J-spec brake slider bolts

[stevie_b]

I'm refurbing my J-spec front brakes. There's a metal collar on the rubber dust covers for the slider bolts, and the old metal collars are stuck fast in the brake pad carrier. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so how did you get the old collars off? I'll try levering them out with a screwdriver tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I'll have to try chiselling them off, and that won't be fun.

[Scooter]

tap the slight lip from the back and you should be able to tease them out, I was worried about these but they came out far easier than I expected them to...

[stevie_b]

Thanks Scooter. I got the collars off this afternoon with some carefully-applied mole grips. However... I've ripped the rubber on the new dust cover whilst trying to put it on. Those collars are a *really* tight fit! I've been trying to squeeze them in using a g-clamp, but access is tricky.

[Nick85]

Thanks Scooter. I got the collars off this afternoon with some carefully-applied mole grips. However... I've ripped the rubber on the new dust cover whilst trying to put it on. Those collars are a *really* tight fit! I've been trying to squeeze them in using a g-clamp, but access is tricky.

 

I done the same. How are you trying to get the metal collar in the hole? I read to put a socket over the rubber to give it a bash. All that done was bend it!

Edited July 7, 2013 by Nick85 (see edit history)

[stevie_b]

So far, I've tried to squeeze the collar into the hole using a G-clamp, but I've only got one G-clamp that's big enough, so I have to squeeze it a bit on one side, then remove it and squeeze it a bit on the other side, by which time the collar has probably shifted out of position. I've also tried squeezing the slider pin (with dust cover attached) into its hole, but I think that's what ripped the rubber.

 

I might try putting the dust cover in the freezer for a while to shrink it, then see if it'll go in the hole. Risk is that the rubber will get brittle and perish, but hopefully not (one would hope the rubber will cope with -20 deg C, otherwise anyone who drives these cars in a Norway winter will be in trouble).

[stevie_b]

Freezing the dust boot didn't work, so I'll give the socket method another go as described here: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-first-generation/602012-diy-lubricating-the-brake-slide-pins-and-replacing-rubber-dust-boots.html (not a Supra, but same principle). Sounds like it's important to offer up the dust cover absolutely straight to the carrier: easier said than done without a vice.

 

Also, I noticed that both of my slider bolts have the small rubber ring (the anti-rattle rubber bushing) at their tip, not just on one of them. I've read on here that only one should have the bushing, so I'm guessing I've got a mismatched pair of sliders in that carrier. However the workshop manual diagram (BR-28) shows a sliding bushing being applied to both pins. Although I'm refurbing both front brakes at the same time, I definitely haven't got the pins mixed up, because I haven't taken the other carrier apart yet. I'll check the other carrier to see if I've got two of the other type in there!

 

What I thought the pins should be like, with one having a notch for the bushing: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/tutorials/article/161-caliper-slide-pin-overhaul-plus-all-models-i-think/# (again, not a Supra).

Edited July 8, 2013 by stevie_b (see edit history)

[Nick85]

That's the method I was using from clubslexus. And I'd didn't end well for mine lol. Hopefully you will have better luck with yours

[add heywood]

Put a socket over the rubber that is correctly sized to miss the rubber and just fit onto the metal circle at the base. Make sure there is no rubber being pinched at the bottom. Quick tap with a hammer and jobs a good 'un

[jim]

Chris Wilson does replacement rubber boots for around £2.50 each Stevie

[stevie_b]

Thanks guys. I managed to fit the collars for one corner by using the socket method with a rubber mallet to do the hitting. Make sure the collar sits square on top of the bore, and give it 2 or 3 firm whacks with the mallet.

