Lube sticking caliper piston?

[LeakySeals]

I have one pad prematurely worn out crooked on the piston side of a dual caliper. Like one of the 2 pistons is stuck. Dragging. I tried taking the brakes apart. Clean the slides. Lube the pins with sil glyde. That all seems ok. But after a test drive the rim and rotor was hottertto the touch than the others so I think it's still stuck. Not sure what's wrong.

How can I test the caliper?
Can I lube the piston under the boot with a silicone spray?
If it retracts easy with the bleeder open what does that mean?

 

[cpayne5]

Brake hoses will sometimes swell or disintegrate internally and not allow calipers/pistons to retract. Just something to think about as you diagnose.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by cpayne5
Brake hoses will sometimes swell or disintegrate internally and not allow calipers/pistons to retract. Just something to think about as you diagnose.
Would that explain the uneven wear? I've never owned a car with more than one caliper piston.

I think you have to rebuild/replace the caliper, it failed the sticky pins test. I would think the extra heat is going to affect the other piston eventually.

 

[benjy]

brakes are most important like tires, just replace the caliper + while off drain some fluid to check the line. do a complete fluid replacement if its 5 yrs or more, water in fluid can ruin ABS controller $$$$

 

[Tomioka]

If it's the rear dual piston calipers on the Escalade replace the caliper or rebuild with new pistons and boots. The phenolic pistons might have swollen up and can't retract back into its bore.

 

[krismoriah72]

I have gone thru this on two vehicles, I tore down my suburban 3 times and my Honda 4 times...cleaning/lubing.. The honda would last a week or a month then start heating up and dragging. Eventually i ruined rotors and was flirting with ruining wheel bearings or possibly could have gotten a lock up situation..


On both vehicles it would have just been cheaper to replace hoses and calipers and be done with it... as that was what fixed them both in the end.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I have one pad prematurely worn out crooked on the piston side of a dual caliper. Like one of the 2 pistons is stuck. Dragging. I tried taking the brakes apart. Clean the slides. Lube the pins with sil glyde. That all seems ok. But after a test drive the rim and rotor was hottertto the touch than the others so I think it's still stuck. Not sure what's wrong?

Did you replace the pads and/or rotor yet?

I went through this with my Dakota years ago... twice... and right now, my Honda rear brakes. Once a pad wears funny (due to stuck caliper/pin/slide/piston), correcting the situation may restore braking power, but I always get dragging, noisy, sometimes overheating brakes. The next step is always new pads and rotors.

I just ordered new everything from Rock Auto for the Honda rears, the bottom pin was dry and stuck on both sides after 2 years/10mos and 52K miles. Now they make a constant low Grrr and also a moderate swish swish noise. I will double-check caliper/piston function carefully before throwing on new pads and rotors.

On the Dakota after a stuck piston caused one wheel to overheat, a fresh caliper and hose and some sanded-back-to-shape pads and I still had an awful noise which went away with new pads and rotors. A real irritant because while several years old, there was very few miles on the old pad and rotor when the piston stuck. But there was no saving them, they had to go.

I'm with cpayne5, when replacing a caliper, replace the hose at the same time.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted by krismoriah72
I have gone thru this on two vehicles, I tore down my suburban 3 times and my Honda 4 times...cleaning/lubing.. The honda would last a week or a month then start heating up and dragging. Eventually i ruined rotors and was flirting with ruining wheel bearings or possibly could have gotten a lock up situation..


On both vehicles it would have just been cheaper to replace hoses and calipers and be done with it... as that was what fixed them both in the end.




You're probably right, and i need to spend more money. Did you try lubing the actual piston under the boot? What did you use? I'm going to try silicone spray. Same stuff they use on smith machines at the gym.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted by HangFire
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I have one pad prematurely worn out crooked on the piston side of a dual caliper. Like one of the 2 pistons is stuck. Dragging. I tried taking the brakes apart. Clean the slides. Lube the pins with sil glyde. That all seems ok. But after a test drive the rim and rotor was hottertto the touch than the others so I think it's still stuck. Not sure what's wrong?

Did you replace the pads and/or rotor yet?

I went through this with my Dakota years ago... twice... and right now, my Honda rear brakes. Once a pad wears funny (due to stuck caliper/pin/slide/piston), correcting the situation may restore braking power, but I always get dragging, noisy, sometimes overheating brakes. The next step is always new pads and rotors.

