screws and brake calipers on '02 Impreza

I had a similar problem many years ago with a 1977 Subaru wagon. You can't hold the mechanic responsible for the fact that the screws in your caliper might break because they are too tight or rusted in or not designed properly to begin with, especially if he warns you first. You say " if a mechanic breaks something". Others might say "something broke due to no fault of the mechanic."

If you have had good history with this mechanic then you should consider trusting his judgment. You don't have any history with this mechanic then might want to see what another mechanic has to say.

-- Vic Roberts Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

The calipers are bolted to two sliding pins which allow the calipers to move to compensate for pad wear.

As soon as the bolts break, if the do, then the caliper will be free. You will not need to replace them, just the bolts, and if the broken off pieces do not come out of the sliding pins, you may need to replace those.

Is the mechanic actually try> I took my '02 Impreza (80K) to a non-Subaru mechanic to have the front

That's good to know. So it's only the pins that will need to be replaced?

No, I don't know this mechanic, I just moved to the area. I may have to drive some miles to my old mechanic, oh well.

As for the thing breaking - one can always turn it either way. I would be tempted to say "It broke because you did not loosen it properly". Otherwise, are you saying that the mechanic is never responsible for anything breaking during the repair?

Speaking as someone who has fixed stuff most of his life, I'd like to add something.

First of all, the mechanic is totally within his rights to warn you of the issue. He can't control who worked on it last, when it was worked on and where you've driven it. I do my own brakes and I always clean and apply a small dab of anti-seize compound to the pin threads before re-installing them. I've never had a lick of trouble removing them.

Secondly, if you tell him that he broke the pins because he turned them the wrong way, he'll likely chase you out of the shop with a tire iron. I know I'd be tempted to. People that wrench for a living don't make those kinds of mistakes. And furthermore, they *will* react badly if accused of them.

If you have to drive to your old mechanic so you'll have a nice warm feeling, I suggest you do it. On the other hand, he is just as likely to break the pins as the new mechanic.

I would never says never when dealing with a mechanic, plumber, doctor, etc. In every situation you have to determine if the bad outcome was due to the actions of the person doing the repair or due to the condition of the object or person that he/she was working on.

-- Vic Roberts Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

Does not take an accusation to get that kind of a reaction. I had a mechanic who nearly went ballistic after I told him the torque for the wheel nuts is 65 ft.lbs. He kept it to himself but I could see he was not happy. Needless to say I'll be mum next time the tires get swapped and if they break the wheel studs I'd just let them replace them. Me thinks though that I'd be doing the next tire rotation myself.

Yup. Go buy 2 cheap rollaround jacks and you can do the job in about 20 minutes. Just be sure to block the wheels on the other side before lifting.