Brake Caliper Slide Pin Information

[jmcardamone]

Many of us at one time has come upon the Hung Caliper, Especially those of us who enjoy the Mud and Muck of great Off Roading! I am Writing this to help those of us who are experiencing Brake issues with Disc style Brakes. This is a retype of a Post I commented on in the Forum on NPORA’s Website.

 

What are slide pins? Slide pins (on a Nissan Pathy), are Cylindrical Pins that Allow the Caliper to Freely Compress and Release against the pads. They retain the Bolts that hold the caliper to the Brake Frame and can be found easily. They are Protected with a Rubber Boot, and are found at the top and bottom of the caliper.

 

What you will need to get started is the Following.

 

1 Can of WD-40 (any ONLY WD 40, I will explain later)

1 Can of Lubrimatic High Temperature Disc/Drum Brake/ Wheel Bearing grease

Small Metallic Tube Brush Small enough to Fit in the Slide pin Holes

Assorted Tools to Remove the Caliper and Frame

 

 

Ok. First and Foremost, jack the pathy up and secure it. Remove the affected tire. Before removing any brake components, note the position and alignment of the pads on the caliper. Take special note to any Excessive wear to the rotor, or any uneven contact with the rotor with the pads. This will help to ensure that you replace any parts that have been damaged by the Slide pins

 

Remove the Upper and Lower Bolts on the Caliper. Next, Remove the Caliper and secure to the Vehicle with a piece of Mechanic’s Wire or Other Method of Holding so that there is zero strain on the Brake line.

 

The next step is key. First is to Find and test the Slide pins. Look for the Points where the bolts you just removed thread into. These will have rubber Boots on them. These are The Slide pins. If the Rubber boots are Torn, Replace the boots or the Slide Pins if you cannot Find or furbish replacement Boots. To test them, grab each and Move. Press in, gently pull out, Twist, Turn, etc. These movements should Be Effortless and SMOOTH! If they are Not, then its time to Proceed to the Next step. If they are , then follow along, but just clean with WD-40 and grease as directed below. .

 

Ok, Time to Remove these Guys. Unbolt the Brake frame using the 2 bolts that mount through the frame into the hub. After removing the Frame, Place it in a Vise, Pin Side up. Remove the Pins by pulling on the Head and the boot and Place them in a Clean towel. Fill the Holes with WD-40. WD-40 is a Water Displacer. It was originally Formulated for NASA for one of the Space missions to Fill the gauges of the spacecraft so they would not fog up. This will Remove any Moisture in the Hole. Now take the Tube brush and Clean the Holes out. Ensure you Preform this well. You want any debris out of the hole. Once this is done, Remove from vise, Drain any wd left and Spray the holes with Fresh WD-40 while upside down. This will Remove any Loose Particles from the holes, Brake Cleaner also works well here too, but rinse with WD when done..

 

If you are one of the unfortunate that the slide pin have Frozen on the vehicle, I would Recommend Replacement of the pins IF you can extract them. The Best method I found is to Lift the Rubber Boot and Place a LOT of B’Laster and wd-40 under the boot. Let this Soak for a little and Grab the Small Plate on the Top of the Pin with a Pair of ViseGrips and Twist and turn. Keep repeating until they are Free. If you give up, you can get a New frame from a Salvage yard, Just remember to check the pins BEFORE you accept!

 

 

Now on to the Inspection. Pick up your slide pins and Examine them first. If there is any Rust, Pit marks, Gouges or if the Pins Feels Rough to the Touch, I would Recommend Replacement. If you are not able to afford the Replacement cost, then I would Fold back the Boot, Grab a Wire wheel and clean it top to Bottom and Remove EVERY IMPERFECTION!!! I would Soak It in WD-40 for about 10 Minutes prior to doing this. It will help Remove any rust, and Drive out any Moisture that has permiated the metal of the pin. When this is done, Rinse with Clean WD-40. At this Point it should be Nice and Shiny! NOTE: REMEMBER NOT TO REMOVE TOO MUCH METAL. IT NEEDS TO RETAIN AS MUCH OF ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE AS POSSIBLE. IF YOU HAVE TO REMOVE MORE METAL THAN SAY A PENICL TIP (AND THAT’S EVEN BEING REALLY LIBERAL), THEN CHUCK IT AND REPLACE! HOLES, PITS, AND VALLEYS CREATE A GREAT PLACE FOR MOISTURE TO HIDE!!

