(I'll give you a hint: he lives under the left front wheel of my Subaru.)
Actually, we first became aware of him from the smell. He usually doesn't smell bad, but he apparently got very angry the other day and started smelling very badly. We think it was because he got a little "hot under the collar", probably because he was dealing with a lot of pressure at the time and didn't have an effective way of venting his frustration. In truth, he was kinda stuck and things just kept getting hotter and hotter. And when he gets hot, he gets smoking hot. And then all sorts of bad smells start filling the air.
Give up?
Well, don't worry about it. You'll figure it out, just like we did.
I wasn't sure what was going on until I got back from taking the girls to school this morning (because Mary had a project that was far too fragile to carry on the bus, that's why!). But I knew there no way I was going to be able to drive the car any further, what with the smell and all. So, like any good mechanic, I first went around and sniffed all four of the wheels. The rear wheels were fine. The front passenger wheel was fine. The driver-side wheel was ... stinky. Burned smell. Yuck. When I touched the brake rotor through the wheel - Ouch! Hot!
Time to pull the wheel. Which means, find the jack. It should be in the trunk of the car. (I say trunk, but since it's a hatchback, it's more like the rear storage area.) Kinda difficult to get to, what with the garage door down. But if the garage door goes up, all the cold air comes in. And I don't want that!
So I gingerly raise the hatch of the car, easing it up so that it doesn't whap the garage door. And I lift the tray cover. And ...
This is when it was discovered that the tire-changing kit in the car didn't have the right socket for the wheels. Oopsie! Guess I'd forgotten to put that in the little trunk tray. Instead, it was sitting on my workbench. Now, how did it get there?
Oh, well. Got the socket. Locked the back wheels between two pieces of lumber. Released the parking brake. Put the transmission in neutral. Jacked up the front of the car. Took off the driver-side wheel. Now I should be able to check the brakes.
Interestingly enough, the wheel wouldn't move, no matter how hard I tried to turn it. Peering in to see between the pad and the rotor, I see that they are still smooshed together. Great. Looks like the brake pad is welded to the rotor.
Or is it?
Actually, when I started taking apart the caliper, I realized that it wasn't the pad that was bonded to the rotor, it was the guide pin that was frozen in the closed position. When the bolts holding the caliper were loosened, the main part of the caliper came right off. The caliper bracket was a bit harder, since one of the bolts holding it on was a size 17 (which was correct, per the manual), and the other was a size 16 (and a bit worn, in serious danger of not being able to come off).
It required a bit of creative noodling, but the bracket finally came off. Now I could put it on the bench and really see the difference between the "relaxed" guide pin, and the "activated" guide pin.
Unfortunately, no matter how much banging, twisting, turning, or coaxing I attempted with various tools, the stubborn guide pin refused to come off the bracket.
So much for the easy fix!
Called the shop. $35 for a rebuilt bracket (with core). It'll take a few days since they don't have them in stock. Looks like we'll be a one-car family for awhile!
(Now, did you recognize my friend up there? Why, yes, you're correct! That's the main caliper, turned upside-down; normally, it fits over the hub and rotor, and the brake pads go between the "eyes" and the "teeth" to press onto the rotor when the brakes are supposed to be "on". Those "eyes" are the hydraulic pistons which push the brake pad against the rotor. I'm not sure, but these may be too rusty to use. Looks like I'll have to order a complete new caliper.)
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