so the AZ front caliper I put on a few months back was dragging. when i installed it I had a hard time getting it on - with piston fully depressed it barely fit on the bracket as if the distance between the ears where you bolt it on and the opposing "fingers" was too short. i figured what they hey and jammed it on. it had no room to slide whatsoever. the slides were fully crammed between the caliper ears and the bracket. sure enough the caliper started dragging.

just replaced it was a napa caliper and the fit is completely different. plenty of room to slide, brakes work great, no dragging.

I had the same problem with rear calipers from AZ but in that case i couldn't even get them on the car so I just returned them.

they are stocking the wrong parts!

 

good thing i saw this i was just thinking about changing my rear calipers. i always use napa tho better quality parts imo

 

Autozone parts are crap man stop shopping their, the guys that work at a local one told me their products are crap and they don't recommend most of them.

 

definitely my boy works at autozone n walks across the street to napa to buy his parts. its hilarious

 

Same here man... A friend of mines use to work at AZ and told me never buy any parts from them and he recently started working at Pepboys and said they are just as bad but a little better at certain parts.

My things is what I'm learning from him is most parts that require you to turn in as cores. you can rebuild and for alot less than the remain part itself. I rebuild my rear calipers for $21.00 and you know for yourself they want $$$$ for a remain. An Alternator most problems are just diodes or brushes and mainly the brushes. Axles are bearing and CV boots... But most of us don't have the time or tools.

Well if you got time to replace yourself then you got time to rebuild. But you won't find any of the parts for rebuilding at any local stores, you have to order then online like I found out and why they don't sell them in local stores. because they want your $$$$$$ I'm still learning and I'm still Saving and getting quality rebuilds because it done it with care... cause I care about my max as we all do. that why were here.

If you don't take what I've said into consideration remember this 4th gen are reaching the point of no return and in order for us to get quality parts without going to the stealerships in town, we need to learn how to rebuild most common core parts or pay out the azz for them. Me I don't think so... Now if the car would appreciate in value then yea I would go all out.

 

That's a joke having to change your calipers twice, and getting the wrong parts to boot.

I got some OEM radiator hoses a few years ago, and never got around to putting them on...so the originals are 12 y.o.

I tried to do them last week and found out they're both wrong!!!! Dunno, they were purchased online from a Nissan dealership. Maybe there are more than one type of hose, but obviously it's too late to return them at this point....

 

This is wisdom. DIY if possible ftw!

 

I replaced my rear calipers/brake pads and rotors with Advantage Auto Part loaded calipers and also have problems, left side slides in no problem, but it rubs a particular point when rotating the rotor, right side slides in with a little effort and drags all the time. Not sure is the caliber problem or the rotor surface is not even or what. I didn't pay attention to the dragging issues since I was busy bleeding the brake line and only noticed the dragging when on high way couple of days later. The reason for the replacement was actually seized up ebrake cable on left side causing the caliper to fail. Blame on local Firestone, I let them change the oil all the time, they must put the lift foot under the ebrake cable. Well, I have no proof to show them, otherwise, I would demand them to do the repair for free. Now my car rears are still dragging, not sure what to do, replace the calipers again or rotors? I have noticed so far, there is no sign of leaking of brake fluid, not even a film of the fluid. Oh, by the way, I also disconnected left side ebrake, that needs to be replaced too before next inspection.

 

either you got the wrong part because they mislabeled it or they just accidentally grabbed the wrong part for you, or your slider pins are not going all the way in.

i've replaced calipers on 3 of my 4th gens with calipers from autozone without one problem. so it's not some widespread problem with autozone as a whole, someone just goofed up.

 

I did not have any trouble w/ them fitting right, but they are straight up garbage. My right rear locked up on me the other day on my drive home. It actually snapped loose from the bracket because of the torque, leaving me with little power to stop. Fortunately, I could use my 5 speed to downshift so I didn't have to use the brakes much. Just put those calipers on a year ago from Autozone. Will never buy from there again. Not to mention their customer service sucks. They sold me the rear calipers with front pads and only sold me hardware for 1 caliper. I had to make 2 return trips just to get everything right. Bought the new calipers from NAPA. Much better quality.

 

Agreed. AZ good wit me. I been shoppin there for years. Never an issue.

 

You might as well get parts from ebay

 

the part was not mislabeled. I would accept that on one occurance, but not 3.

the slides were fine. the rubber grommets were fully compressed and the caliper still barely fit. now you could say the pads were too thick, but those were also AZ.

visual comparison of the original calipers vs. the AZ parts revealed slight dimensional differences.

I don't know if the 99s have a slighter different part that AZ doesn't know about or what, but this happened at 2 different AZs 3 years apart. not a coincidence.

