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Just did a disc & pad change for the lads Xb at 165K miles. Last change was at 90K.
We noticed that the inner pads were worn a bit more than the outers with the inner left being quite tapered. He was also noticing some squealing from that side. This usually indicates sticking pins and I must say that all the pins were tight... until we removed the dust boots (47775) ... then they slid easily with lots of grease still in the caliper mount.
We are getting new boots
I was wondering if others have experienced the same issue?? Could the rubber have swelled over time to make them tight? Or is this normal??
Had to put pliers on the hex of the pins to be able to pull the pins in and out, they were so tight. Probably caused the uneven wear
I had the inside pads wear out first, on mine too, but I assume that is because my splashguard had rusted away some time ago, and more dirt gets thrown onto the inside of the rotor, acting like an abrasive for the pad.
I can't imaging that the rubber boot would hold he pins in tight. Have not seen that.
The inner pads on disc brakes always wear out a little sooner than the outer pads. This is normal.
The pads that wear out at an angle is the result of one (or more) sticky caliper slide pins.
Although sticky pins are not a good thing, it happens. Water gets past the boot. Dust gets past the boot. The grease gets hot. The grease gets cold. As a result, the pins get sticky.
With sticky pins, yes it's normal for them to become freely moving once you force them to move a bit.
Also, might be too late, but it's a good idea to spray an appropriate chemical inside the holes where the pins slide and clean out all the junk in there. Apply fresh grease and reassemble.
I did spray WD40 into the pin holes then stuffed a paper towel in with a screwdriver to clean out any of the old grease.
We put a nice low viscosity lithium grease back in the pin holes and over the pins themselves. Lots of clearance between the pins and the holes, no rust or corrosion either.
Just the rubber boots gripping hard around the pins. I had to use channel lock pliers on the pin hex to even be able to move them.
I think the new boots are coming today, I'll do a video, perhaps using our bathroom scale to try and show the force required for the old and new boots. There may be a difference.
If there is, it will be something new to me.
The only other time I've seen something similar was on my old Suzuki 1100G rear brake, where I had to remove the anti-rattle springs to stop some extreme tapering of the brake pads
I did spray WD40 into the pin holes then stuffed a paper towel in with a screwdriver to clean out any of the old grease. We put a nice low viscosity lithium grease back in the pin holes and over the pins themselves. Lots of clearance between the pins and the holes, no rust or corrosion either.
Just the rubber boots gripping hard around the pins. I had to use channel lock pliers on the pin hex to even be able to move them.
I think the new boots are coming today, I'll do a video, perhaps using our bathroom scale to try and show the force required for the old and new boots. There may be a difference.
If there is, it will be something new to me.
The only other time I've seen something similar was on my old Suzuki 1100G rear brake, where I had to remove the anti-rattle springs to stop some extreme tapering of the brake pads
Take them back apart and clean the lithium grease out of there before you run into trouble. You need to use a product specifically designed for lubricating slider pins or you run the risk of either cooking the grease or having it run out and all over your pads & rotors. Lithium grease is not designed for use on brakes.
Here's the Toyota products that my son (a Toyota Tech) uses when he does disk brakes. You don't have to use these exact products, but you do need to use a product designed for use in brakes. One product is to lubricate rubber parts such as the slider pins boots and the other is to lubricate slider pins and where the pads ride on the hardware kit.
I didn't measure the force required to pull out the pins from the old boots, but is was quite high, even the lad was surprised. Seemed to be a lot more than just pulling a vacuum on that small diameter.
New boots in. Pins cleaned up and regreased with "proper" brake grease - which has an odd smell, that stirred my smell memory, but I can't remember where or what.
Anyway, at $2 a sachet for the grease, 1 sachet seemed to put enough grease on 2 pins and boots.
Result: The pins do slide easier in the new boots, but I think that may be more a case of the new boots being less swollen than the old boots.
It may well be that the Lithium grease made the old boots swell, or the swelling could have just happened over the last 16 years, or been caused by exposure to heat or ozone.
But the test is now on. Don't hold your breath, it will take years to get a result
Video
10-17-2022, 08:22 PM
Front disc & Pad change
