Front caliper pin sleeve question

[Pontisteve]

The front calipers have two different types of slide pins, top to bottom. My question is why? Why does one have a rubber sleeve? What is that sleeve for?

Do you Lube up this sleeve? I took my brakes apart about a year ago and thoroughly cleaned the slides and bracket up. I lubed everything well. A year later, I found my caliper was causing uneven brake pad wear, and it was because the slide pin with the rubber sleeve wasn't able to float freely. Yet I had previously cleaned and lubed it.

I need to better understand the design purpose of the rubber sleeve on the caliper guide pin.

 

[swshawaii]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356678
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283032

Use Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube available in small counter packs or larger.
Do NOT use regular anti seize or the slider pins will gum up from heat. See second link above for pics.

 

[Pontisteve]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356678
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283032

Use Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube available in small counter packs or larger.
Do NOT use regular anti seize or the slider pins will gum up from heat. See second link above for pics.

I did use the good synthetic caliper lube. I re-used the rubber bushings, which was probably a mistake.

I just can't figure out why the one caliper pin has a rubber bushing. I have a theory that it's so the brake pads can be changed by just taking out one caliper bolt and letting the top of the caliper just sort of lay over while you change the pads real quick.

 

[Donystoy]

I believe that one has a rubber sleeve because it is more susceptible to water entering it. The first time I replaced my front brakes I had a hell of a time removing the one pin and found out that the dealer who had done the brakes last before I purchased the vehicle used in 2005 had gotten these pins reversed (no surprise here). Thought I was going to have to replace the entire assembly but lots of heat and persuasion prevailed. Since then I make certain which way they go in. I usually use white lithium grease on these parts without an problems but since I had to replace the pins I used the grease supplied with the parts.

 

[swshawaii]

I believe that one has a rubber sleeve because it is more susceptible to water entering it.

:scratch: Sleeve is on the end of the pin in the bottom of the sealed end of the caliper bore. The boots seal out contaminants. First pic, boot on left, sleeve on right.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3227559&postcount=19

 

[Donystoy]

:scratch: Sleeve is on the end of the pin in the bottom of the sealed end of the caliper bore. The boots seal out contaminants. First pic, boot on left, sleeve on right.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3227559&postcount=19

I certainly see your point! It is a mystery then as to why my pin was corroded in place even thought the rubber boot on the outside was still intact. They must have some reason for it. Maybe the original design had some rattle in it so they did this to stop it.

 

[Pontisteve]

They could have designed this any way they wanted to. So why put a rubber sleeve in just one pin? The only thing I can think of is to purposely create a light friction. But for what?

 

[wbrudi28]

mine have a rubber boot on both pins

 

[Pontisteve]

mine have a rubber boot on both pins

That really doesn't sound right. Are you talking about the boots by the bolt heads, or the rubber sleeve that slides over the end of the pin (inside the bracket where the grease is)?

 

[extsp2]

The rubber that is on the pin is there to keep rattle and brake noises down. You find them on a lot of imports too. If they are swelling at all they should be replaced to keep the slide from binding up.

 

[swshawaii]

Pontisteve- Adding to the confusion, this is from the "Official" Ford Workshop Manual.
Like you and others, I've scowered through all the Ford forums and internet for answers.

Item 7: Guide Pin and Boot Installation Note
Make sure that the guide pin and boot assembly are in the top hole.

Item 8: Locating Pin and Boot Installation Note
Make sure that the locating pin and boot assembly are in the bottom hole.

front-disc-brake-removal-and-installation.pdf (Page 3)
www.mysporttrac.com/~library/26139/front-disc-brake-removal-and-installation.pdf

 

[Pontisteve]

Extsp2, that makes as much sense as anything I've heard so far, thanks.

Swshawaii, you've just added to the mystery. My Explorer 4dr Ford documentation doesn't say that about top and bottom. But if you look at the diagrams, you'll come to the conclusion that one side is the mirror image of the other side, and that would require you to basically flip that on the other side (bottom vs top).

It's interesting that the Sport Trac instructions actually say one pin always goes in the top, because that clearly suggests this is true for both sides.

I felt that my Explorer document was right, based on the fact that when you slide each of the pins in each of the holes in the caliper bracket, you can actually feel that one of the caliper bracket holes is a different size than the other, and if you get it wrong, you'll have one real tight pin, and one real loose one. That seemed to back up what I gathered from my Ford document. So your document re-opens that whole debate again.

Dammit, I sure wish I had paid more attention when I first took this stuff apart. What we really need is someone with a low mileage truck doing it's first front brake job to pay attention to how it comes apart on a virgin truck.

The other thing is the nomenclature. One is called a guide pin, meaning almost nothing. And the other is called a locating pin, which suggests it plays an important role in the position of the caliper somehow.

Also, if you look at those sport trac instructions, it calls the guide pin to go in the top, and that appears to be the one with the rubber sleeve. And it calls the locating pin to go in the bottom, and that's the triangular one. But the parts diagram shows the opposite. WTF ford!

 

[swshawaii]

Steve- pdf is from the 2003 Explorer Workshop Manual, see bottom of each page. Know any engineers at Ford? LOL

 

[Pontisteve]

Steve- pdf is from the 2003 Explorer Workshop Manual, see bottom of each page. Confused? I think we all are. Know any engineers at Ford? LOL

I know a couple guys thru the Ford Racing program, but I'm not sure I could get to a brake engineer. I know some local guys that work at the dealership too, but I'm sure they have about the same information we do, unless it was discussed at the Ford training school they occasionally go to.

In the mean time, I think I like the idea of just replacing those stupid rubber sleeves. I think mine are swolen, and I did have a problem with them binding. They move well now that they are freshly lubricated, but that probably won't last.

 

[bill w]

The front calipers have two different types of slide pins, top to bottom. My question is why? Why does one have a rubber sleeve? What is that sleeve for?

Do you Lube up this sleeve? I took my brakes apart about a year ago and thoroughly cleaned the slides and bracket up. I lubed everything well. A year later, I found my caliper was causing uneven brake pad wear, and it was because the slide pin with the rubber sleeve wasn't able to float freely. Yet I had previously cleaned and lubed it.

I need to better understand the design purpose of the rubber sleeve on the caliper guide pin.

I recently did a fairly thorough brake job on my '03 explorer . Replaced a couple sets of pads and rotors in the past , but not the hardware in the caliper bracket . This time I took the caliper bracket off and removed the guide pins and boots . I started with the passenger side first . Since I had noticed several questions on the internet as to which pin gets the sleeve , I took note . The passenger side slide pin with the sleeve was on the bottom of the caliper bracket . When I did the driver side , the slide pin with the sleeve was on the top of the caliper bracket . I have owned the car since new and no one has worked on the front brakes but me . Since this was the only thing I had to go on , I replaced everything the same way . Only a few hundred miles , but so far so good . Also , when I lubed and installed the caliper pins in the caliper bracket , I noticed that the pin with the sleeve did not move as freely as the one without . The pin with the sleeve seemed to make less noise as well . Maybe a little more lube on the sleeve might help . Maybe it is just the way the sleeve works. Anyway , I hope this is of some use .