Stuck caliper or pin. Mechanic didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

[Jonas]

I replaced my front brake pads last week and noticed one of the inner pads was worn all the way down, but the all the others had about 1/3 left. I took the car to my mechanic down the street and he said the guide pin was sticking. I asked him if he could fix it and he said no. He didn't seem concerned either. He just told me the inner pads wear faster like it was a minor inconvenience or something. Fast forward to today and I noticed considerable drag while driving. When I got home, my driver-side front and driver-side rear rotors were hotter than the two on the other side. There weren't extremely hot-I could hold my fingers to them for about a second and I couldn't smell them or see any smoke. I checked as soon as I got home btw. I'm not well-versed with brakes as I've only ever replaced pads. I really need my car tomorrow for an out of town gig. What should I do?
Thanks in advance,
Jonas

 

[ctechbob]

Wow, lazy mechanic.

You should have your brakes fixed properly. Either replace the pins (For a whopping ~$10 in parts) or the whole caliper (~$100/side).

Brakes aren't something you should really gamble on. Find a mechanic that gives a toss about doing things right.

 

[chemman]

If you want to tackle the job yourself, watch a few youtube videos on how to replace the front and rear brakes on your 2009 Vibe.

You can begin with these (and ignore the parts about removing the rotor).





Or do as ctechbob suggests if you do not feel qualified to do the work, but definitely do not go back to the neighborhood mechanic!

Good Luck!

 

[DemoFly]

I find it perplexing why a mechanic would turn down charging an hour of labor for one of the easiest and routine services on a vehicle.

If you are knowledgeable enough to replace brake pads you are beyond educated enough to clean and lube the caliper slide pins. They are also easy enough to test after installing the caliper as you just need to push and shove the caliper to see if it floats freely on the pins.

It's possible the caliper itself is bad, but that usually wears through both pads about equally. So I'm betting it's just a seized slide pin.

Unfortunately in the videos above, the lazy mechanic doesn't even touch or check the slide pins so they aren't helpful to watch lol.



Here's a video with a floating caliper design like your pontiac vibe. It's a very quick job. Make sure to clean out the bore as best you can and do not overlube the pin. Excess grease can get stuck at the bottom of the hole and it can't be compressed and will hydraulically prevent full range of motion for the slide pin.

 

[nthach]

With a dragging pad, there’s a good chance the rotors need to be replaced - discolored iron means that the material got heated and now brittle.

If you have the means and if there’s a parts store open, you need at the least a new slide pin and bushing/boot. $10 in parts, and a little silicone lube(or Sil-Glyde, NO Permatex/CRC brake lube). But to do the job right, you need new pads, new rotors and either new slide pins or caliper bracket.

 

[ruhroh]

That guy sucks if you're paying him. If you're sure it's the sliding pins then you can clean them and relube them if needed. Use a small packet of silicone grease or even sil-glyde. Take off the wheel and you should be able to directly remove/clean/lubricate/reinstall one pin at a time. Shouldn't take long. Vibe is essentially a Toyota, which might have bushings on the pins. The bushings and rubber boot kit is maybe $8 or so at a local parts store that you can get when they open in the morning.

But it could also be the brake piston itself is sticking if the boot seal rotted and the piston rusted. Replace or rebuild the caliper if that's the case. If that's your only car then it might not be a bad idea to drive to the parts store with your tools and ask if you can work on your car in the parking lot... If you can feel the drag then if it were me, it's not something I would drive out of town.

 

[Jonas]

Thanks everyone. This doesn't seem too hard. Should I get some open-ended wrenches or will my regular sockets work?

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Hard to imagine how that mechanic keeps his job or stays in business if he is the owner. He not only turned down helping you but he also allowed you to leave in a possible unsafe vehicle. Brakes are not to be ignored or played around with. At the very least he is going to cost you further expenses to have to replace worn down and possibly warped rotors and pads from the excessive heat. He sounds like a lazy or arrogant type who does not belong dealing with the public.

 

[CharBaby]

That would have been a very simple fix for anyone. I would look for another tech or do the job yourself.

 

[supton]

Thanks everyone. This doesn't seem too hard. Should I get some open-ended wrenches or will my regular sockets work?

