Some background info...

Ok, so back in April I changed my front brake pads. A couple of days later I started to hear a rotational rubbing/ howling noise. I replaced the rotors with new ones and there was no more noise...problem solved, right...WRONG!

Fast Forward to October, I start hearing the tab on the brake pads make the squeal indicating that they are worn down. Thought to myself this is way too soon. I took off the tire and noticed that the inside pad was worn all the way down and the outside pad was barely worn. I replaced the pads again. Everything was cool for about 2 to 3 weeks and now i'm getting that rubbing/howling noise again!

Do you guys think its the caliper? Possibly a stuck pin? I haven't checked anything yet but am planning on either checking it out myself tomorrow or bringing it to a shop?

Is replacing the caliper a pretty easy job?

 

Yes, do not replace the caliper. Remove your caliper, do not disconnect the brake line. Remove the pins and clean all rust from pins and bores. Bores can be cleaned with a gun brush or rolled sandpaper. Grease with never sieze (or high temp grease) and reassemble. If the piston works and doesnt leak, there is no good reason to replace a caliper.

 

Stupid question but can I reuse those rubber boots that have to be removed to get to the pins?

 

If they're not torn, yes.

 

make sure to also lube up the seating area of the pads and contact area of the pad to the caliper. a stuck slide would cause uneven brake pad wear, or a seized piston.

 

that's what happened to my rear. pain in the ***.

 

Update: So I got the time to look at it on Friday and it was definitely a siezed caliper pin on the passenger side. I could not get that sucker out for the life of me...I tried PB blaster and was looking to borrow my neighbor's torch as the next step but he wasn't home. Ended up just replacing the caliper bracket which I got from Napa already loaded with the pins for $30.

Next, I thought let me grease up the driver side caliper pins. When I got to it, it was siezed too! Took off the caliper bracket, hit it with some PB blaster, let that soak as I cleaned all the other brake parts. After 45 min of pulling and twisting, that thing came off. Cleaned everything with brake klean and regreased...Alas everything is back to normal.

Thanks to the board for helping out with this....when I first brought it to a shop, they said I would definitely have to replace the whole caliper and it would cost $125....never going there again.

 

What type of grease you used? I have the same issue but my pins are not stuck. Any reason why it might be the uneven wear? (Also the inner pad)

 

I used CRC Brake & Caliper Grease

http://www.crcindustries.com/files/S...r%20Grease.pdf


I think that naturally the inner pads will wear before the outer because the caliper pushes on the inside pad. In my case. the outer pad was barely used and the inner pad was nearly completely done. Are yours the same way? Are you getting any weird noises?

 

Typically they wear at nearly the same rate, inboard pad and out. That's the reason the slide pins are there, to allow the caliper to slide back and forth on brake pedal application.

If the inside pad is wearing significantly more than the outside (by significant I mean 2 millimeters or more), there's a problem. Could be sticking/frozen slide pins (as in your case), a sticking caliper, or other issues (or a combination of those).

 

This sounds like neglect on re-greasing guide pins. Were you the one doing the brake jobs yourself? Was the rubber boot on the guide pin ripped? Only heard of this happening to people who only replace pads and don't bother to touch the guide pins.

 

My father in law actually did the past two front brake jobs and was trying to show me how to do it but as I now know, I cant really trust him...i will always hit up this board before i attempt to do anything on the car. And yeah he never showed or told me about regreasing the pins.

 

Well after wondering why my brakes will go bad less than a month I saw that the back side of the rotor looked like Himalayan mountain. So I purchased new rotors (drilled and slotted) and new brakes. I figure since I changed that I would grease up the pins is that correct?

 

I have the same noise at the moment. Just started few days ago. I bought new pads because my right one seemed extremely low (only 1 year old). Left one is fine. Gotta check my pins.

 

ROFLMFAO. this line really had me rolling

 

Yes, everytime you replace pads, you have to regrease the pins and inspect the boots to make sure they are not brittle or ripped to allow water inside. Even if you are halfway through your pads and you are replacing your rotors, check and regrease the pins if necessary.