Stuck and rusted brake pin

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DallasCrzr

DallasCrzr

Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Threads
27
Messages
337
Location
Dallas
My first mechanically necessary job was a success...changing rear brake pads.

I used toyota OEM pads and reused the clips and shims, they seem fine and no squeaks so i declare success.

However...

My PS rear inner pad was worn way down, significantly more than the others, the others were probably 1/3 pad left while the PS rear inner was pretty much gone. I'm guessing maybe it was rubbing and maybe thats why my MPG has been less than what I think it should be?

I'm attributing this to the top slider pin being stuck pretty good in there...a lot of brake cleaner and twisting and pulling finally got it out. There was a light coat of rust on the pin...

I cleaned out the hole with brake cleaner and q tips and cleaned the pin really well but I don't think theres any way to really get rid of all traces of the rust. I greased it up and put it all back but..

Do I need to change the caliper? Pin? Any advice on this would be appreciated. Thanks guys
 
If the pin is developing rust, it's done IMO. It's designed to slide freely through the caliper, and if it can't do that you'll continue to see irregular/uneven pad wear. Greasing it up good will help, but only for a short time. It's a cheap part from what I've seen online, and with the mud member discount I'd guess an OEM replacement would probably be less than $10 from CDan or Beno. Get a new one and call it a day, don't wait for the pads to start wearing unevenly again.
 
TheFuzz said:
If the pin is developing rust, it's done IMO. It's designed to slide freely through the caliper, and if it can't do that you'll continue to see irregular/uneven pad wear. Greasing it up good will help, but only for a short time. It's a cheap part from what I've seen online, and with the mud member discount I'd guess an OEM replacement would probably be less than $10 from CDan or Beno. Get a new one and call it a day, don't wait for the pads to start wearing unevenly again.
Click to expand...

^ what Fuzz said. I tried piecing my seized up parking brake together with a part here and there, just to ultimately replace everything.
 
So I'll replace the pin but what about the caliper itself? It seems that it would need to be replaced too as theres residual rust in the hole the pin slides into even though i cleaned it the best i could given the tools and time i had...which was brake cleaner and q tips
 
So the actual caliper is rusting too? Sorry, I thought it was just residual stuff from the pin that you had cleaned out. If you can swing replacing the caliper, do it. You might be able to find an unloaded caliper housing from a parts dealer for significantly less than a loaded assembly, and just swap the pistons and parts over to it. You're right, putting a nice new pin into a rusty housing is only a short term fix.

ETA: Check rockauto.com, great prices on unloaded calipers.
 
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I'd get something like a bore cleaning brush. Clean the caliper cavity well and then reinstall. Once it's well greased I don't think you'll have problems with a new pin and a good boot.
 
TheFuzz said:
So the actual caliper is rusting too? Sorry, I thought it was just residual stuff from the pin that you had cleaned out. If you can swing replacing the caliper, do it. You might be able to find an unloaded caliper housing from a parts dealer for significantly less than a loaded assembly, and just swap the pistons and parts over to it. You're right, putting a nice new pin into a rusty housing is only a short term fix.

ETA: Check rockauto.com, great prices on unloaded calipers.
Click to expand...

I guess I just kind of figured both were rusted since they were so stuck together.

Also this makes me wonder now...I thought all the stuff that fits over the rotor is the caliper...is only the piece that you take off with the piston inside called the caliper? If so what is the piece that that mounts to because that's what has the hole that you insert the pin into....caliper mount or something? I know somewhere online has really good diagrams of all this with part numbers but forgot where that is
 
If I was in TX like you, my first call would be to CDan and Beno at American Toyota. I'm sure they can get what you need.

Last time I did my brakes, I was in a time crunch, so I purchased the brake hardware kits from FCP Euro online (in CT, I think). They're a part of the FCP Groton organization and they 're so close that I can usually get things the next day by UPS.

The ones I got were a standard Beck Arnley kits though. You can get everything you need for the job including new slider pins. Make sure to lubricate them with the proper high temperature lubricant (I use the blue stuff). Up here in the Northeast I plan to have the full kit on had when I do a brake job because it never fails that there are corroded or broken parts. You can also get the calipers there too.
 
The caliper is the whole "clamp" that constitutes the housing for both of the brake-pads.
A bit of surface rust on the calipers doesn't matter.
E.g. here, where roads are salted heavily during winter, all brake parts turn brown. Even the rotors if you don't use them enough.

Make sure the pins are straight and smooth and move freely in the caliper's holes, and cover them with ceramic grease. The ceramic grease will not react with any of the metal parts, or with the salt.
It's the best thing I've ever used on calipers and pads. Got a (rattle-)can from the t0yota dealer. That's what they use, and throw away the little sachets that come with the pad kits.
 
Bumping this instead of starting a new thread b/c this guy had the same issues I am having...

'99 LX, it has felt like the rear rotors were warped - you know, uneven braking, but no shudder in the steering wheel.

I got new pads and rotors, DS went fine and then I moved to the pass side. I noticed the inside and outside pads did not have even wear.

The pads on the DS had even wear.

I unbolted the caliper from the caliper mount, removed caliper mount to replace the rotor, and that is when I noticed that one of the slide pins for the caliper is seized.
Darn.
I put some Kroil on it, we will see how things look in the morning.
Darn.
 
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