They saved 10 cents when they made your car...

Heya gang.

Long time no rant.

So, here is the gist. I'm a suspension/alignment/brake mechanic. I'm always busy. I keep the world rolling. This is my gripe.

Most of the brake jobs I do are on 2018-2021 vehicles. I know the manufacturing of these vehicles are automated. Somebody somewhere decided to stop greasing the slide bolts in the brake calipers of most of the newly built vehicles.

It's like vehicle manufacturers were spending 25 cents to add an adequate amount of grease to the slide bolts in the brake calipers. Then some number crunching asshat decided "Hey. We are spending 25 cents per vehicle to grease the slide bolts in the vehicles we manufacture."

Full disclosure, these numbers are hypothetical. This scenario is hypothetical.

They then said. "Look, we are going to build 1 million vehicles for the year. If we only add 15 cents worth of grease to the vehicle instead of 25 cents, that will be and instant savings of 100,000 dollars in the manufacture of these 1 million vehicles."

They all cheer.. They have saved the company 100,000 bucks.

Now, I a lowly mechanic, charge 105 bucks per axle on a brake job in labor. Dealerships on the other hand nearly double or sometimes triple that amount.

My point is, the miniscule amount of grease they add to the slide bolts of your vehicle causes the brake calipers to lock down and not open properly, then your pads wear out. Then you are replacing brake pads on an already stupid expensive vehicle that is less than 4 years old.

You pay between 105 and 260 per axle to have your brakes repaired.

Their half-assery is costing the consumer 105,000,000 to 260,000,000. The revenue generated in repairs by building literal # is just mind blowing.

The American auto industry is trash. Do not buy an American vehicle.

This is just the corners they cut on one of the 19-25 systems that make your vehicle function.

As an America loving dude, this makes me sick. I hate seeing a sweet little lady on a fixed income having to shell out serious money to fix a problem that should never have happened. It just disgusts me. It makes me feel like the asshole in all of this just because I have to repair what should have lasted for years and miles.

Rant over.

If you buy a new American vehicle, do yourself a favor. Grease the slide bolts on your vehicle.

If you are and over-achiever, then go to the local farm supply store and by a large hypodermic syringe with a needle and fill it with grease and inject the grease into all of the non-serviceable ball joints on the front end. This will make your vehicle go many more miles without needing service.

I DiY my own brakes, just to get enough grease on the pins. Just kidding, I also am picky about parts too. When you drive a lot on snow and ice, having a very fine touch and feeling with brakes does make a difference.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

It's not just the US automobile industry, it seems to be all US-brand mass manufacturing.

Four years ago, I bought an Ariens snowblower that came with a Briggs and Stratton engine. This engine brand used to be reputable, used to be the "premium" engine on higher end lawnmowers and snowblowers when I was a teen. Even old, seemingly beat up Briggs and Stratton engines would fire right up the second the cord was pulled.


Well...no longer....after sufferring several years of snowstorms when my snowblower would not start, despite its' electic start feature, a local small engine repair mechanic finally traced the problem to a tiny part in the engine made out of...plastic.
Plastic. For a component in a hot engine. Seriously. And all replacements parts are also plastic.

How many tenths of a penny did Briggs and Stratton save by making the thing out of plastic as opposed to metal ?
How many times was I left with a dead snowblower and had to shovel by hand after paying thousands for the snowblower in the first place ?

Dumped the Ariens snowblower with its' Briggs and Stratton engine and bought a massively overpriced Honda.
But the Honda started every time last winter, no matter the weather, on first try.


Unsurprisingly, Briggs and Stratton filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

a reply to: M5xaz
Funny you mention Honda. The Honda I totaled recently I had for 16 years. It went 271,000 miles without ever needing a brake job.

Honda makes good stuff. I am a fan.. I want to spent my money on stuff that lasts. American does not last.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Hey now, they're keeping you in the black!



I don't buy anything I can't work on myself. The pretty much excludes anything new.

America used to have govt sponsorship of PRICE FIXING..

