Corolla Caliper pin frozen - what next?

I was changing the front pads on my 2001 Corolla, and on the passenger side
one of the pins appears to be frozen solid. (This is new to me) Do I have
to put in a new caliper? Is the brake line easy or hard to
disconnect/reconnect? TIA -

Mark

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 19:10:33 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
[color=blue]
> I was changing the front pads on my 2001 Corolla, and on the passenger side
> one of the pins appears to be frozen solid. (This is new to me) Do I have
> to put in a new caliper? Is the brake line easy or hard to
> disconnect/reconnect? TIA -
>
> Mark[/color]

Before buying a new caliper, you may be able to free the stuck pin.
(I can't take all the credit; a couple people here in this group helped me
with the same thing a couple weeks ago...)

Here's what I did:

You may or may not have to remove the caliper from the car. It will make
life easier, but you'll lose the fluid to that brake and risk running the
Master Cylinder dry. Try to prop the caliper up on a milk crate or
something.

Try to push the pin out with the end of a ratchet or something similar.
It's going to be TOUGH! You can grab it with a pari of vice grips and
twist and pull; this puts teeth marks on the pin. Don't grab the chamfer
where the grease seal sits or below that.

Once you get the pin out, CAREFULLY remove the rubber boot.

Get some emery cloth. What I did was use the emery cloth to sand down the
pin, and then used 1200 grit sandpaper to 'polish' it and get it nice and
smooth.

But, it STILL stuck, so I bought a generic 'Dremel' tool. I used one of
the sanding cylinders and ran it through the hole in the caliper that the
slide rides in. Do this until it is shiny; mine was rusted and pitted.
Remove the pitting so the walls are nice and smooth.

Next, I used anti-seize; I coated the hole in the caliper with it (more
for rust prevention...)and replaced the boot. Then, I ran some more
anti-seize inside the boot, and a little on the pin/slide and reassembled.
Worked pretty well, all in all!

I still had to replace the left-side caliper because the piston was
seized, but I had the same problem on the right side and it works like
new.

Good luck!

"Hachiroku" <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote in message
news:pan.2005.08.15.00.48.27.469000@ae86.gts...[color=blue]
> On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 19:10:33 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
>
> Before buying a new caliper, you may be able to free the stuck pin.[/color]

God knows I wacked on it (with a hammer).
[color=blue]
> (I can't take all the credit; a couple people here in this group helped me
> with the same thing a couple weeks ago...)
>[/color]

I am going to try a hand-held grinder on the pin and a wire brush for the
pin hole. But where do I get caliper boots? Did you go to a dealer for
parts or aftermarket?

I see you mentioned I think caliper for $39, here's what I found:
[url]http://replacement.autopartswarehouse.com/parts/autopartswarehouse/quote.jsp?year=2001&product=N1040-149734&application=000784494&part=Brake%20Caliper&category=N[/url]

It looks like $10-16 after core charge, no doubt plus shipping, and a long
time to wait all around for the transaction to complete. But I want to try
cleaning and rebooting first.

What are you referring to that can't be bent? Did you put a socket over the
end of the pin and crank on it? Did you grip the pin (with old boot on)
with vice grips and break it free that way?

Mark

I called a couple of local auto parts places, and one has boots for $11 and
another has boots and pins for $19.

I think the core charges I read wrong last time. They're probably cores
after the retail price, so add another $60 or $80 by not returning the core.
It looks like after core around $50-55 for caliper replacement locally.

Mark

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 11:57:00 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
[color=blue]
>
> "Hachiroku" <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote in message
> news:pan.2005.08.15.00.48.27.469000@ae86.gts...[color=green]
>> On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 19:10:33 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
>>
>> Before buying a new caliper, you may be able to free the stuck pin.[/color]
>
> God knows I wacked on it (with a hammer).[/color]

Bad move! I did the same and peened the damn thing over! Luckily, I made
that mistake on the one that had the stuck piston, so I had to buy a new
caliper anyway...
[color=blue]
>[color=green]
>> (I can't take all the credit; a couple people here in this group helped me
>> with the same thing a couple weeks ago...)
>>[/color]
>
> I am going to try a hand-held grinder on the pin and a wire brush for the
> pin hole. But where do I get caliper boots? Did you go to a dealer for
> parts or aftermarket?[/color]

Go easily with a grinder! I just did mine with Emery cloth and it worked
great! As far as the boot, I was able to remove mine in one piece, very
slowly and very gently...
[color=blue]
>
> I see you mentioned I think caliper for $39, here's what I found:
> [url]http://replacement.autopartswarehouse.com/parts/autopartswarehouse/quote.jsp?year=2001&product=N1040-149734&application=000784494&part=Brake%20Caliper&category=N[/url]
>
> It looks like $10-16 after core charge, no doubt plus shipping, and a long
> time to wait all around for the transaction to complete. But I want to try
> cleaning and rebooting first.[/color]

I think you have to pay $150 and get the core charge back when you bring
(or send) the old caliper. This seems REALLY HIGH!!! Try a Toyota dealer
first. The calipers for my Supra were only about $65 right from Toyota.