 

I also shop there and never had problems with the calipers. I bought two rears last summer and they hold up fine. They have the nissan logo on them which means they were just rebuilds so I don't see how they could not fit...

 

+1

I swapped both front OEM calipers with AZ calipers earlier this year and they've worked fine. I compared the calipers and they were the same dimension.

 

this thread was started to warn people of poor quality parts. to those who like AZ good for you, but your experiences only highlight the inconsistencies in their products and supply chain controls.

to those searching for brake caliper recommendations - you have been warned: double check fitment before driving on them. or better yet go somewhere else.

this is not the first time i've encountered fitment problems with aftermarket brake components. I had a similar problem with my 01 Jimmy. I could not find aftermarket pads that fit - they were all a bit too long. I finally had to buy OEM Delco pads and they fit perfect. sloppy product management. not a goof up at the parts store.

 

Here, Here.... I agree.

 

cdmapro, are you sure you don't have an altima?

 

Ive been using Auto Zone rear calipers for a few years now, no issues.

 

i went through 3 autozone thermostats before i got one that didnt leak and i had the exact same problem with my rear caliper i replaced from autozone.

 

I worked PT at Auto Zone for a year and I find it funny that with all this bashing of the AZ parts I never really saw that many returns. Returns I did see were mainly on batteries, starters or alternators.

 

You guys do know they REBUILT OEM cores for the most part right?

 

Exactly as I stated in my previous post. They just rebuilt the OEM calipers so I don't understand how will they not fit...

 

yes of course. i should've taken pictures. they did have the nissan logo, but the part # markings in the casting were all different and the body of the thing had slightly different contours, etc. the rears were more rounded than the originals. the fronts just had very small differences in proportions. at first glance they looked identical. but when you try to get them on you realize the don't quite fit they way they shoud. again, I bought the rears 3 years ago from a different AZ, so this is not just some isolated one time mix up at the store. there is some other problem.

to be clear - this does not mean every single autozone part is wrong and will not fit!! that is not the point here. the point is that some of them ARE wrong and don't fit. I suspect they have an issue with their supplier/rebuilder mixing in cores that look the same but are not quite, and they haven't caught it. this alone is reason enough to avoid them imo.

 

 

exactly... I would just take it back if it doesn't fit.

 

I would think that's enough of a concern to say maybe these parts are not being rebuild up to specs which in my opinion is costly to the consumer who have to reinstall parts cause a part was faulty. My mechanic charges for installs of part not purchase by him or from him. AZ is nation wide and every AZ is responsible for every part sold whether it be here on the East Coast or the West Coast. They have an obligation to choose the best re-manufacturer and quality assurance of it's parts or face to burden of returns and loss of trust.

No one really is bashing AZ just giving there opinion on particular parts sold by AZ, I love AZ just won't buy certain parts from them. Never had a problem with Batteries and have and will buy Batteries again from them. I never had a problem with the starter a purchase from them. Nor any of there Brake pads, Shelf items. Free Diagnostic is a plus. We just wanted to make fellow ogers aware of costly repairs, costly remain parts and who and where has to best deals for your buck. Having to return faulty parts can cost even if it's warrantied. Who has to reinstall that part? Your mechanic $$$$ you: your valuable time.

 

The reason I saw many returns on starters and alternators is because they carry a lifetime warranty.

 

and why do they offer lifetime warranties and manufactures don't?

 

Because they want your business. Its all about having the customer coming back to the store. Even if its to swap out a warrantied part that was installed and ran for years. When that customer comes back, its likely they will purchase other things as well while they are in the store when doing the exchange. Many companies do this, on parts as well as tools.

 

^^^

I cant count the number of times i have gone to AZ to get something and come back with so many extra purchases. Its the sales

 

Now with that reason only... you're not going to tell that quality assurance doesn't get compromised in some way. If it's to get customer back in the store within years... meaning 1 to 3 years and not the norm for a manufacture of 10years without a warranty. then who to say that even a small fraction of those parts will fail within months even days of installing them. Believe me I understand business and how they draw customer in and you made my point very clear on quality assurance.

If we were here for show case and really never use these vehicle for daily commute than ok put cheap parts on shine her up and profile. I'm just saying some parts you should not use remain no matter from AZ, Pepboys, Salvo's and the rest that sell these buy the dozen, they all are not too last but bring you back in for a pick me up.

But by all means for the guy that loves remain and would but nothing else. Happy for ya!!!! See you again in 3years or less... Now that's real!!!! and you know this is what disturbing to me.

 

You know, they do offer new units as well as the remanufactured ones right? Some people opt for the remanufacutured ones cause they are cheaper, just as they would rather do the install themselves vs. paying someone... end result saves them money.
And its safe to say not all dealer parts last the 10 years. There are some cases where those items also fail within a few years. Granted the dealer will warranty the part, but not the labor.