It was ILLEGAL to sell below MSRP, stores could not sell at discounts.. this is what started price clubs.

America hasn't made quality cars in decades.

a reply to: LastFirst

America used to make quality cars?


This sort of crap like ungreased brake caliper pins doesn't surprise me.
Sure it cuts down your MPG and reduces the life of your brakes and all that, but like you said, most of the vehicles you work on are only a few years old.
The warranty will cover it, and they worked out that ungreased pins won't generally cost anything during the warranty period.

Don't worry, this next recession will teach people the value of good equipment again.

+1 for Honda, their small engines are a+. I've got a few 1980's Briggs and a couple Hondas, and the Hondas are far superior in the "it just works" department

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

I think every manufacturer makes garbage.
My many decade hobby is woodworking.
The Bosch router I have had for over 20 years is by far the smoothest running one I own but even it has its,WTF were they thinking issues. It has a large bearing at the collet end but a small skateboard bearing at the top.
Yeah, it doesn’t sound like a big deal but I’ve replaced that small bearing several times over the years.
If you start hearing that one making funky sounds you better stop because it’s mounted in the large plastic housing and if it gets too hot it will melt the plastic.
Most tools seem to have built in failure points that must be there intentionally.

I had to remove the dashboard in my wife’s car to replace a $20 temp sensor for the air conditioner to work. That was apparently a $600 repair for a mechanic.

originally posted by: lordcomac
Don't worry, this next recession will teach people the value of good equipment again.

+1 for Honda, their small engines are a+.

Yes and no, be careful of country of origin. My workplace has a 30 year old Japanese-made engine that probably won't ever wear out. Compare to four year old Chinese-made generators that we've already scrapped.

For the OP, another peeve is $70,000 pickup trucks that have eliminated the $2 transmission fill/check tube. On a working truck, I need that more than the ridiculous touch screen on the dash.

It aint just the US. All over the world big companies and some small companies are doing just that. It's called "planned Obsolescence". IE. they do these little things to shorten the life of their products. My friend, who was a welder, worked for a well known vehicle exhaust maker. They had worked out the exact mix of metals and the exact thickness of the metal that the life span would take their product a few months past the guarantee period.

How do you think Mr Gates has made so many billions. Easy, make a product to last just so long then you HAVE TO buy another one. Easy aint it.

When I do breaks often that caliper bolt being dry causes lots of the need to do the breaks. I like never seize and the caliper grease...never without it in my garage. I am not a mechanic, but I don't mind doing break jobs. I gave my brake lathe to my brother, he uses it way more than I and I can go there and use it if I want...it is in a nice dry shed he has, better than having it in my garage where things get rusty.

The problem with the dry caliper bolts goes back farther than those years in some makes of cars. I have had to take the brakes apart just to lube the bolts...some garages do not lube the caliper bolts when they do a brake job....that is one of the reasons I do my own.

I hate having to take out the torches, I seem to catch things on fire when I do...my brother seems to not have an issue with torches like I do. I must have had to use a fire extinguisher five times before I quit trying to use them on things unless completely necessary.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Good advices, vehicle mechanic master here, mostly race cars, suspension setups & engine

Another very good advice:

After igniting the engine, wait a few seconds before driving. I always ignite first then I start to set the seat belt, play with the radio and climate control. 10 seconds can be wasted without a hassle and by that it's much better on the engine than just ignite & put load on it. Give the very cold and thick oil a bit time to get into the bearing shells and so it can go up to the camshafts. Some cars have bad oil pressure and flow while idling.

Reason: The oil pump isn't doing much around these RPMs depending on the setup and as the crankshaft literally floats on a film of oil, if there is not sufficient pressure it can be very bad for the bearing shells, the lower ones to be exact because they get the downwards punch.

Another advice with engines that run hydros, when it has idle like a sack of screws shaking around, give the throttle a short tap to solve it.

The amount of wear with cold oil and insufficient oil pressure is far greater than giving it full throttle when it's on temperature.