Rear Brakes: What's going on here?

De-marko

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I noticed a couple days ago a slight grinding sound in the back when stopping. Well, when I pulled the wheel to get the rear tie bars installed I looked at the brakes. I am surprised to find the inner pad on the right rear almost totally gone while the outside has tons of life left. What could cause this? These pads are only about a year and half old and are the full ceramic type. I've never seen this issue before.

pads 2.jpg
 
I bought some new pads and caliper grease to lube up the slide. See if this helps. :rolleyes:
 
Most likely a caliper issue. Make sure the piston is moving. Both of my rear caliper pistons were locked. (I had to replace both).
 
I would guess the caliper pins got stuck. I would just replace the pins and boots and call it a day. They are cheap. Why take a chance when $10 will make sure that's not the issue. It's cheap insurance compared to replacing the pads and rotors again. If the new pins don't slide in easy, then you need the bracket too. They are around $15/ea.

If you have some pipe cleaners or a small bottle brush I would clean the hole out with brake cleaner good before putting the new pins in. There could be dried up grease or rust or who knows what in there. You should also use a good Moly brake pin grease. Don't use any regular grease like Lithium or whatever. They need to be designed for the pressure and heat you get from brakes. Most auto parts stores sell what I call "Sauce Packets" of different greases and stuff. They usually have a moly brake grease you can buy if you don't want a whole tub or tube of the stuff.

If you want to get exotic, they make ceramic stuff for brakes that glow red when in use. I doubt you need that though :)
 
You will need to replace the caliper or have it rebuilt. This happened on my brother's 02 Taurus after he replaced the rear pads, after turning the piston back into the bore he did'nt watch to make sure he ended with the piston in the right position to line up with the notches on the back of the pad, so he turned it back out to line up the tabs on the pad, which I believe messed up the auto adjuster for the parking brake. The drag was'nt enough that you could feel it, but it wore the inner pad just as you show. The caliper was replaced and he has not had any problems since.
 
Yeah, it's the upper caliper slide pin. It's corroded on there so solid that even a 3 LB. hammer won't break it loose, will not budge at all. I see that Kumba said they are about $15 for this bracket, is this something I can pick up at an Auto parts store or dealer/junkyard only?

My disc is shot too, so I guess I'll be getting another one of those.:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, it's the upper caliper slide pin. It's corroded on there so solid that even a 3 LB. hammer won't break it loose, will not budge at all. I see that Kumba said they are about $15 for this bracket, is this something I can pick up at an Auto parts store or dealer/junkyard only?

My disc is shot too, so I guess I'll be getting another one of those.:rolleyes:

Napa has them listed for $15 near me. Rockauto for $10 + shipping. I SERIOUSLY doubt anyone has one on the shelf, so you are going to have to order it. The good news is they are universal on the rear. THat means there is no left/right side to worry about if you go junkyard diving. So if you find an LS in a junkyard you should be good to go if the bracket is good.

The caliper pin/bolts are about $7-18 on rockauto depending on your brand of choice. The pin boots are another $5 on rockauto. Napa will be a few bucks more as they always are. I just looked and my local Napa store doesn't have the pin/bolts or boots. So chances are you might have to order some stuff up or salvage from a junkyard. Either way, I would skip the stealership if I could. You know you will pay out the nose for $20 worth of parts there.
 
Yeah, it's the upper caliper slide pin. It's corroded on there so solid that even a 3 LB. hammer won't break it loose, will not budge at all. I see that Kumba said they are about $15 for this bracket, is this something I can pick up at an Auto parts store or dealer/junkyard only?

My disc is shot too, so I guess I'll be getting another one of those.:rolleyes:

That happened to me too a couple years ago. My stupid butt, I replaced the rear brake pads and both rear rotors. Drove it less than 5 miles until I smelled somthing burning. I messed up a brand new rotor. Luckily, Advance Auto Parts exchanged it for a new one. I had to take a mini pencil torch to remove the corroded pins. I checked the other side too, it was also bad, but not as bad. Replaced both rears with a new pin and boots. It's been running fine every since.
 

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