 

 

Regreaseing. This is important to follow. If done wrong, you will be doing this again Shortly! Take a Small Amount, about the size of 2 peas, and Place it in the Hole for the slide pin in the brake frame. Ensure that it Fills the Opening of the Hole. Next, Dip the Slide pin into the Can of brake Grease, Rubber Boot side up, until it Reaches the Boot. Do not get grease on the Boot if you can avoid it! Place the Slide pin into the Hole and Move up, down, Twist ETC. The boot will Expel Air when the Pin is Compressed all the way in, my Kid Calls this a fart…. This is ok. Clean any Excess Grease and Remove the Pin. Dip it in the Grease again and Repeat the Above, This time when the Boot expels Air, Squeeze it to help force any excess air and grease out. Wipe any excess and repeat on the other one. The pins should now Move Effortlessly And Freely., if not, Clean again!

 

Once the above is done, you can reinstall the frame on the Pathy, Replace you parts or other Brake components, and Go!

 

Maintenance

 

To maintain these Pins, they should be Removed and Cleaned with the above procedure every pad changes. If you off road, or Go Mudding, then I would do It every couple of thousand Miles, or After each Run. I do mine on all my Nissans every 10K, illreguardless if I have brake problems or not. I found my pads last longer, and I don’t have brake freezups.

 

Why does this Happen?

 

During Normal Use of the Pins, the boot Expands, Contracts, and Exchanges Air. Anytime it is in contact with Moisture due to a Humid Day, Rain, Snow, or Large Puddle, it has the chance of taking on Moisture. This moisture creates Corrosion, which in turn creates Friction and the friction is what causes the brake to hang up.

 

I hope this helps all of you out. Please send any comments or Revisions to insomniak@noln.com or Post them in NPORA’s Forum!

 

Good Luck and Safe Braking!

[88pathoffroad]

Good writeup, man! My brakes have sucked since I got the Pathy, even after replacing everything...and the sqeaks from the calipers not releasing due to sticky slide pins sucks! Even if you do turn up the stereo to remove the noise from inside, everyone outside the vehicle still hears you sqeaking as you drive by, sounds terrible and is embarassing.

[jmcardamone]

:X Been There, Done that. My Maxima was NOTORIOUS For That. Untill i sat down one day and really Thought Things out with them slide pins. once i got em Right, and really took care of em, no more Pulls, No more squeaks, No More Uneven pads, Scorched Rotors, ETC. The Trick is to Get and keep the Moisture out!. Thats why the WD40 is soo Dang Important. it Does what it says, Water Displacer! If anyone Tries the above, Let me know how it works!

 

&

[GrimGreg]

Had one of mine stuck on my 88. It took the smoke wrench and a lot of "Thrust" penetrating oil to get it out.

[Repack]

I spent ~3 hours getting a seized pin out. I wasn't smart enough to take the bracket off. Oh well.

[dkpath96]

I think this topic is exactly what my issue is with my '96 XE Pathy.

 

Once in a blue moon the vehicle will feel so sluggish that I have to downshift to

maintain speed, at least until I get off the road. And when I get out to see

what the problem is, either the left or right-side caliper has hung up and the

brake disc is super hot and smoking. After it cools down, it is good to go and

may be weeks before it happens again.

 

I never had this issue until I had my brake pads replaced in March '05, but since

then, I've had four seperate hang-ups that required me to get off the road.

 

This topic is aimed at exactly this 'caliper hang-up' issue, correct?

[Nissyota88]

wow.. this really helps thank you

[JJ331]

To resurrect a dead thread, this happened to us yesterday and almost yanked us off the road. We'd just finished wheeling at the beach. When I touched the wheel, it was so hot it left a red mark on my hand. Glad to find this info!