Is cleaning / sanding caliper slider pins good?

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or do they have to be replaced and when?

I think my pins may be stuck and I'm thinking about cleaning them. However I'm not sure if I also should clean the "holes" they go into as well, and whether to use sand paper or not (worry about the abrasive sand getting stuck in there and wear it out).

Yeah, these pins are about $15 per set, but I don't like to waste resource or throw parts (especially after market that may not be better than the old stuff that's on the car right now).

Thinking about doing both the Corolla and the Integra because the Corolla has angled pad wear on both sides and Integra has uneven inner / outer pad wear on one caliper.
 
They are sometimes plated, and sanding can diminish this.
But clean and smooth is correct.
With proper lube, you will be just fine.
In other words, this is a GOOD idea - it is normally what I do.

Get them to a fine finish - wet sand or steel wool for the last pass.
Don't neglect the bores. They need to be cleaned and maybe dressed as well.
 
If you consider all the seriously abused, corroded brake pins on the roads still working that are far worse that anything that could happen in SV, you won't do any harm with a mild cleanup.

Rinse the parts good after light sanding and give the holes a blast of brake cleaner after you sand them with fine, good quality sandpaper. Something like 220 or 330 grit silicon carbide wet or dry paper would do the job.

If they are pitted or have more than very light surface rust, you should replace them.
 
I take a drill motor and clean the bores with an abrasive (your choice) and a small circular wire brush chucked on the drill. Then clean them with a solvent on a rag. I put the pins on my vice grip and clean the bad rust near the heads them with my wire brush on my grinder , then finish sand them with 120 grit paper. don't forget to put new seals. Its the reason you have stuck pins in the first place.
 
Yeah, I was going to ask about the bore too. If you are going to clean that anyways might as well just clean the pins too.

Do I need anything special (i.e. non hand tool) to clean the bore? What cleaner and solvent should I use on the wire brush? Is it possible to do it without completely removing the caliper (which needs to bleed the fluids later) and disconnect the hoses?
 
You can do it all by hand with less than one sheet of 220 grit silicon carbide paper. Roll a piece up so it's nice fit in the hole and stroke each hole a bunch of times. Any old solvent is an adequate lube for that. Sand off the pins with the same paper.

Rinse everything with solvent or spray it off with brake cleaner. Reassemble with disk brake caliper lube.

You can do it on the car.
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
or do they have to be replaced and when?



They need to be replaced when none of the above leaves them clean and smooth. Often when the palting goes.
 
Originally Posted By: labman
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
or do they have to be replaced and when?



They need to be replaced when none of the above leaves them clean and smooth. Often when the palting goes.


palting sp

Remember , we are talking about pins that cost about $3 each. Pin and boot kits are less than $10 . also, I use good synthetic white grease when re-installing. Marine grease is wonderful. It takes the heat and moisture better plus is less mess the next time if you still have the car. In reality any grease will work.
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
or do they have to be replaced and when?

I think my pins may be stuck and I'm thinking about cleaning them. However I'm not sure if I also should clean the "holes" they go into as well, and whether to use sand paper or not (worry about the abrasive sand getting stuck in there and wear it out).

Yeah, these pins are about $15 per set, but I don't like to waste resource or throw parts (especially after market that may not be better than the old stuff that's on the car right now).

Thinking about doing both the Corolla and the Integra because the Corolla has angled pad wear on both sides and Integra has uneven inner / outer pad wear on one caliper.

Uneven pad wear can be caused by many reasons. Although worn or pitted sliding pins may contribute to the problem, a dragging caliper can also be responsible for the problem.

Considering how old your calipers are, a set of remanufactured calipers are a better investment. I just checked, and they're only around $50/each with bracket for the Corolla. And before you say that your OE part is better than a new aftermarket part, consider that your OE part is 10+ year old with over 150,000 miles. The remanufactured units are simply the old ones cleaned up with new seals (now EPDM) and new hardware installed. There is simply no way that the seals and hardware of today would be of lesser quality than worn-out parts from 1995.
 
Originally Posted By: chad8
Remember , we are talking about pins that cost about $3 each. Pin and boot kits are less than $10 . also, I use good synthetic white grease when re-installing. Marine grease is wonderful. It takes the heat and moisture better plus is less mess the next time if you still have the car. In reality any grease will work.


Maybe where you are these pin cost $3 and with boot cost $10, but they are selling for $13 a set here or more even at local store with domestic brands.

Are you talking about white lithium grease?

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Considering how old your calipers are, a set of remanufactured calipers are a better investment. I just checked, and they're only around $50/each with bracket for the Corolla. And before you say that your OE part is better than a new aftermarket part, consider that your OE part is 10+ year old with over 150,000 miles. The remanufactured units are simply the old ones cleaned up with new seals (now EPDM) and new hardware installed. There is simply no way that the seals and hardware of today would be of lesser quality than worn-out parts from 1995.


Yes, if the reman is done correctly. I'm probably going to try doing the boot replacement myself instead of relying on their reman, just to learn a thing or two, but not at the moment.

The reason I rule out dragging caliper is that out of the 4 pads, only the right outter (away from piston) is worn less. If there is 1 dragging caliper, then there would be 1 pad worn more than the other 3. So it clearly means that the caliper isn't sliding as much as it should be, that indicate the pins or its bores being stuck.
 
DO not sand them, Take them out clean them, if they are not pitted or scarred lube them with as much grease as you can. I use NAPA sil-glyde.
 
I have 2 sets of corolla/sienna pins here. the 93-97 corolla pins are not coated. sand away anyway. Usually u know if they need replacing. the heads will be so rusted you can not get them free. I have had to use an air chisel to get one out. That was extreme . we saved the caliper ,but the pin was gone. It was my 98 sienna. .
 
Sanding is better than corrosion and hard caked debris.
Someone at the factory 'sanded' them!
I agree, do as little as possible.
 
I'm wondering how much corrosion can actually occur in CA. Around here the brakes get rotten after a few years. Most slide pins are fine by wiping old grease off and applying a fresh coat. After putting them back in make sure they slide freely.

Another area that corrosion likes to hide and cause uneven pad wear is underneath the hardware (cant think of a better term right now) on the caliper bracket. Sometimes corrosion will build up enough that it will jam the pads in the mounts and they won't slide freely anymore.
 
AcuraTech - You must have also noticed that shop manual times/hours for repairs are NOT for winter/salted areas!
Only ideal situations!
Things are much worse after a few years!
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
AcuraTech - You must have also noticed that shop manual times/hours for repairs are NOT for winter/salted areas!
Only ideal situations!
Things are much worse after a few years!


Haha, this is true! I've had to literally MELT broken caliper bolt studs out (with oxyacetylene torch). Why? The bolt head broke off due to heavy corrosion. Do we get extra time for this? Of course not!
 
I talked to my friend who is a auto repair teacher at a tech high school, and he said clamp a vice grip on the stuck pin and hit the vice grip with a hammer, get the stuck pin out and replace it. He said never try and clean it if its stuck. But thats just his opinion. Pins are only a few dollars.
 
Hitting screws or bolts straight on with a hammer can work wonders for helping to break them free.

A good tip for motorcycle Phillips head screws is to bang hard with a seated screwdriver before trying to unscrew them out of Japanese butter metal. [their parts work very well if you do not exceed the normal function or strength]
 
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