 

Refurbing these brakes continues to throw up surprises: it seems like the 2 pins (or the pin bores) are not identical, even though they look it. One pin struggled to fit into one of the slider bores, whereas swapping them over meant they both fitted in their respective bores. Sure, that was easily fixed, but it does make me think whether I've done something wrong when things like that happen. I couldn't budge one of the pins by hand after fitting it, so it wouldn't have been able to do much sliding. I coated both pins and both pin bores with a light coating of high-temperature CV moly grease. I'm pretty sure I didn't over-grease them (i.e. packing the bore with grease so the pin had nowhere to go).

[Nick85]

What size socked did you end up using? Did you use a deep socket? Also did you use a vice to keep it upright? I'm going to have a bash with my other set and see if I can get them sorted

[stevie_b]

7/16 socket on a 1/2 inch drive. I didn't use a vice: just wedged the carrier between a couple of heavy objects on my lawn so that the slider bores were about vertical.

 

It continues to be a pain in the bum though. I checked the slider pins tonight, and I can't budge one of them. It's like it's set solid overnight. I'll take the anti-rattle bushing off and see if that helps. Bizarre....

[Nick85]

I tried wedging it between some breeze blocks and started "tapping" away and ruined the other set. Think I'm going to give up and try and buy some working ones or give it to a garage to do. It's seems like the boots were a bit too big for the hole lol

[Digsy]

If you have a vice with jaws that will go wide enough then that is better for pressing the seals in using the socket method. That's how I did mine, anyway.

[stevie_b]

Digsy: to clarify, you used a vice to squeeze it instead of a hammer/mallet to hit it, i.e. you still used a socket to protect the rubber part.

 

Any ideas why one of my slider pins is stiff? I can't move it at all with my hands: to take the pin out I'll need to use pliers and wiggle it out. I certainly don't want to put the brakes back together with the slider like that.

 

I've followed all the recommended advice AFAIK when refurbing the sliders:

- Cleaned the pin with a degreaser, then dried with paper towel.

- Cleaned the bore with paper towel wrapped around a drill bit.

- Applied high-temperature CV grease sparingly to the inside of the bore and to the surface of the pin with a cotton bud.

There were no rubber anti-rattle bushings (the small rubber rings that fit in the recess near the tip of each pin) in the refurb kit I bought from Toyota (should there have been?), so I re-used the old ones. I'll remove the bushings to see if that helps. If it doesn't, maybe I deformed the metal collar whilst fitting it just enough to pinch the pin and stop it from sliding freely.

[Digsy]

Digsy: to clarify, you used a vice to squeeze it instead of a hammer/mallet to hit it, i.e. you still used a socket to protect the rubber part.

 

Yes, that's right. Socket over the rubber part and then put the whole lot in a vice and press in by winding the jaws shut. Better than a hammer because the load is applied squarely and better than a g-clamp because there is no chance of rotation while applying the load.

 

Any ideas why one of my slider pins is stiff? I can't move it at all with my hands: to take the pin out I'll need to use pliers and wiggle it out. I certainly don't want to put the brakes back together with the slider like that.

 

I've followed all the recommended advice AFAIK when refurbing the sliders:

- Cleaned the pin with a degreaser, then dried with paper towel.

- Cleaned the bore with paper towel wrapped around a drill bit.

- Applied high-temperature CV grease sparingly to the inside of the bore and to the surface of the pin with a cotton bud.

There were no rubber anti-rattle bushings (the small rubber rings that fit in the recess near the tip of each pin) in the refurb kit I bought from Toyota (should there have been?), so I re-used the old ones. I'll remove the bushings to see if that helps. If it doesn't, maybe I deformed the metal collar whilst fitting it just enough to pinch the pin and stop it from sliding freely.

 

Is there a rubber bush stuck down the bore? I've had that happen. The bush came out of the groove in the pin and jammed it.

 

If the bore is corroded then you will need more than paper towel to clean it, or it might be beyond repair.

[stevie_b]

Update: both slider pins on one of the front brakes are incredibly stiff. Not using the rubber bush at the tip of the pin has helped a tiny bit, but not enough. I guess the next step is to open out the pin bores a tiny bit with a flap wheel or similar.