Stuck brake caliper story

[sxg6]

Originally Posted By: Yah-Tah-Hey
Any of those various colored Permatex brake lube goops will swell soft brake components. Avoid them like the plague.


Originally Posted By: Trav
^ That's a fact, the purple stuff swelled the rubber pin inserts and on top of that dried out, pure garbage. I use Sil-glyde or 3M pure silicone grease, both work great.


Yeah, after this happened I went on amazon to read some reviews.. People complained that both the green and the purple Permatex cause rubber to swell.. After reading that, I switched to sil-glyde and will only use that on caliper pins from now on.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I'm using the Permatex green

I only bought it because Akebono is stingy with the brake grease. The packet they include isn't even enough for a single pad, let alone all 4

Is the Permatex purple ceramic stuff any good?

And when I'm not installing Akebono pads, I just use the packet supplied with the pads. Because everybody else gives you plenty of grease.

 

[Trav]

The purple stuff is what swelled the pin rubber and dried out. Don't waste your money.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: NibbanaBanana
Had this happen a number of times. There is rust and corrosion and dirt in the caliper. It's causing the piston to seize in the caliper. Then it frees up again due to temperature changes, movement, loads, etc. If you regularly change your brake fluid it won't happen.

Take the caliper off. Blow the piston out. Clean and polish piston and cylinder. Reassemble. I always use silicon brake grease to aid in reassembly.


DONT take the caliper off. Blow the piston out WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL, which you probably already have, and which is specifically designed for the job.

Fixed that for ya. What you posted is standard internyet advice.

And a snare and a delusion

Not everyone has compressed air, and hooking it up to a detached caliper is likely to be a PITA, and maybe a pain in the eyes as it high-pressure jets rusty brake fluid in your face.

Been there and was stupid enough to do that.

 

[sxg6]

It does seem better to use the pedal, but in his defense some automakers like Subaru even say to use compressed air in their factory service manuals. Like you said though, I understand everyone doesn't have an air compressor.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: sxg6
It does seem better to use the pedal, but in his defense some automakers like Subaru even say to use compressed air in their factory service manuals.


Tosh is tosh, wherever it comes from.

Subaru will be assuming a fully equipped workshop, but even if I had one I would never again attempt to follow that procedure.

When I gave up on it and used the brake pedal I did try to be as tentative with it as possible, though, encouraging it with hammer taps and such. lubricating the dust seal with brake fluid or veg oil etc.

Otherwise its likely to let go very quickly and maybe rip your dust seal, mess up your master cylinder, etc.

 

[Trav]

Not only are they assuming a fully equiped shop but they also do not take rust into consideration and thats a problem for many of us.
I usually short stroke the brake pedal with a piece of wood in the caliper to stop the piston shortly before it drops out, that way you can do the other side.

Never reassemble a caliper with old seals and boots, rusted or scored piston (don't bother polishing the rusted piston, once the plating is damaged it will rust again in no time) or honing the bore.
Rebuilding a caliper properly while a simple job requires some patience and accuracy to perform well long term.

I do not try and remove seized or stuck caliper pistons with compressed air, I don't care the book says, its going to take a lot of pressure and when it lets go its splashing everything in sight even if you emptied it first.

This is how I rebuild a caliper.

Strip it completely and inspect it.

Bead blast it and protective coat it.

Hone the bore or if aluminum with pits bore it and SS sleeve it.

Ream rusted pin bores and ss sleeve if necessary otherwise a quick hone.

Replace the piston if there is any damage whatsoever.

Replace bleeder, seals, pins and boots with OE parts if available.

Some with electronic parking brakes and rear mechanical screw pistons get a bit more involved.

 

[Phishin]

Thanks for all the advice.

I use this Honda Accord to travel with my son to take him all over the country. He's a 13 year old BMX racing machine. I really can't afford to have a failure with this car and the maintenance I've done on it so far has been exceedingly thorough.

The car spends all of it's life on the highway at night going 75-85 MPH for hours and hours.

So, this weekend, I ordered a set of NEW OEM Honda calipers ($200 each) for the front, new OEM Honda brake lines for both sides of the front as well. I'm also installing the high carbon steel Centric rotors and Akebono ACT pads. This will be an expensive set of replacement brakes, but it will be done right and with the BEST parts.

The factory brakes lasted 130k miles before I replaced them. I had my local garage install new pads and rotors 20-30k miles ago, and it's been nothing but trouble (I was in a hurry, and had to leave town in 2 days for another race, and didn't have time to do it myself). I'll never do that again.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: NibbanaBanana
If you regularly change your brake fluid it won't happen.


I've had the brake fluid changed every other year. Complete and thorough fluid swap. I think the junk caliper that my local shop installed on the car failed. It was probably some junk reman caliper from Autozone or Napa. Oh well, new OEM Honda units will be on it soon. But I think last year, I paid them about $600 for new front pads, new rotors, one new caliper, a new brake line, and fresh brake fluid. So, that money was ONLY good for 1 year...which sucks.

 

[Phishin]

Just got the car back from my indy shop....

Installed: 2 new front OEM Honda calipers, 2 new from OEM Honda brake lines, Centric rotors, and Akebono ACT pads. Fresh brake fluid. And a new OEM serpentine belt.

Total: $920 OTD -- Expensive, but done right with the best parts