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  #1  
Old 05-17-2009, 02:02 PM
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kwren kwren is offline
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Brake caliper question, help please!

My right front brake caliper has a problem. In a perfect world, when the brakes are applied, the caliper squeezes the pads on both sides of the rotor, making the wheel harder to rotate and subsequently, if the brake petal is applied long enough with enough pressure, the wheels will stop turning, and the car will come to a stop. That is a good thing.

There is a shaft near the top if the part of the caliper that is fastened to the stationary section of the 2-part caliper, which in a perfect world will allow the sliding back and forth function when the brakes are applied.

The threaded part of this top shaft screws into the stationary part of the caliper. The shaft on my caliper has seized into the other part and does not allow the sliding back and forth.
Consequently, when the brakes are applied, the two pistons that would cause the squeezing of the pair of brake pads, simply push the inside pad when the brakes are applied.

Naturally, this will wear the inside pad and the outside pad would remain in it’s excellent condition until the Lord returns!

In the processing of inspection yesterday, I discovered that all the braking material that remained on the inside pad could have been mistaken for a thin coat of black paint. The outside pad was fantastic. This was a pretty timely discovery because there was no damage to the rotor! ( I do pray a lot)

The bolt that is in the power section that provides the same sliding function that the top shaft does was removed and when I swing the movable part of the caliper up to inspect the pads, there was no swinging. Actually, prying up that part that should easily swing up was extremely difficult. When I got it up, there was a lot of play, like there was a worn-out shaft or bearings for the shaft.

Not so… the shaft had began to unscrew from the stationary half of the caliper and the threads that screw in gave me the “wobbly” motion. .

This shaft is made to be tightened with a metric wrench, 17mm, and there is no way I can turn it. I can put enough pressure on it to cause the open-end wrench to expand and slip and this shaft will not turn in the seized bushings. There is no way to get any PB blaster or anything else to penetrate because it can’t get in where it would have to be to loosen it up!
No way to push the moving part away from the stationary part to get the shaft out.. It will not budge.

Although the caliper “half” that swings up is unscrewing the shaft out, it can only unscrew the shaft half a turn because of the construction of the stationary “half”, so removing the complete caliper from the car and unscrewing the thing with my big old vice is not an option.

This is an IQ test! Who knows how can I do this job without paying the big bucks for a whole new caliper?

Thanks for any help...

Keith

Last edited by kwren; 05-17-2009 at 03:45 PM. Reason: spellinf, of course LOL
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Old 05-17-2009, 05:07 PM
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kwren kwren is offline
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

No takers?

LOL

Is a tough one...

Keith
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  #3  
Old 05-17-2009, 06:02 PM
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SoCal LS-L SoCal LS-L is offline
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

Sounds like weathering/use has taken its toll. As far as the IQ test, which option do YOU think is smarter...... hammer and clank your caliper back into questionable shape..... or pony up for a reliable front braking system? Prayer might not stop your 3500lb car from plowing into the popsicle stand on the corner as well as functioning calipers will. Replace both sides at the same time. Loaded calipers arent that expensive anyways, it will be worth it in the long run and you will feel better driving it. On the other hand..... if you DO lose your brakes and smash your SVX into a fire hydrant..... mine is just that much more rare
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Old 05-17-2009, 06:12 PM
Blacky Blacky is offline
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

If you can heat it with a torch without damaging anything, that should help free it. Also if you can get a 17mm socket on it with a breaker bar you can generate way more torque to bust it free. Chances are pretty good the head will snap off before it breaks loose.

Last edited by Blacky; 05-17-2009 at 06:14 PM.
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Old 05-17-2009, 06:39 PM
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dannmarr dannmarr is offline
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

I have taken my calipers apart and reconditioned them a few times. The last time I decided to replace them with with new ones from Autozone. They came loaded and were not expensive. If yours are original, save the aggravation. I recommend buying new ones.
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Old 05-17-2009, 06:43 PM
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

Seized sliders like this are common enough Keith.

My suggestion is you take off the brake pipes and remove the caliper from the wheel.

The upper and lower slider needs to be free. When you have it off is a good time to take out and polish up nice and shiny the two piston pots, and ensure they are free to move in and out of the sockets easily. If the seals are damaged, get a new set of seals and replace them.

You should be able to get the sliders loose when you have the caliper firmly held in a bench vice. If it is still difficult use heat, but after using heat you will probably need to replace all the rubber seals. You may want to do this anyway to do a proper job.

Once you have the slider pins freed ensure you have all corrosion polished off them. Then regrease and replace the dust seals if need be.

This sounds like a fair bit of work, and it is, but for sure when it is all freed up your brakes will work surprisingly well.

OH, I forgot one thing; before you remove the flexible brake pipe make sure to clamp it to stop air getting sucked into the system.

Joe
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Old 05-17-2009, 06:54 PM
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dannmarr View Post
I have taken my calipers apart and reconditioned them a few times. The last time I decided to replace them with with new ones from Autozone. They came loaded and were not expensive. If yours are original, save the aggravation. I recommend buying new ones.
This is what I did. $92 for both calipers, which includes new ceramic pads! There is a $95 core charge, which you get back 100% when you return your old parts to any autozone store. A much better option than messing around with seized up, worn out 15 year old parts, IMO.
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Old 05-17-2009, 08:14 PM
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AyeJaye AyeJaye is offline
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Re: Brake caliper question, help please!

Wow... I had no idea a set of loaded calipers was that affordable.
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