So my "Brake" light was on and I thought it was because I needed rear pads. The rotors were ok, and as a side note my e-brake cable/handle works fine. So Saturday I changed my rear pads, and while doing so I noticed the pass side caliper was really hard to compress and it has some rust on the face of the piston. I cleaned it up as best as I could from the outside of the piston face/seal. The piston seal appeared to be in ok shape it was just hard to move(yes I know that means is seized or frozen). When I did compress it ever so slightly it leaked some rusty/brown crap out and it only moved about 1/2 a turn. Now to get back on the road with my DailyDriver I continued to proceed and I finished bedded the pads. I got my "Brake" light to go away and added a little bit of Brake fluid since it was still really low even after the new pads. Sadly I still have symptoms of the rear pass brake dragging I had before the pad install.

My biggest question is - Are the new pads going to be trash since I probably need a new caliper/rebuild? Can I just throw a new caliper on there in a week or so and be ok with the slightly used "new pads"

I rebuilt my front 6th Gen BBK calipers (purchased from a junk yard) and it was pretty straight forward. Any one have any links on a Rear Caliper Rebuild Kit. I didn't really see any after searching except for an aftermarket OE specific kit on ebay. Also now that I think about it being a DailyDriver it might be easier to just purchase a new/reman caliper instead of rebuilding and having the car off the road that much longer.

Thanks for any info. We need a Rear BBK with more reliable calipers. This will be my third set of rear caliper(s).

 

i personally wouldnt put the old pads back on after being subjected to a seized caliper, but that's me. but after replacing my calipers w/ a set from advance, i didnt have any issues before i sold it

 

kill me but our cars do not have brake pad sensors... there is another reason why your brake light was on...

 

Even with limited mileage? What are you're reasons on this? Cuz the pads will be abnormally worn from the frozen caliper? I was searching and found various opinions on reusing brake pads in similar conditions. To me i don't see why not if the only thing being changed is the caliper and of course in a timely manner.

I know this, but you can also come to the conclusion of probably needing pads from that light because it means one of two things as I learned form this very helpful post
from this thread vv
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ght-stays.html
I can only guess In my case the pads were worn from the frozen caliper.

At this point I am just going to start looking for a new/reman caliper and rebuild the old one once its off the car. Any nice spots to shop for Rear Calipers? On to the searching!

 

Do urself a favor and replace things in pairs, do both calipers i learned this over many years of auto maintenance

 

You seem unsure the rears are actually dragging. Touch them after a drive. They shouldn't be hotter than the front.

You are going to need to change those pads again if they are dragging. Even with limited mileage the heat and friction WILL glaze them over and change their composition which means they won't do their job. The rotor face and the face of the older pads should be clear indicators of how bad it is.

You are far better off buying new/reman calipers then rebuilding them according the threads/info that I've researched. The rebuild kits for the rears DO NOT look like fun. Buy them in PAIRS as others have stated. I paid $72.99 per caliper at an O'Reilly in Calumet City IL. All the hardware was included and there is a core charge.

 

Meh, I replaced just one side on my 97...i've had no issues with anything so far. This will be a never ending debate til the end of time I think "they" say to do both because if one is seized, the other is probably not far behind. Me being poor, says, If you have the money, do both, sure...but if you can onlyafford to do 1 right now, it's not goingto be a huge issue. Don't rebuild, just buy new/reman ones from Advance or wherever...Advance has Lifetime warranty on them...not sure about other places.

Mine was not dragging, but WAS seized since I could not turn it back at all. If you had a hard time turning it back, it is shot. So, even if it is seized, it may or may not drag so the "heat test" may not work. My advice, if you could not turn the piston back with a pair of needle nose pliers, replace it, even if you got it to move after some brute force.

 

that'd be my reason. unless it was metal to metal, i wouldnt have replaced the pads until i had the caliper, unless you put the pads on to go to the parts store to get another caliper then came back home. other than that, naw, i wont/wouldnt/havent. i always just replaced both pads, technically i always did both rear..or both front..always did them in sets. just a personal way i kinda deal w/ things.

 

So back when this thread started (july 12') I replaced the problematic caliper with a functioning junkyard caliper. I kept the original torque member and slider pins because they functioned fine at the time. So i only replaced the caliper not the entire unit.

Now with the consistent cold weather in the past few days the same caliper (even tho it is "new") is giving me problems again!

On a short non highway drive to work the caliper was stuck and was smoking and slowing me down. It was so hot it was bubbling the nice high temp caliper paint. I must note I typically use my e-brake when I am parked. So over night when it gets really cold the e-brake is on all night.
Another note, after the new caliper was installed in august I still could hear ever so slight contact being made with the rotor while driving around.....


What's next?? My only guess is slider pins now.... which were fine a few months ago.

 

whats a better long lasting REAR caliper?
Reman or New OEM or New Aftermarket ?

 

They're all going to be about the same, in my experience.

There are a couple of places where they can seize - for the pre-2003 5th gens can be the piston proper, or the pin in the back that pushes the piston when the parking brake is actuated, or the lever itself that actuates the pin.

The only thing that really fixes the issue is to upgrade to 2003 rears, if that were possible. Perhaps it is, I have not looked into it.

 

what ? 2003 is our gen and is known to have the same problems.

 

so driving around another day I haven't been able to take the wheel off etc, its not smoking any more and i have temporarily stopped using the e-brake untill I get it checked out.... driving around felt a little better.

I d k what to do considering I just replaced the caliper in august, but it could be related to the slight contact i had been hearing after the caliper replacement.

 

I'll throw this out for what it's worth, but in the last couple of years I've renewed(new slidepins,pin boots,pads etc) then changed (remanufactured) out all 4 calipers on my Maxima, and the same on my spouse's car, a Protege5. I mention the Mazda because the calipers are the same design. Almost every time when I do a routine check 3-4 months later, I find the calipers are barely or not at all sliding on the pins. The last time that happened I understood it's the pin with the rubber sleeve that was the problem, so I substituted that pin for one without the rubber sleeve (ie a spare of the other pin I had around) and haven't had an issue since. Maybe the moly grease I use is expanding the rubber sleeve on the pin and jamming it in the bore, maybe the aftermarket parts I've used haven't had proper tolerances, but I'd suggest you have a look at your slidepins.