I've been noticing this annoying/concerning rattling coming from the front left wheel. So today I took the wheel off, and it seems the caliper itself is somewhat loose (I can move it back and forth with my hand) How bad is this?

How do I fix it?

 

tighten the caliper bolt. at least it wasn't missing a bolt like on my mom's camry... made a huge clunking noise

 

"Back and forth" as in the movable part sliding on the pins, or as in the whole caliper moving on the mounting bolts?

 

Choice a...thank god lol

I noticed that the bottom bolt looks like it has some sort of rubber boot (I think ) and the top bolt has space for the same thing, but its MIA. I didn't see anything loose though so I'm not too worried.

 

sometimes its a wheel bearing, does the rattling happen all the time or only when you're turning?


wait, nevermind, i missread it, i thought you were talking about the rotor..sorry

 

Rotors and bearings have less than 1,000 miles on them. Its definitely the caliper.

 

It could be a worn caliper guide pin. If you take off the moveable part of the caliper (like you were changing pads) look at the condition of the guide pins, both fixed and removable, which should be bright chrome & smooth. If one's worn down, it will let the caliper bounce & misalign.

It might also be a sticky piston not letting it compress the pads properly, but there you usuallly have other symptoms, like brakes pulling toward opposite side.