brake caliper slides

[staindvans]

has anyone else had problems with the top caliper slides sticking? even fresh new ones with new rubber sleeves on them don't seem to move nearly as freely as the lower slides do. is there a special brake lube i should be using? can i use them without the rubber sleeve on the end? any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[jnaut]

Are you talking about the pistons? If so, yeah had a frozen one a while back. Cause the pads to wear down to the metal prematurely. First time I had ever seen it so I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking something else was wrong. Now, I wouldn't waste fifteen minutes messing with it. A reman'd caliper with a lifetime warranty is cheap, fast and worth it.

 

[long_tall_texan]

I assume you are talking about the slides that are around the caliper mounting bolts that allow the caliper to float in and out and self-center about the rotor. They should be somewhat snug. But you should be able to move them in and out by hand. you can lube them with that red brake lube stuff that they have in the single-use packets at AutoZone/Pep Boys/O'Reilly's. Other than that, if they are really sticking a lot, and causing excessive brake wear, you would have to replace the whole caliper. I had an 87 Pontiac Bonneville in college that ate a set of pads every 5k miles. I just planned on replacing pads every time I changed oil (lifetime replacements at AutoZone). Calipers were sticking and rubbing even after I would release the brake pedal. Finally got tired of doing that and bought new calipers. Never changed the pads again after that.

 

[staindvans]

yes i mean the slides, the top one slides hardly, to the point that i wouldn't call it sliding even. the bottom one slides just like its supposed to. i spun the wheel without the brakes on and it spun nice and smooth. then i put the brakes back on, built pressure up in them and spun them again, you can hear the brakes dragging on the rotors. i don't know for sure if the calipers are messed up however the pistons push back in nice and easy. slides on the bottom the same size as the top?

 

[tjkj2002]

One pin should be a little stiffer to move then the other and one pin should be slightly different then the other.That one different pin should have a plastic piece on the end while the other pin is smooth steel and both smooth pins should be in the bottom holes.The reason for this is by natural forces the top of the pads when pressed against the rotor will naturally bit harder due to the way the rotor is spinning so to help the pads wear more evenly there should be a tad more resistance on that top pin then the bottom.Now both pins should move freely but the top pin should have more rersistance then the bottom pin,takes up some of the slop also to help reduce brake noise.