Does anyone do any sort of PM to the brake system. I'm wondering if I should be cleaning or lubricating the calipers. Just wondering.

Thanks
John

 

I use a turkey baster to remove the brake fluid from the reservoir every year. I know replacing the fluid in the reservoir doesn’t get it all but it gets a lot of it.

 

I bleed my system once a year just to make sure the fluid is fresh. Other then that can't think of much.

 

When a brake job is done "correctly", and you drive in normal conditions, all you need to do is monitor the lining thickness and the fluid. Changing the fluid is a good thing, helps keep the moisture under control and drastically increases the life of the cyls and calipers. If you go off road and get into the mud and water or live on a gravel road, then you need to monitor it for debris in the drums and packing in around the calipers, Watch the dust boots for cracks or tears, brake pulling or abnormal wear, then pull them down for a cleaning and lube. The rear shoes have rubbing blocks for the shoes that need grease, the self adjuster screw needs grease and the cyls need to be checked for signs of leakage. In salt climate vehicles I will use anti seize on the caliper slides but not much because it will hold sand and dirt and cause the caliper to hang up. That was a good question that is rarely asked or addressed. Good luck

 

Thanks for the replies. I think come my next tire rotation, I'll clean everything down.

 

Years ago I worked in a Porsche shop that once a year on a full maintance the brake fliud was changed and flushed and brake caliper slides and pins were cleaned and lubed.Made a differance.

 

What do you use to lube the calipers. Grease or Oil.

 

White grease.

 

Might want to use a high-temperature caliper grease rather than plain white grease - the slides may not get that hot, but it's a precaution.

 

Raybestos has a sticky grey synthetic lube for brake components. It works well.

 

Good thread. I remove and replace a pint of brake fluid at every oil change, but I never considered a periodic lube job on the caliper slides. Good idea.

 

On Porsche back then and I bet Mercedes etc.Once a year you flushed the system and lubed slides and pins.Kept brake wear to a minimum and kept brake wear even and performance even.

 

If you jack up the front wheels and they spin freely, the slide pins are pretty good. If the fronts are hard to turn, I take the pins out, clean them, and very lightly grease them with hi-temp wheel bearing grease. I also take the dremel tool with a wire wheel to the sliding surfaces on the caliper and the mounting bracket on the axle till I get good clean metal, then apply just enough grease (just a light smear) to each surface to coat it. Wheels spin freely all the time. Don't use too much grease of you will set up another problem. I also change out the brake fluid and the power steering fluid and the hydraulic clutch fluid each summer. May be overkill but I never have any problems either.

 

would not recommend white grease for heat transferred from rotors to calipers to slides will cause white grease to cook and harden then caliper stricks and breaks wear out for not releasing, better to use high temp caliper grease thar is made for the application, remember the front brakes do 85% of stopping due to weight transfer.