Caliper Slide Pin Difference?

L

ls973800

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Jan 30, 2013
Messages
470
Location
Lake County, Ohio
Have a 2004 Buick Rendezvous FWD with ABS that one of the slide pins is frozen. Not the original caliper as those were replaced several years ago.

I want to replace the pins, but don't recall seeing two different pins for the caliper, or also one piece that looks like a rubber sleeve?

Just an example of what I am finding for this car. Even different brands are showing two different pins. Where would each pin go along with the one sleeve? Does it even matter?

Caliper Slide Pin Difference
 
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My Subaru has two different pins, just like that. On my car the pin with the rubber bushing goes on the bottom. Be careful what you use to lube the pin with the rubber boot, certain Permatex products cause the rubber to swell, and the pin will seize. Happened to me, and after looking at reviews on amazon, I'm far from the only one. Dark green Permatex ultra synthetic lube is what gave me issues in the past, but people online seem to complain about the purple ceramic stuff too.


Unfortunately I'm not sure if it matters where each pin goes, and where they go on your buick.
 
The top pin uses the bushing. Use only pure silicone paste or Syl-glide. Many if not most of the brake specialty lubes especially the "ceramic" ones will swell up the rubber and seize the pin as the other poster said.
 
I've had those bushing on several vehicles but not all vehicles. Some pins are the same for the top & bottom. I don't know what they do.
 
Originally Posted by sxg6
My Subaru has two different pins, just like that. On my car the pin with the rubber bushing goes on the bottom. Be careful what you use to lube the pin with the rubber boot, certain Permatex products cause the rubber to swell, and the pin will seize. Happened to me, and after looking at reviews on amazon, I'm far from the only one. Dark green Permatex ultra synthetic lube is what gave me issues in the past, but people online seem to complain about the purple ceramic stuff too.


Unfortunately I'm not sure if it matters where each pin goes, and where they go on your buick.
Same here. I won't use any Permatex brake grease no matter what the color of the goop.Swell rubber components.
 
On Hondas, everything I've ran across says the pin with the rubber bushing goes on the bottom. I have the field service manual for my Infiniti G35 and there are multiple brake options/designs. Some show a bushing on the bottom, some on the top, and some with no bushing. Seems there's no "standard" at least !
 
On Hondas, everything I've ran across says the pin with the rubber bushing goes on the bottom. I have the field service manual for my Infiniti G35 and there are multiple brake options/designs. Some show a bushing on the bottom, some on the top, and some with no bushing. Seems there's no "standard" at least !
 
I had the rubber bushing on the top and bottom pins for my calipers on the Journey and despite how much of the proper type of grease I put on those suckers they would start seizing up every spring after the harsh winter. I read online that others removed the rubber bushings to solve the problem, so I put off to the side in case I needed them, and just greased the pins and put them back in and my problem was solved. Just in case you encounter similar problems.
 
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I am going to put it in the top position. That is what Trav suggested and also what I have found on some GM forums. Of course, there is also contradiction regarding the position on some of those same sites as here, LOL. I even found on a Honda Civic site that it should go on the top.

I had done the brakes back in June of 2017 and rotate the tires and do an oil change every 5000 miles. I had used Syl-glide on them at that time and always checked the brakes when rotating the tires. Saturday when I rotated the tires I noticed the inner pad worn down more than the outer and found the stuck caliper guide pin. Debating now if I want to try and unstick it or just replace the caliper along with the mounting bracket.

Car has 260000 miles and I am just trying to keep it running through this winter hopefully.
 
GM has had this issue for years, they had a fix for those calipers that were not fitted with the bushing, P/N 18046457 is one part number. The upper and lower bores are a different size, incorrect placement of the bushing will result in the rubber bushing sticking in the bore, together with a lube that causes even minor swelling almost guarantees seizure.

Here is part of the instructions..

Originally Posted by GM
NOTE: The leading caliper pin, or top pin, has a bushing as part of the assembly. The trailing caliper pin, or bottom pin, is a solid design.


Edit: Guys, on used cars regardless of make sticking calipers can be caused by improper placement of the pin bushing.
You can use a large drill bit chuck end to check the inside bore of the pin bore (if no inside micrometer is available) and a caliper to check the pin rubber size if you cannot find accurate placement info.
 
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Originally Posted by ls973800
I even found on a Honda Civic site that it should go on the top.

Admittedly, my experience was limited to Accords and Odysseys of the generation we own or used to own and on those, the consensus was "bottom". I do see some CR-V posts showing the pins with bushings going in the top position.

How is a mechanic that works on multiple years and models of Honda vehicles supposed to remember which is which ? I know, I know, check the service manual, but be realistic, that's not likely to happen too often.
 
Once the brakes have been done from the car being new I would say at least half of the bushings are in the wrong place. Its easy to forget which pin came from where if if you are not looking for the difference and at least make a mental note of it.
Unless this is a new car and you are doing the first brake job and know where it goes check the FSM or other reliable resource, forums rarely give you a correct answer, people are stating where theirs was not that it was correct hence the usual discrepancy.
 
I know what you mean about answers or advice from forums but one benefit of them -- sometimes -- is that they are vehicle-specific many times. In turn, people often know details about specific models, have the service manuals, etc. You learn who to listen to and who to ignore quickly
grin.gif
YouTube videos are another example. I cringe when I watch some. Many I stop watching after I see too many stupid things !
 
My son and I did all (4) corners on his car with pads and rotors recently. I know we put the slide pins with the bushing on the bottom of each and after looking at the parts diagram from Honda, I see that the fronts are wrong - the rubber bushing goes on the top. Only at the front though. Turns out, at least with this year Honda Accord (1999, 4-door), others may be the same, that the rubber bushing slide pin is positioned at the 'leading edge' in the caliper. We used to have an '05 Odyssey and the rubber bushings follow the same layout. My Mom has an '18 CR-V - just checked and it follows the same.
 
Trav said:
The top pin uses the bushing. Use only pure silicone paste or Syl-glide. Many if not most of the brake specialty lubes especially the "ceramic" ones will swell up the rubber and seize the pin as the other poster said.
Click to expand...
You have the grease part right; I used Syl-Glide. I got a huge tube from Amazon for about $11 (8oz?).
I'm not so sure of the the rubber bushing/sleeve orientation tho. I have seen diagrams and read reviews and most of them say the rubber is on the bottom bolt but there is enough controversy for me to keep looking.
I may have to reinspect my brakes $%^&&^%**
Does anyone have a definitive answer (citation needed)?
 
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