I have a 2004 Mazda 3 with 90K miles. Brakes, rotors, and rear calipers were replaced about two months ago. About a month after, I started noticing a clattering sound coming from the left rear wheel whenever I drove over rough road. (It sounds like an aluminum pot lid dropping onto the pot.) The shop that did the original brake work took 4 visits to get everything done. Instead of going back, I went to another mechanic who said the left caliper was loose. He showed me how he could shake it. He said the bolts were tight so it wasn’t a safety issue.
I went back to the original shop for repair but they could not reproduce the noise and said the brakes/calipers were fine.
The noise remained. I went to a third shop which checked the caliper and said it was fine, but said that I needed new shocks. The mechanic had the car on the lift and was able to reproduce a similar noise on both rear wheels when he hit them with a rubber mallet.
The first mechanic insists the caliper is bad. The second insists it’s the shocks.
Any thoughts? Who do I trust?