Brisky86 Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 Hello, I am a bit embarrassed that I have not been able to figure this out and am almost to the point of paying my mechanic to figure it out from frustration at this point. I first want to say I have done more than a few brake jobs on different cars and vehicles (mostly Subarus) so I am not a newb at doing brakes but have this issue that I can not figure out. Long Story below: Here is the deal. I have replaced all of my brake pads, rotors, and "parts" on my 2001 Legacy GT. The front brakes were done about nine thousand miles ago, so they are still pretty new. My issue is that when I brake I get steering shake/shuttering that would normally lead me to believe it is a rotor issue. However, as best as I can tell from feeling the rotor surface it is still in excellent shape feeling very smooth on both front rotors. The CV and tie rods looked fine with no cracks. Wheels are balanced, tires are relatively new, and an alignment was recently done. Today I took it all apart and put it back together again and it seems obvious from looking at it that the driver's side is binding up more than the passenger side with evidence of increased wear on the rotor and brake pad. When I put everything back together I noticed the bottom caliper bolt does not want to go all the way into the bracket and I had to really work to push it back into place to get the caliper to go over the top of it. Additionally, today when I got home after a short drive fo putting it all back together I noticed that the driver side rotor is much hotter than the passenger (as evidenced by scary burns on my finger tips from being foolish and touching it) and comparing to the passenger side. When I did the brakes here were the parts I used: 3M Silcone Lube on Caliper PinsCRC Brake Caliper Grease on pad contacts, caliper contacts, and shimsCentric Premium RotorsStoptech Street Performance PadsCentric Brake Parts KitACDelco Front Disc Caliper BoltsACDelco Front Disc Rubber Bushing Kit My theories: The bushing on the bottom slide pin is too big from the kit so it will not fit or seat right. The bottom slide pin won't go in due to some obstruction I have not found in the brake caliper bracket. The bottom slide pin is simply not lubed enough with silicone lubracant inside the hole of the brake bracket. The brake caliper is seized on the bottom pot and is causing it to overheat. Honestly, I am not convinced it is any of these except that the bottom caliper slide pin does not go all the way in to seat properly. So that's my best bet, but it was already replaced with new hardware... Subaru OEM caliper lock pin is $6 and I have to buy an entire kit for $35 if I want to replace the tiny bushing on the bottom of the pin. A remanufactured brake caliper is $140 from Subaru. I don't want to keep replacing parts that don't need replacing in order to figure out the problem, but at this point, the cost savings to replacing parts vs paying a mechanic to figure it out are almost moot. I am open to ideas at this point... ******Sorry for the long post. ------------------------------- Update on 07/10/2017: So my issue has come back after maybe 1,000 miles on the newly turned rotors and I am not pleased. I did spend a great deal cleaning out the caliper pin holes in the bracket, even went through a good many q-tips until no more rust residue came out and replaced all the boots with OEM boots and replaced the pin that appeared to have been seizing in the bracket with a new OEM pin. Do you think I got a bad batch of rotors? Does the caliper bracket need replacing? Go back and clean it out again to see if that fixes it? I am at a loss at this point.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Well as an update I took it apart yet again and the bottom slider pin is clearly sticking as the new silicone lube has turned a dark brown from the heat. The bushing on it seems to clearly be too big as it shows being deformed from being forced into the bracket. I ordered a new pin ($6) and a bushing kit ($35) from my local Subaru dealer. I will get the parts on Tuesday and will see if I can replace that part again at that time. In the mean time, I removed the bottom bushing and took a great deal of time re-lubing the pin. I still get steering shutter during braking, so it may have made the rotor untrue from not engaging the pad evenly for the last several thousand miles. So I will try to see about getting that rotor resurfaced and see if that fixes the issue... Any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Everything you've done seems OK. The only thing I've noted is that the rubber sleeve and boot for the caliper pin can swell up if they are exposed to the wrong type of grease or chemicals. This can lead to the caliper pin jamming. I've been using Sil-Glyde lube and have not seen any problem with the rubber components so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 Everything you've done seems OK. The only thing I've noted is that the rubber sleeve and boot for the caliper pin can swell up if they are exposed to the wrong type of grease or chemicals. This can lead to the caliper pin jamming. I've been using Sil-Glyde lube and have not seen any problem with the rubber components so far. Thanks for your take on it. I am guessing the only thing left wrong is the rotor being untrue. So I will see about getting them both turned to make sure they are good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kunfuzion Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I had a similar issue on my last car and it's most likely the sliding pin not able to move freely. Remove both the pin and rubber seal, then clean the everything thoroughly. Especially the recessed mounting hole. There is likely years of gunk that solidified in there. Re-grease/lube and re-assemble. Depending on how long you've driven the car that way, the rotor may be warped. Mine wasn't and I drove on it for quite a while. The brake pad was toast and clearly not wearing evenly though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 I had a similar issue on my last car and it's most likely the sliding pin not able to move freely. Remove both the pin and rubber seal, then clean the everything thoroughly. Especially the recessed mounting hole. There is likely years of gunk that solidified in there. Re-grease/lube and re-assemble. Depending on how long you've driven the car that way, the rotor may be warped. Mine wasn't and I drove on it for quite a while. The brake pad was toast and clearly not wearing evenly though. Thank you for the information. I found out that is exactly what happened. The AC Delco slider pin bushing was too big and would not go into it's hole all the way. So I did spend a long time cleaning the holes out with 3 Q-tips together and rubbing them around in there getting some rust and gunk out and carefully regreasing the holes with silicone lubricant. Interestingly if you use too much lube the pin's seem to seize up, so I would add a bunch work it in and wipe some off the top of the pins and then re-check them to make sure they moved freely. I also confirmed that one rotor was "warped" and had both resurfaced at a local machine shop for $38. I ended up replacing the slider pin and buying a new Subaru lock/slide pin (Subaru part number 2622AC012), the bushing, and boots (have to buy a whole brake reseal kit Subaru part number 26297AC010) just to be on the safe side. Braking without shudder so far on the new rotors. Here is hoping I was able to fix that slider pin from binding up. Only time will tell. Thanks for all the input. I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedaykin Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Lube? I thought you had to use grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Lube? I thought you had to use grease. 3M Silicone Grease/Lube/Slippery Stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 So my issue has come back after maybe 1,000 miles on the newly turned rotors and I am not pleased. I did spend a great deal cleaning out the caliper pin holes in the bracket, even went through a good many q-tips until no more rust residue came out and replaced all the boots with OEM boots and replaced the pin that appeared to have been seizing in the bracket with a new OEM pin. Do you think I got a bad batch of rotors? Does the caliper bracket need replacing? Go back and clean it out again to see if that fixes it? I am at a loss at this point.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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