That's some tough luck.
Discussion
I'm not sure what retainer clips are, but I think what my husband used was a C clamp that snapped.
I know how to change a tire, but I don't think I've ever changed brakes, so I just know what I saw today, which was a cylinder with another cylinder in it that had come out too far, and needed to be pushed in, in order to get it around the new brake pads, but at first it wasn't budging. It's usually not that hard, but I think it probably went a little sideways and got stuck.
Eventually, with the new tool and my husband hammering on it, and us praying, it finally started moving and went back inside so he could put it back in place. After a month of grinding sounds whenever we drove, it was quite pleasant to drive home tonight 😅
The transmission is still acting up, but at least it wasn't as loud anymore 🤣
probably will need to get it replaced, but it may just need cleaning and lube.
Yes. I think caliper needs replacing, or you'll ruin the discs too. But brake cleaner should give it some more life for now. Just make sure you don't leave lubricant residue flying around. Could get dangerous.
Ah, no the clamps didn't fall out, it was just really worn out so one of the pads fell out. The caliper is fine, it had just come out too far, and then gotten angled weirdly so it was hard to push back in. Once it was straight again, it had no problem getting back into place.
We need a new car, so we won't be spending money on the little things on this one if we can avoid it.
If we kept this car, we'd need to find a seat to put back in the back where we currently have a bed (we did vanlife for years!) As our son will be coming out soon.
We'd also need a new transmission, which is more than the car is worth, and about the price we could get a "new" car for.
And there are a bunch of other little things going on too.
Oh, not to mention living in Arizona without AC 😅
This is why we didn't change the brakes earlier 😅
I still have no clue what pads fell out mean.
So, there is one pad on each side of the disk, and one of them literally fell out. I'm guessing it got so worn that the clamps didn't hold it anymore, and one of the pads came lose from the clamps and fell out. Like flew away type of fell out.
Does that make more sense?
Yes, the new pads will be thicker than the old worn out pads, so you need to push the caliper back in using the c clamp. I think your whole caliper is messed up by the sounds of things.
Retainer clips are what hold the pads in place. I don't know what pads falling out means, so I thought your retainer clips must have gotten loose or something.