Franny had been saying the Passat was making a funny noise when she put on the brakes for a couple of months.  I told her it probably needed pads up front.  That's about the only thing I haven't worked on in the years it's been in our family.  She took it by the one remaining SERVICE STATION in town . . . they did something to it that quietened it down, but said it wouldn't last and they had to order the parts.  Every time she called 'em, they said the parts hadn't come in yet.  Finally they told her not to call back, they would call her when they got the parts.  They still haven't called.

In the mean time, the noise came back so I took it for a spin.  It sounded and felt like worn out pads and warped rotors.  While Franny was up north visiting family for a couple of weeks I figured I fix it for her.  I ordered new German made pads and rotors.

This morning I got started.  Did the driver's side in about 20 minutes.  The pads weren't worn out, but they looked glazed and the rotors were blue from being overheated.  The only problem I had on that side had nothing to do with the brakes.  I figured out why the driver's seat has been hard to move for a while.  On of the legs is sticking through a rusted out spot in the floor.  The ten years this car lived in New Jersey is starting to show.  Oh well, I'm doing rust repair today: I'm working on the brakes.

Moved over to the passenger side, thinking I'd be done in 20 minutes or so.  WRONG.  I don't know what kind of tool was used to tighen these lug bolts, but it got 'em tight.  TOO tight.  WAY TOO TIGHT!  I used a cheater bar on my 4 way lug wrench . . . and turned it into a corkscrew.  Had to leave it after a while to go to Drake's (Kim and Matt's son) birthday party.  While I was there, I told Matt about my delima.  He loaned me his 110 Volt impact wrench.   I tried to break them loose with it . . . I got the socket so hot from the hammering that I couldn't touch it and it still didn't budge the lug blolts.

I finally used a 1/2" drive ratchet with about 3 feet of cheater bar and all of my 330 pounds bouncing on it and got 'em loose enough that Matt's impact could hammer them the rest of the way out.  By then it was dark.  I'm hot.  And tired.  Maybe when Franny gets home she can tell me who had this wheel off last.  I need to have a serious talk with that person about torque specs for lugs.

If you gotta use an impact to tighten them down, torque limiting extensions aren't expensive...  I don't get that.   

AMEN !!!!!!!

Did a little searching online and found that I can order remanufactured brackets from AutoZone for $34.99 + a $4 core charge (3 month warranty) or the same brand from O'Riely's for $33.99 + a $3 core charge (1 year warranty) . . . OR, I can get a remanufactured caliper including bracket and hardware with a limited lifetime warranty from Advance Auto for $41.29 (+ a $25 core charge).  For online orders over $50 they have a code for a 15% discount PLUS they will mail you a coupon for $25 off your next purchase of $50 or more.  OK, it gets better.  You can order them online and pick them up at the store if they are in stock.  The store on Ringgold Road has them in stock . . . and it's a few minutes til 8 and they are opened til 9.  WOW, I can get this car back on the road tonight with not only new brackets on both sides, but with new calipers as well.  Wooo Hooo!  I'm stoked.  Got to the store about 8:15.  Signed the paperwork and walked out the door grinning from ear to ear.  This was like buying the brackets, not having to wait on them and getting a set of calipers and a $25 coupon thrown in for free.

One slight problem . . . the picture on the web site shows the bracket bolted to the caliper and the description says "includes bracket and mounting hardware" . . . on the side of the box it says "Caliper with bracket and hardware" . . . Actually in the box ?  A caliper and a bag of hardware.  As my dear departed dad would say, "If I was a cuss'n man, I'd say DAMN!"   

After fighting with Advance Auto's (lack of) Customer Service department for a week, they finally decided the best solution was for me to return the calipers for a full refund and they would expidited getting someone to look into the picture and description and have it corrected if necessary.      I'll take 'em back tomorrow.  It'll probably be the last time I set foot in one of their stores.

I went to O'Reilly's and ordered a set of brackets.  They will be in Tuesday morning.  If I had done that last weekend, I could have been driving an air-conditioned car for the past few days.   

I returned the calipers to Advance in Chickamauga after work today . . . they were much nicer to deal with than the online customer service (yeah, right) department.  I think maybe if I had went there to start with, they would have actually helped me get the brackets that were missing.  But, new brackets were waiting at O'Reilly's, so I just had them credit the money back to my card.  Got the brackets from O'Reilly's, but the sun was beatting down on the Passat and I've got tomorrow off . . . seemed like a good enough excuse to wait till early in the morning when it's in the shade and in the 70s instead of the 90s.   

Why is it that every time I gather all the parts and tools I need and then start on a 30 minute job, I'm still working on it 2 weeks later?  For all of you out there that are trying to feed your families by turning wrenches, I salute you.