turn rotors on a schedule or with every pad change. Only turn them if
they are damaged.

A clicking sound coming from a wheel is the wheel bearing 9 times out of
10. Wheel bearings sound ominous but are not really all that hard to deal
with. The anti-rattle spring can also cause it, however, the anti-rattle
spring is quite cheap. It is also extremely easy to install as it is a
part of the normal pad changing process.

> Well, he called me back this morning with a quote. It seems that I
> need my front rotors turned, rear rotors replaced, pads all around,

Unless your brake system suffered some sort of damage, probably he is
overstating his case. If your brakes don't vibrate and the fronts aren't
discolored, they don't need to be turned. The rears might need to be
replaced if they are worn so they are too thin, but that, cracking, severe
warping (which would also cause vibration) or other miscellaneous physical
damage are the only reasons to replace rotors. As with glazing, you can
tell cracking by looking, and you can do that yourself, even if you have
no mechanical skills at all.

> And to top it off - when they were inspecting the car earlier this
> week, they broke my parking brake. I haven't worked on brakes much

That's probably the most difficult part of the whole thing to fix :}

Of course, they are responsible for repairing that.

> before, but the ammount of work to be done doesn't seem that
> difficult. I'm considering attempting the job myself, but would much
> rather have a shop do it... but not for 1200 dollars. If anyone in the

Although brakes may be a little unsettling to work on due to their
importance, they are really not that hard. And IMO if you are even
somewhat mechanically competent, that's one of the things you're better
off doing yourself. It requires more care than skill and you will always 
care more than the shop.

> San Francisco bay area could recommend a shop to me, or if anyone can
> provide any tips on brake work (specifit to the DeLorean or
> otherwise), it would be much appreciated (and worth 1200 bucks!)

Everything I've said here is applicable to any disc-brake car (with
detachable rotors).

I don't know any DeLorean-oriented shops in that area (Delorean One and
Specialty Automotive are both pretty far). Maybe there is one that I
don't know of.