main pin on torque member
 

I can't seem to get the main pin off of the torque member on the bottom of the caliper. It is rusted really bad. I was using a flat head and a hammer trying to get it off. Has anyone had this problem before. What are the negative effects if it can't move. For example break wear. Also, any tips would help to get this thing off. I probably going to Nissan to get a new one, but I need to get this one out first.

bump. Does anyone know at least what that main pin does?

do you mean the caliper pins? the two that are at the top and bottom and the calipers screw into it?

If thats what your talking about, those should just pull out. If not and it takes excessive force to remove (or cant remove) you'll probably need to look into replacing them and maybe the calipers if there is damage to it.

Inside there is suppost to be greese which helps the pin slide back and forth. I could only imaginge maybe the greese dried out, and excessive amounts of heat could have kind of baked the pin in there.

Yea, its the caliper pins. The FSM calls it main pin. I was able to get the bottom pin on out on the driver's side. It had no grease and was rusted. The passenger side I couldn't get out. I also made this thread showing the brake wear. I had 18,000 miles and the passenger side looked like new compared to the drivers side.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=496177

Now my brakes feel very mushy. If I can't get the pin out what other choice do I have? Getting new calipers worth it?

The slide pins need to move. If they dont the pad will stay contaced to the the rotor and wear quickly and induce some drag. The slide pins have a rubber boot on the end so no dirt or water get into it and corrode the inside. Its pretty common for water to get in anyhow. There should be some grease inside the torque member and on the pin so it moves freely. New calipers will not come with torque members, so what you need to do is either get a TM used (org/ebay/junkyard) or pull the stuck slide pin out and clean all the rust in the TM and get new pins from the dealer.

ok thanks. I'm going to try a few things first. I'll buy two pins one for each caliper. The top pin on each caliper is in good condition. I got me a heavier hammer and chizel to force out the siezed pin. So hopefully that will work. If all esle fails than I need to get a new torque member.

do not over greese when your puttin in the new pins. you need just the right amount so that the pin can slide easily but not get stuck due to too much greese.

TM should be okay when you get the pins out, but shine a light in side and see if there is any damage or scuffing inside that might prevent the pins from moving properly and freely.

FYI advanced auto not autozone will have the pins in stock, try the dealer (but most dealers the parts department is closed on sunday). I know that autozone/advanced dont have it in stock, when I was doing brakes on my girlfriends car and the pins were toast.

There's no advanced auto I know about in nyc. And if so it would be far. I'll probably do this during the week depending on light or this saturday. Thanks for the tip about the grease.

FYI I have had rust issues on a bunch of the pins. I just tighten them in my drill and use a piece of sand paper to clean them up. I also have some TM and slide pins if you cant get any locally.

Just to let everyone know I was able to remove the bottom pin from the TM. Banging with a hammer didnt do much. You basically need to grab it with a vice grip and twist and pull at the same time to get it out. Now with the new sliding pin in you can see that the whole caliper moves freely providing maximum braking power.

So, when you check your brakes make sure the sliding pins on the TM are sliding efficiently otherwise you will get very bad brake fade and insufficient braking power.