Slow Down and observe when doing repairs!

Recently, we were doing some repairs on a 2014 GMC Sierra, and we had to do some of of twice. Grrr!

Now, this was our own truck so keep that in mind...

Backstory - The truck had an axle leak and the left rear brake was literally metal to metal when we got it. "No problem, I'll do the brakes while I've got the rear apart and knock it out all at once."

GMC truck axle housing with leaking seal

I normally order parts from Amazon for a couple of reasons:

1. They're WAY cheaper than the local parts stores.

2. I can read reviews to make sure they will get the job done.

3. Did I mention they were WAY cheaper than local parts stores?

Axle seals were easy. They were AC Delco parts and worked as expected. Expectations were exceeded in fact.

Brakes were the same. We used a kit from Powerstop and they always get the job done. Nice parts with no disappointments.

Powerstop brake kit with rotors, pads and clips

Brake hoses. These were not mainstream brands but seemed to be made well enough.

Calipers. This is where things got interesting. Left rear, no issues. The right rear was the total opposite!

Right away, the old banjo bolt stripped on the way out so I picked up a new one from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I installed the new caliper along with the new hose and Dorman banjo bolt. It leaked. Not a drip, but enough to wet your finger. I tightened the bolt, still leaked. Tightened more, still leaked. I finally got the leak to stop, but the brake was not functional. I drove it with 3 brakes for a week or so while I waited on a replacement caliper and debated mentally about what went wrong.

With new parts in hand, I dove in. This was a simple process and I did hose, caliper and new Dorman banjo bolt.

I whipped out the Kingbolen Ediag Elite scantool and navigated to the brake bleed function. Once completed, I pushed the pedal to verify feel and went back to check the hose connection and to my horror, it was wet. Ugh. After staring at it for a but, I grabbed the bag that came with the caliper and noticed a new banjo bolt. "Man, why didn't I see this sooner?"

I pulled the banjo bolt and compared it to the Dorman part and the Dorman bolt was just a bit longer. The only way I can describe the problem and solution is this:

The Dorman bolt (first one) was mushroomed on the threaded end a little when I removed it. This means the bolt bottomed out on the caliper piston keeping it from easily sealing and jamming the piston in the bore. This explained the non functional brake and hard to correct leak. It also explains why the second Dorman bolt had the same initial leak. Once I installed the banjo bolt that came with the caliper, all was normal. Whew!

I don't fault the Dorman part for this, it was most likely designed to work with OE calipers and hoses which I was not using. In the end, it was my fault for not paying more attention and trying to hurry through a job. Like many of us, time is hard to come by and some jobs have to be worked in when a sliver of time becomes available.

• Slow Down.

• Have a Plan.

• Compare Parts.

• If something seems off when when putting something together, it usually is. Stop working and examine things.

Happy Garaging!