I wouldn’t use open ended, I like combo wrenches and only use the open side when the bolt is loose (and not that often actually). I find ratchet not to work well here, too little drag, although I could just hold the socket to add some—just that, for some reason, I do most caliper work with wrenches. Old habit I guess.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Also make sure the locating tabs or "ears" on the new pads slide easily in the caliper shims. I have more of an issue with this than pins being stuck. Some are not blanked out and have burrs. A quite hit with a file foxes this. Then add a dab of Sil-Glyde or equivalent.
I have never personally serviced brakes that had a sticking or binding caliper pin when the grease boots were intact. There is a lot of high temp grease in there.
But again I have not serviced trucks that launch boats or flood damaged cars. Good luck.

 

[Donald]

You need to clean off the caliper pin with a rag and inspect it. Should not have any rust. Replace the pin if it's not looking shiny new after wiping away the grease. Don't user emery cloth or a wire brush. Also inspect the boot, not swelled or torn or cracks.

I often fill the hole the pin goes in with brake cleaner and then use a QTip to clean it out.

Use Sil-Glyde grease. Some brake greases are good elsewhere on the brakes but may swell the boot.

 

[GMBoy]

I see sticky slide pins a lot from previous brake jobs that they never cleaned/lubed them. I also find them siezed where it takes a lot of beating and penetration lube to remove them. I had a Pathfinder that I actually had to replace the entire brake caliper bracket because the pin was siezed and refused to come out even with heat. So you might be facing a bigger challenge then just a remove/replace slide pin job. I agree with the others - ditch that mechanic.

 

[Jonas]

Thanks everyone. I took my car somewhere else that day so I could get on the road and they did a "slide service" as they call it. The brake or brakes seem to be free most of the time now, but still grab a little occasionally. I've ordered new pins, boots, and sil-glide already since they are so cheap I might as well. Again, no burning smell or evidence of anything too serious, but definitely needs to be resolved soon. Just in case, any recommendations on new calipers like brands, new/rebuilt etc.?

 

[GMBoy]

Thanks everyone. I took my car somewhere else that day so I could get on the road and they did a "slide service" as they call it. The brake or brakes seem to be free most of the time now, but still grab a little occasionally. I've ordered new pins, boots, and sil-glide already since they are so cheap I might as well. Again, no burning smell or evidence of anything too serious, but definitely needs to be resolved soon. Just in case, any recommendations on new calipers like brands, new/rebuilt etc.?

One brand to avoid at all costs is Cardone.

 

[nthach]

One brand to avoid at all costs is Cardone.

If it’s a floating caliper, Cardone sells the brackets as a separate piece. That’s one of the few things they can’t mess up.

 

[demarpaint]

Time for another mechanic. It might also be time for calipers and brake hoses if the "slide service" didn't work. Raybestos Element3 calipers are very good, and "new" not re-manufactured. If you shop around you can probably get them for the cost of rebuilt calipers, or very close to it.

 

[SHOZ]

On my Ford that always got sticky pins I would use a properly sized drill bit to hand turn in the pin bore whenever doing any work on them.

 

[coder]

What happens, is that over time brake dust get inside and hardens the high temp
grease. If you can pull the pins out, it is just a matter of cleaning them, including cleaning off any rust buildup. Then lube them with good a high-temp caliper gerase. I tend to use a copper enhanced romula for this, or ceramic. Sometimes the pins are so stuck that they refuse to come out. If this happens, I take off the caliper mounting bracket, clamp the head of the stuck pin onto a vice, and pull the bracket while
twisting it back and forth a bit while pulling on it. Be advised, if the pin is solidly cemented in there, it may break. If that happens, you have to replace the mounting bracket. You are looking at ~$40-100 per side for the bracket, after getting back the core charge.
Most mechanics I run accross are just too lazy or do not care enough to do this part of the service.
After all, if your pads wear wonky, it is just more money for them to replace them again.
What's not to like?
The problem with stuck caliper pins is that this condition decreases the effectiveness of your braking.
How bad it can get? It depends, it can get very bad, where your braking distance is doubled or worse.

 

[Jonas]

*Update*
I checked my rotors with an infrared thermometer a few times immediately after stopping. The rotors were anywhere from 110 to 160 degrees. Sometimes one would be warmer than the others but not by more than 20 degrees. The front rotors are typically 10-20 degrees warmer than the rear. Does this seem normal? I still feel weak acceleration and like I have to lean on the gas to keep up with traffic. My car recently isn't as spry as it used to be. Any ideas?