As far as the $39, I work for a dealer...
[color=blue]
>
> What are you referring to that can't be bent? Did you put a socket over the
> end of the pin and crank on it? Did you grip the pin (with old boot on)
> with vice grips and break it free that way?[/color]

Yeah, I grabbed the pin with vise grips and turned and pulled, just like
pulling a tooth. It ain't easy, and was a hassle on a 90 degree day in the
sun!!! What I didn't do and would suggest to you, use a rag between the
piun and the vise grips...
[color=blue]
>
> Mark[/color]

"HachiRoku" <Trueno@ae86.GTS> wrote in message
news:Um9Me.57$wb.26@trndny08...[color=blue]
> On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 11:57:00 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
>[color=green]
> >
> > I am going to try a hand-held grinder on the pin and a wire brush for[/color][/color]
the[color=blue][color=green]
> > pin hole. But where do I get caliper boots? Did you go to a dealer for
> > parts or aftermarket?[/color]
>
> Go easily with a grinder! I just did mine with Emery cloth and it worked
> great! As far as the boot, I was able to remove mine in one piece, very
> slowly and very gently...
>[/color]

Ok, I went to the parts store after ordering boots/pins for the right front.
What they ordered was a complete caliper rebuild kit. The other store said
they could get just boots, but it will take a week, and so I'm going with
that.

I got the pin out and sanded it a bit, and it slides pretty good. I have
some caliper grease and some anti-sieze, and I figure I'll just use some fo
the grease for now before the new boot comes in. The old boot got torn up
pretty good getting the pin out :-)
[color=blue]
>
> I think you have to pay $150 and get the core charge back when you bring
> (or send) the old caliper. This seems REALLY HIGH!!! Try a Toyota dealer
> first. The calipers for my Supra were only about $65 right from Toyota.
>
> As far as the $39, I work for a dealer...
>[/color]

I got the prices wrong, yah, the extra core charge adds to the total if
there is no core. I'm looking at ~ $55 for a new caliper, I think. I'm
going to try just a boot, they say they have boots for $11.
[color=blue]
> Yeah, I grabbed the pin with vise grips and turned and pulled, just like
> pulling a tooth. It ain't easy, and was a hassle on a 90 degree day in the
> sun!!! What I didn't do and would suggest to you, use a rag between the
> piun and the vise grips...
>[/color]

Got the pin out the same way. It's got a few teeth marks on it, but I think
it'll work for awhile.

Mark

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:45:17 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
[color=blue]
> "HachiRoku" <Trueno@ae86.GTS> wrote in message
> news:Um9Me.57$wb.26@trndny08...[color=green]
>> On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 11:57:00 -0400, Mark G. Meyers wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>> >
>> > I am going to try a hand-held grinder on the pin and a wire brush for[/color][/color]
> the[color=green][color=darkred]
>> > pin hole. But where do I get caliper boots? Did you go to a dealer for
>> > parts or aftermarket?[/color]
>>
>> Go easily with a grinder! I just did mine with Emery cloth and it worked
>> great! As far as the boot, I was able to remove mine in one piece, very
>> slowly and very gently...
>>[/color]
>
> Ok, I went to the parts store after ordering boots/pins for the right front.
> What they ordered was a complete caliper rebuild kit. The other store said
> they could get just boots, but it will take a week, and so I'm going with
> that.
>
> I got the pin out and sanded it a bit, and it slides pretty good. I have
> some caliper grease and some anti-sieze, and I figure I'll just use some fo
> the grease for now before the new boot comes in. The old boot got torn up
> pretty good getting the pin out :-)
>[color=green]
>>
>> I think you have to pay $150 and get the core charge back when you bring
>> (or send) the old caliper. This seems REALLY HIGH!!! Try a Toyota dealer
>> first. The calipers for my Supra were only about $65 right from Toyota.
>>
>> As far as the $39, I work for a dealer...
>>[/color]
>
> I got the prices wrong, yah, the extra core charge adds to the total if
> there is no core. I'm looking at ~ $55 for a new caliper, I think. I'm
> going to try just a boot, they say they have boots for $11.[/color]

Actually, if the boot costs $11, $55 for the whole caliper is a bargain!

But youy really only need the caliper if the puck (the piston that
actually presses on the pads) is stuck and does not push back into the
caliper fairly easily...
[color=blue]
>[color=green]
>> Yeah, I grabbed the pin with vise grips and turned and pulled, just like
>> pulling a tooth. It ain't easy, and was a hassle on a 90 degree day in the
>> sun!!! What I didn't do and would suggest to you, use a rag between the
>> piun and the vise grips...
>>[/color]
>
> Got the pin out the same way. It's got a few teeth marks on it, but I think
> it'll work for awhile.
>
> Mark[/color]


Should be OK.