Brake Caliper Question

[deadmeat]

Quick question. On the brake calipers there are two metal blocks that have cotter pins holding them in place. One is on the top and one is on the bottom of each caliper. How easily should those blocks (and the caliper by extension) move?

I had to use a hammer and flat head screwdriver to get them out. I greased them when I re-inserted them, but the caliper is still pretty tight in there. There doesn't appear to be any real movement going on. In my mind there should be in order for the brakes to release and not drag. If it is should move, what is the solution to the "tightness"?


Thanks,

[vandor]

I think you are fine. It does take a lot of force to move them, but the brake system exerts thousands of pounds of force.
To check dragging, just check how freely they spin with the tires on.

[So Cal Mark]

you should be able to move those blocks easily by pushing on them with a screwdriver. You shouldn't need a hammer to move them. The only thing that retracts the caliper is the resillency of the o-ring, if the blocks are seized the piston can't retract

[deadmeat]

ok, so assuming they are too hard to move right now and need to be "loosened". How would one accomplish that . Getting them out was hard and getting them back in was just as hard. They certainly wouldn't move either way without a hammer being brought in to the equation. Fortunately, I didn't mar them up in the process.

[maytag]

ok, so assuming they are too hard to move right now and need to be "loosened". How would one accomplish that . Getting them out was hard and getting them back in was just as hard. They certainly wouldn't move either way without a hammer being brought in to the equation. Fortunately, I didn't mar them up in the process.

last time I had mine apart, I cleaned the crud off of them with a wire-wheel. cleaned 'em til I could see myself in em.... well... almost.

And then like you, I put some disc-brake / caliper grease on them when I reinstalled.

I did the same thing with the calipers & brackets, by the way, as there are three different components that come together there, each of which can / will have crud buildup on them.

[124JOE]

i can pull off any of my calipers with my hands

[maytag]

i can pull off any of my calipers with my hands

[124Germ]

Thats a new meaning to "gorilla hands"

[124JOE]

yep

[deadmeat]

So I never really got a solid answer, but should I be grinding away at the locking blocks, calipers and mounting brackets until everything slides so easily that I can take things off with my hands? My hands aren't nearly that big. . .

Thanks,

[124JOE]

i cleaned up all of them with a wire brush"calipers brackets and sliders"and used berring grease on the sliders and brackets

[So Cal Mark]

if you have to grind them to get them smooth, they need to be replaced. Grinding them will reduce the thickness, causing a new set of issues

[maytag]

don;t grind on 'em. Like Mark said, that's a no-no. they aren't that expensive to replace if you can't get 'em cleaned-up with a wire-wheel.

And I don;t know about using bearing-grease on them. Most bearing grease is petroleum-based. ANYTHING petroleum based is bad news around your brakes. IF it gets on your brake pads, it burns-in and destroys the pads.

I use a synthetic grease formulated specifically for brake parts. the one I use is made by CRC and you can pick it up at most auto-supply stores.

[124JOE]

[maytag]