I just ordered new everything from Rock Auto for the Honda rears, the bottom pin was dry and stuck on both sides after 2 years/10mos and 52K miles. Now they make a constant low Grrr and also a moderate swish swish noise. I will double-check caliper/piston function carefully before throwing on new pads and rotors.

On the Dakota after a stuck piston caused one wheel to overheat, a fresh caliper and hose and some sanded-back-to-shape pads and I still had an awful noise which went away with new pads and rotors. A real irritant because while several years old, there was very few miles on the old pad and rotor when the piston stuck. But there was no saving them, they had to go.

I'm with cpayne5, when replacing a caliper, replace the hose at the same time.

New rotors, new pads on the way. I found the uneven wear by coincidence when the e-brake shoe shattered and made a horrible noise. Now I wonder if the heat from a frozen caliper was the reason for the shoe disintegrating, the pads, etc.

 

[LeakySeals]

Anyone use one of these to check on brakes?

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-The...d_p=3008e28d-603b-5f33-ac69-3cadbdb5acf3

 

[bionictony]

i had a corolla that had premature uneven brake pad wear on the inside piston pad. i replaced the pad and it did the same thing. im thinking its a caliper manufacturing defect where something was not machined correctly so i replaced the calipers, pads, and rotors and it has been fine since. i recently learned about phenolic resin caliper pistons that can swell and stick. are your caliper pistons resin or metal?

 

[JTK]

I've had this happen when the pads are not seating and sliding properly. If a good cleaning of the clips and metal/metal contacts don't do it. I'd get new OEM clips and shims.

In regards to the caliper pistons and dust boots, I usually wipe them as clean as possible with a rag and silicone spray. I'll sometimes rub a light film of silicone grease on the dust boots as well.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted by Kibitoshin
If it's the rear dual piston calipers on the Escalade replace the caliper or rebuild with new pistons and boots. The phenolic pistons might have swollen up and can't retract back into its bore.

How do I know if i have phenolic pistons? All I have is a OEM P/N. 88967106. Was hoping to find a reman from someone.

 

[Tomioka]

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
Originally Posted by Kibitoshin
If it's the rear dual piston calipers on the Escalade replace the caliper or rebuild with new pistons and boots. The phenolic pistons might have swollen up and can't retract back into its bore.

How do I know if i have phenolic pistons? All I have is a OEM P/N. 88967106. Was hoping to find a reman from someone.


GM only came out with phenolic pistons in their calipers never a metal version. If you look inside the piston cup you will see a brown plastic akin to bakelite.

If the rear calipers still look good they can be rebuilt with new seals and pistons cheaper than buying a reman of unknown quality with the possibility of having old or damaged pistons.

 

[cronk]

If you have phenolic pistons, trying to lube them will not be a good fix. It may help for a short period, but I doubt for very long.
Like others have said, it would be a good idea to replace the caliper and the hose.
If they make one for your applicarion, Raybestos makes a line of new (not reman) calipers called Opti Cal. I installed one on my F350 last summer and was very impressed with the quality.
I have also had good luck with the Perfect Stop brand calipers (reman)sold at Auto Value stores.

Ive had 2 A1 Cardone calipers that were defective right out of the box from 2 different suppliers, so I avoid those now.

 

[LeakySeals]

Thanks guys. The current plan is to replace the rear 2yo 25k raybestos pads and coated rotors with the power stop z17 coated rotors and pads I just put on my GF dad's Sienna. Replace the hose that connects the caliper. Lube the caliper piston with WD40 silicone spray that I've been using on gym equipment and many other projects. Monitor that wheel for heat with the hand-held infrared thermometer gun. If that or any of the wheel show hot again replace caliper and bracket. Based on the responses about reliability with plastic Pistons I'm going to buy locally. AutoZone has the correct caliper for $58 with a lifetime warranty. So I can go back over and over to them locally if there is an emergency and something locks up.

Any thoughts on this plan?

 

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
Anyone use one of these to check on brakes?

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-The...d_p=3008e28d-603b-5f33-ac69-3cadbdb5acf3


Yeah, I've got one that I've used to check brake temps. My hand works just as well to detect a hot corner, though.