Originally Posted by LeakySeals
The bottom caliper pins were washed out and stuck after 2 years using Sil-Glyde?
Yes, only 2 years+10mos is close to 3 years. It may be more of a boot failure than a grease failure. Or maybe I didn't put the boots on perfectly. I don't know. They plug in a socket on the carrier on one side, and they have to stretch over the pin's larger outer diameter on the other side. Maybe I got it wrong in 2016. I'm anal about my brake jobs but I'm also human.
Originally Posted by supton
I do anual checks on my brakes, trying to pull off the pads and check for delamination, and to make sure everything is free and sliding properly. Without fail the pins are full of grease and stuck. I work them back and forth a few times and all is fine.
Maybe it's the wrong grease (as a rule it's whatever came from factory), maybe they are stuck from lack of use--I usually get 5 years / 100k out of brake pads, and have to replace because the rotors are all grooved and pad linings are starting to fall off.
Yeah, I need to be more strict on my annual schedule like you. I tend to think that "oh they're not squeaking or shuddering so they're fine" but I know from experience the pins or slides (depending on the design) can get sticky and start to tilt the pad at any time.
Question, "full of grease and stuck" "whatever came from factory" What kind of grease are you using? Do you ever replace it, or just stick it back in and re-use it?
I only use grease that specifically says for brakes, not bearing grease or chassis lube, and I remove it and replace it on each brake job or "annual" check. That's one of the main reasons I'm doing the check, is to replace the grease, which is why I'm kicking myself on this one. Still, given other's experiences, if I pull the plug and replace everything next week, it's still a 52K mile rear brake job with mid-level uncoated rotors and really cheap pads, on a vehicle where many owners report 60K-ish lives on their tiny rear brake pads, and always less than the fronts. My previous rear brake job on the vehicle got 62K and the pads were very thin, so 52K isn't too bad.
Toyota fronts have 82K and still have a fair bit of pad. From my records, I've been checking/re-lubing those every year except one 18 month period in the middle. If I had relubed my Honda rears at 18 months I probably wouldn't be here doing this confessional.