j_martin

You can pretty easily get leverage on the disk pad and pry it away from the disk, effectively compressing the caliper piston. You don't have to take it all apart and rig up a c clamp.

When I do the brakes, I pry the piston completely home, sacrificing the little bit of pad that's left by gouging it. The first bit needed for the diagnostic I suggested can be gotten on the metal part of the pad and not damage anything.

maybe368

Hey Bruce, if you'd stop driving that thing like a teenager, it wouldn't break so much. How's the wrist...Mark

Jim5870

You will problably find that the caliper support has notches worn into it.
clean up the support, weld a little over the notches and the grind them flat again. Those notches can prevent the pad from sliding, the pad edge gets hung up in the grove. The caliper supports can be unbolted, turned over and bolted back on the opposite side. This will put the less worn end on the top.
The calipers can also wear down at the spots where they touch the support.
A rebuilt caliper could still have worn down slides, the re builders don't do anything for that.
Overall not a good setup.
I'm experimenting with a way to adapt GM calipers for these very reasons.
I'll post something if it works out

Bruce M

Mark,
The wrist is fine and so is the antifreeze.
How often do you change yours?

Bruce M

The paper thin outboard pads are on both calipers.
What are the odds of this??

j_martin

Odds are good. Means that the slides are wearing out evenly.

There's usually some difference between inboard and outboard. It's not a concern unless over 1/2 is remaining on one and the other is down to metal.

MARF75

After reading the sticky about a year ago, I spent half a day with a file cleaning up the caliper mounts and calipers themselves, also replaced the "wedges" with oversized models from Carquest.
After greasing and reassembled, it cured the problem mentioned in the past of no brakes after a full lock turn.

I guess I'm not understanding you on how the pad can hang up on the caliper mount. The outboard pad mounts on the caliper and the inboard pad has its own slot inside of where the caliper slides

maybe368

You may not want to hear this, but I change it about every 5 or 6 years. I have antifreeze in my Fairlane that I put in in the 90's. You may want to do yours more often, but that is what I do and nothing seems to blow up or anything...Mark

j_martin

Picture this. The caliper doesn't move the pads independently, but squeezes them together with the rotor between. If anything keeps the caliper and pad assembly from freely floating and finding the center, one pad will wear more than the other. The function of the rails is to take the force on the rotor/pad assembly caused by the squeezing and transfer it to the supporting structure, so amidst the sliding and centering, there's a lot of force on the rails, the forward one in forward braking, and the rear on in rearward braking. That's why the rails wear unevenly, with the front one worn more. The grooves and gouges along with braking force can cause the assembly to hang up off center.

DODGER BOMBER

I had a issue with my 94 the other nite. Driving along and ould smell brake bad. Stopped and drivers zide was hot. So limped home and got new caliper today. Got it installed and new pads and bled but it wont bleed back. Would this be the line. Kinda sounds like others had that issue before. Ive herd of it with hydralic systems but not brakes.

maybe368

Yup, sounds a like bad soft brake line, the lumen collapses and won't allow the fluid to return...Mark

DODGER BOMBER

Ok thanks. Ill order both today then I know there done. Thanks.

MARF75

Brakes are a hydraulic system.