Help with Brakes ASAP Options

[Promasta]

so the thing the caliper mounting bolt screws into is supposed to slide in and out, correct?



Because one of them slides but the other one is stuck so i can't slide the caliper over the new brake pads because this piece won't slide in

Help Please

This post has been edited by Promasta: Aug 6, 2008 - 11:14 PM

[azian_advanced]

that means it's seized. i had the same problem before on one of my front calipers. lucky for me i get free rebuilds so i got my mom to rebuild all four calipers.

[Galcobar]

For clarification, the bolt doesn't move, the caliper moves on the bushing, which is a cylinder held onto the caliper bracket by the bolt.

(bolt goes through bushing, bushing goes through caliper).

Try undoing the bolts holding the caliper to the bracket (not the bracket to the backing plate). Remove the caliper and then try to slide the bushing out of the caliper. If it moves, great, pop it out, clean it and the caliper and the rubber boots, then re-grease and reassemble. If it bushing cannot be removed from the caliper, then you need to buy a rebuild. It may or may not be as cheap or cheaper to buy a unloaded caliper (no mounting bracket) than a semi-loaded caliper (caliper + bracket assembly).

However the most common issue with brake pad replacements isn't a seized caliper bushing, but a protruding piston. With the caliper still on the car, slip a flathead screwdriver through the hole in the top of the caliper and try to force the piston back. If that proves difficult, loosening the bleeder screw will take the pressure off the piston and you can probably compress it by hand.

[Promasta]

wow i'm confused.
the caliper is fine, the piston compressed with no problems.
the things the caliper bolts into should move in and out freely so the caliper can fit over the new brake pads. but one is stuck. i am talking about on the bracket, not on the caliper.

[azian_advanced]

oh right, forgot that those were on the brackets, not calipers. i know you can order those pieces individually from Toyota rather than getting the whole bracket but you'd need to know how to rebuild them yourself. otherwise you need a whole bracket.

[Tigawoods]

ugh. i guess i wont replace my front pads tomorrow. i have an auto-x on sat and sun. i really dont want to run into this

[GriffGirl]

wow i'm confused.
the caliper is fine, the piston compressed with no problems.
the things the caliper bolts into should move in and out freely so the caliper can fit over the new brake pads. but one is stuck. i am talking about on the bracket, not on the caliper.

Now I'm confused. The bolt you're referring to in your picture is the caliper bolt and has nothing to do with holding it onto the backing plate. Granted, it should unscrew, and if it doesn't, it may be that your caliper is seized. However, unless your caliper is seized in a closed position, you don't need to unbolt the bolt you're referring to in the picture. There are two 14mm bolts that hold the caliper in place to the backing plate - one is to the right of where the caliper is, almost directly in line with the axle. The other is at the bottom of the bracket, just below the caliper itself and toward the center of the wheel a bit. You should be able to remove the caliper just fine without removing the caliper bolt, at which point it'll not only be easier to see if the caliper is seized, but if you remove the caliper all together, it'll be a LOT easier to remove that caliper bolt if necessary.

PB blaster is your friend, too. You might soak that caliper bolt in PB Blaster for a few minutes if you can't get the bolt out. I rebuilt my entire caliper basically using PB Blaster, a ball-peen hammer, and a pointy metal thing. Lots of corrosion inside that chamber where the bolt goes through. Works great now.

[lubu]

The front capliers have two 17mm bolts that hold them tightly to the steering knuckle. The rears have 14mm bolts.
If you cant remove those bolts you're talking about, try to remove the whole capliper then it should be easier to change the pads.

This post has been edited by lubu: Aug 7, 2008 - 1:31 PM

[GriffGirl]

Weird, mine are both 14mm, front and back. Caliper bolt was 10mm IIRC... maybe 12. I forget.

Edit: then again mine's an ST w/GT rears... I think ST front brakes are a different size than GT et al

This post has been edited by GriffGirl: Aug 7, 2008 - 2:32 PM

[azian_advanced]

there are two little pistons/pins on the caliper bracket that go in and out. see below






i think what he's saying is the main caliper piston on the caliper is ok. it's these little pistons/pins that slide in and out is what seized up. as the pads get thinner, these slide inwards towards the rotor. when you get new pads, they have to slide out but if one or both seized, then you're stuck with using the old pads until you get it fixed or until you get new brackets.

[Promasta]

yes azian that is exactly what i am saying
sorry i didn't have a good picture and didn't know how to explain it