Thread: Loose break caliper-girl in need of help

I have a 2000 Grand Prix GT and my front passenger brake caliper and rotor are very loose. All the bolts are tight. When I am driving I can hear a thumping sound coming from that side and it gets worse when I let off the gas and slow down without pressing on the brakes. I just got done making sure that the lug nuts on the tire were tight and when I shake the tire, I can see that the caliper moves. So I took the tire off and checked to make sure that the bolts on the caliper were tight which they were. Does anyone have any idea on what could be wrong?

The brake pads are still inside the caliper correct??

Only other thing I can think of is a loose tie rod end if you are feeling something loose when you shake the tire at the 9 and 3 postion.

What ffdp said. When you say its loose when you shake the wheel, are you shaking it left to right or up and down? The caliper should be kind of loose cus its supposed to slide inside the bracket but is the actually bracket loose that bolts to the nuckle? are the pads still in the clips inside the bracket?

if you grab the tire from the top, push and pull the wheel, jacked up, and the wheel moves, the hub is bad, the rotor will move inside the caliper and pads.


movement when pushing and pulling from the 3 and 9 o clock positions would be a bad tie rod, or tie rod end.

jack the car back up take the wheel off, now look on the inside of the rotor, theres a dust shield there, its metal and runs most the way around the rotor. you may have pushed on it and bent it and now it dragging on the rotor. you just need to bend it back. its thin and no tools should be needed to bend it back.