Brake Caliper Bushing Stiffness/Looseness

[ericdude]

I remember last time I checked the calipers, it took like 5-10 lbs of thumb pressure
on the bushings to move them inside the caliper. The grease is thick so I assumed
that was normal? I can't see how they can follow irregularities in the rotor with
that much resistance.

If I clean them out and reapply grease, I'd guess I'd still get stiff movement.
Should I use lighter oil?

Also, one was stuck in the past (required a hammer to unstick) and once I
unstuck it (to the 5-10 lb level) I noticed it was stuck again a few weeks
later. Do I need to blast the bushing hole with brake cleaner or a bore brush?

I'm getting premature front brake lockup. Anything more than medium braking
will lock up the front wheels. I figure its either runout between the rotor and hub
caused by rust deposits (I have some vibration at speed during light braking), or
stuck calipers. (All lugnets tightened equally with a torque wrench.)

[freakinbox]

You should clean them out REALLY well. At the shop for the sliders we would use a wire wheel to clean them up, and a wire brush to clean the insides out. Re grease and reassemble and they should be like new.

[World of Noise]

Make sure to use the silicone caliper lubricant, not regular grease.

[SCT]

If you experiencing lock ups at low brake pressures, bleed out your brake lines and put in new fluid. You may have moisture in them. Rust is not hard enough. Your pads will clean them away easily after a few stops.

As for the bushing/ mounting sleeves, fine grit sand paper should do. Mine were stubborn as well. Sand it a bit to clean it to a somewhat shine, use a good brake lubricant and good to go. They should slide smoothly with little pressure. Might want to check your piston as well. The seal may not be backing the piston far enough from the rotor.

And it's likely your rotor. Replace them or machine them, should be fine. Suggest using ceramic pads, if you're not already using them. They perform very well and dissipates heat better... they last longer, too! At least for me, surprisingly, I do hard brakings half the time. Heat can cause your rotors to go from smooth to hell, experienced that with Autozone cheap $20 semi-metallic pads that almost caused me to run a red light at 80mph cuz they heated up badly and gave me a bull ride afterwards. And then to blame for the curb I slid into last october.

[Flashmn]

Regular grease expands the EDPM rubber parts of the caliper = stuck calipers....

You need brake rubber grease for them.

[freakinbox]

yeah I figured common sense he would ask at the parts store, most of it says break caliper grease/lubricant or something along those lines on it.