I posted this under another thread but perhaps no one noticed or it is just such a dumb question i don't deserve an answer.. could be.. but I will try this way .

I have just bought reman'd caliper brackets for all 4 brakes and one reman rear piston (which I expect I need but really have not proven it yet)

The rear piston came with "all hardware" and the guide pins it comes with consist of one solid one and one that takes the rubber bushing (which it came with ).

The pin kits I bought for the other 3 positions seem to conflict with what came with the rear piston making me wonder which is right (have not taken originals apart yet )

The H5075 kit (AZ) has one rubber bushing and one solid pin. Supposedly, this is for the front and the rubber bushing ping should be the TOP pin I have read here.

The H15072 ones have no rubber bushing .. just 2 solid pins. Supposedly this is for the rear.

Why then did the reman advance piston I bought come with the version with one rubber bushing? Does it matter ? Did they just put the wrong one in there ?

If there should be one pin with the rubber bushing at each spot, i have to replace one of the sets I have. Does the rubber bushing go at the top spot in all cases ?

Also.. off topic somewhat but I received 2x pn 14-1503 brackets for the the front.. but see on one web site there is a 14-1503 for the right side and 14-1505 for the left. (A1 Cardone pns)

I actually ordered the DORMAN 619504 which says they fit either side but got a1 cardones and it has 619504 and 14-1503 on the box.

Just hoping I don't have one of the wrong guys. Is the right side different from the left ?

Thanks a bunch..
__________________
'97 SE Super Black
Stock 100% and 1 quarter rusting nicely in Vermont

 

Pictures of what exactly you're talking about?

I think I know, because I've received slider pins with a rubber ring/sleeve on them before, but I want to make sure what I've seen is what you're talking about.

I've used both type of slider pin on my various 4th gens and there were no problems.

 

Sure

http://forums.maxima.org/6230248-post3.html

Shows an image with the rubber bushings circled.. these install near the bottom of the caliper slide pins that have a detent to accept them.

Some sets I have in hand have both pins to accept these bushing.. some have just one for one of the 2 pins..

 

yeah those are what I thought you were talking about.

I've had pins with them and had pins without them. made no difference.

 

So I wonder why the difference? The mass market parts stores show the rear pins to each have the rubber bushing.. while the fronts only 1 of the 2... Seems there ought to be a reason for it.

Plus I read multiple places to have the one with the rubber bushing as the top pin..

Any have some explanation on what physically goes on by having that bushing there ?

Thanks

Also.. still looking for any information on whether the left / right side front brackets are different at all or if some of the sites just have different pns for each side..

 

Update.. removed rear guide pins.. one pin is straight.. one with rubber bushing.. and rubber bushing one is on the BOTTOM pin..

and left / right brackets are the same for the front so won't be an issue there when I get to it.

 

A bushing facilitates rotation, not sliding. AFAIK the idea is that you can more easily rotate your caliper around the top slide pin without needing to remove the whole assembly.

That's my semi-educated guess, but I can't think of any other reason for it. The rubber bushing should be on top. My guess about your rear slide pin setup would be that somebody just stuck 'em in however they fit.

 

So the issue is that it rotates and can hold itself up a bit due to the friction from the rubber bushing inside ? You could still rotate it on the solid pin but it would not want to stay up ? Both rears were the same and as the owner of the car since it had 19K miles on it from my brother who did nothing but a few oil changes.. im sure this is how the factory did it.

I will soon do the fronts.. just replacing the brackets , slide pins boots , bolts.. Ill see how the factory ones are but I will replace the top with the rubber bushing donning pin.

Thanks for your response.

(any good / cheap fix for the cloudy headlamp lenses and if not, can you buy just the front lense separately and just unclip it with what looks like clips holding it on ? )

 

I usually just flip the caliper up so it's resting on the top half of the bracket. I thought the bushing was there was more to make rotational motion easier, for when you're flipping the caliper out, not necessarily to hold it in place. All I know is, I've heard from the interweb that the one with the bushing goes up top, so that's what I do. It's been fine for me so far.

Also consider the inherent frictional characteristics of the materials. The two posts I installed the other night (from AZ) were of different materials; the plain one looked like brass, which tends to be a self-lubricating material, and the bushing'd could have been steel. Metals tend to bind to themselves, so the steel one would be liable to get stuck in the caliper; the bushing could I guess help sliding motion as well. Doesn't answer your question about which one goes where though.

Cloudy headlights can be fixed with a kit from any auto parts store. They're pretty easy to use. Mine ('97 polycarbonate lenses) took about fifteen to twenty minutes. The lenses don't come off the housings so easily; you have to bake them off, IIRC. I've never actually done it.