I've been told by many people on the forum to grease the slider pins when doing a brake job, but on the rear calipers only the bottom pin is removeable. The top pin is encased in the metal casting. Even when removing the bottom pin the caliper can only be swung up/down, you cannot slide it inward as the top pin seems to be locked into the frame.
Sow how are you supposed to grease the top slide pin?
Here is a picture from the garage section showing the top metal casing where the top slider pin is encased in.
Ignore the arrow as it's not pointing to the top slider pin casing.
garage/brake_backout2.jpg
It's really weird because my factory shop manual shows the top slider pin looking like the bottom one which is removeable, however reality says otherwise.
Think a minute. The caliper is installed, not built in place. The slider pins screw into the frame. They unscrew.
It's been a year of so, but IIRC, the caliper swings up to clear the obstructing opposite side of the frame (Or is it just the rotor?) and Slides off the covered slider? Which makes the first maintenance in a decade, or Ever, ....challenging! We read of people tossing frames and calipers because things won't disassemble regularly. Or there was too much damage getting things free.
Then the same hex socket unscrews that slider if necessary. I pull the calipers and clean the caliper holes and pin surfaces, then lube everything and reverse the procedure. I haven't removed the covered slider to my memory.
Or my brain went to bed hours ago.
PaPeRo, it sounds to me like your upper slider pin is seized to the caliper. The caliper should be able to swing upwards freely. If it is able to swing freely, it will also be able to just slide off the pin.
From the looks of your caliper in the picture you provided my guess would be that it is seized. Try some prying, it should come loose eventually.
Originally Posted by Mecon90
PaPeRo, it sounds to me like your upper slider pin is seized to the caliper. The caliper should be able to swing upwards freely. If it is able to swing freely, it will also be able to just slide off the pin.
From the looks of your caliper in the picture you provided my guess would be that it is seized. Try some prying, it should come loose eventually.
That's not HIS caliper. It's a pic he gleaned from the garage section.
I had to remove the caliper and bracket and use a hammer to seperate them. I use some emory cloth to smooth out the pin and used some good lube and have no further issues.
Dan
Yeah it's really weird. On the front caliper you only need to remove the bottom slider pin, then you swing the caliper upward to clear the rotor then push inward and the whole caliper which still has the top pin attached slides off the frame. You could remove the top pin if you wanted to because the bolt head is exposed the same way as the bottom pin.
On the rear it's different. After swinging the caliper up and away from the rotor I wiggle the caliper and it wiggles around the top pin but I cannot slide it off the frame. It's as if internally it has a lock or something.
Originally Posted by Dan02
I had to remove the caliper and bracket and use a hammer to seperate them. I use some emory cloth to smooth out the pin and used some good lube and have no further issues.
Dan
Ok so it does come off but not as easily as the front calipers which just slide off. I will have to tackle this before I start painting the calipers as I don't want to scratch the new paint hammering the two pieces apart.
I just had to do this to my '99 to free up the rear rotors; I don't think the slide pins had ever been serviced.
You should be able to work the top sleeve off the pin. One thing you could do would be to squirt some WD-40 or similar to help free up the caliper. It may take some working but patience should pay off.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
A little PB Blaster and maybe some heat and a gentle nudge from the BFH . Then grease every time you remove the caliper in the future.
Originally Posted by PaPeRo
Ok so it does come off but not as easily as the front calipers which just slide off. I will have to tackle this before I start painting the calipers as I don't want to scratch the new paint hammering the two pieces apart.
If you cannot slide the caliper off, the caliper is useless; it doesn't slide therefore the brakes are not working properly. Don't even bother painting it in that case.
I have also used the hammer (more like a sledge) technique to get the caliper free. Make sure you clean and grease everything up when you put it back together.
Originally Posted by APO
If you cannot slide the caliper off, the caliper is useless; it doesn't slide therefore the brakes are not working properly. Don't even bother painting it in that case.
I have also used the hammer (more like a sledge) technique to get the caliper free. Make sure you clean and grease everything up when you put it back together.
I don't think it's useless. I tried the handbrake while driving and it works. The wear on the rotor seems to be even too and not excessive. The caliper can also rotate around the top pin and can wobble, it just can't slide all the way out and away from the frame. Anyway as long as the piston pushes the pad against the rotor it will still work, maybe not perfectly but still functional without damage.
But only one side is engaging which is a very compromised brake system. In a properly functioning slider pin type system the piston pushes one pad against the rotor directly and the other pad against the other side of the rotor indirectly via the sliding action of the pin. The rotation around the pin you are experiencing is only the threaded portion of the pin screwing/unscrewing in the caliper mount and the wobble may be the lash between the threads - that's how it was for me.
These are the brakes we're talking about; the things that stop your 1 ton+ car. If you want one properly functioning item on said car, this should be it. For YOUR safety - who cares if it's only the rear brake, it's the principle that matters - I would strongly recommend getting that slide mechanism working again (bang that sucker out, clean it and lube the poop out of it). That was my point. Borrow a BFH and possibly a 12quot; brass rod from someone if you have to.
Originally Posted by PaPeRo
I don't think it's useless..
You really need to get this fixed. I just bought a '99 that had a sticking rear caliper, and the previous (clueless) owner kept thinking it was the parking brake sticking. During our driving test I did a brake check, which resulted in the right rear not releasing and getting hot enough to start smoking badly.
YOU NEED TO GET THIS FIXED. All you have to do is pull the lower caliper bolt, spray some kind of penetrant/lubricant around the top pin, and start working it off. There is enough room and slack to work the caliper completely off the top pin.
When I got mine off the lube debris had almost plated onto the steel pin. Penetrant spray cleaned that up, then a film of high temp brake grease on the pin, re-assembled, and everything is great!
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Yeah I'm definitely going to fix it. It sounds simple enough and I do have a rubber hammer. I will probably fix it this weekend before I start painting the calipers. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
If it's truly frozen a rubber hammer won't hack it at all. I have fixed two by drilling a small hole in the end of the housing, injecting a little PB Blaster and hammering it out with a punch. vb/showthread...highlight=zerk for a picture.
I think I'm gonna try PB Blaster sprayed into where the boot is located, let it soak for awhile then use rubber hammer + cut section of broom handle...lol. |
Post at 2-7 08:08 AM
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