frozen caliper pins 2000 suburban

[Mike]

Looking for a tip! Does anybody have any idea how to free a pair of frozen caliper pins? One on each rear wheel of course. Remember, this Suburban’s pins don’t have a hex bolt head, so torqueing and twisting are out. Would heat damage the pad holder? (Don’t know the technical name for that device.) Thanks for any help.
Mike

Topic

[none]

My method of choice is to clamp the pin in a vice, leaving room to eventually use the pin as a hinge. Then get an acetylene torch to heat the outside of the pin boss until it’s glowing orange. Usually, at that point, is when you can swing the bracket hinging from the pin and you apply force laterally to the bracket at the same time to pull it from the pin. Once you get the pin out, you’ll want to clean the hole any way you can. There are steel wire bore brushes out there and I use them religiously for these situations, but I’ve had trouble finding them outside of places like Fastenal or Grainger. Some people will just drill out the holes with a bit of the same size or use a bit a 64th of an inch larger. You can do that if you’re short on options, but it’s not the first thing I’d suggest. If you have access to a blast cabinet, go for it as long as the media isn’t too aggressive. Clean out whatever you can of the old grease first though, should any still be in the holes. Pins can either be cleaned or replaced. Wire wheels are the most fun option for cleaning the pins. New pins are fun because you don’t need to accidently eradicate your own skin with the wire wheel or shoot the pin into the distance when it slips out of your grasp.

Another option is to buy new caliper brackets. They’re going to be available at most parts stores and they’re fully reconditioned. There is a core charge; so you’ll need to turn in the old ones. Before you do, compare and match up the old to the new. Often enough, you find more than one option for caliper brackets on the same year, make, & model. You’ll need to buy new pins and pin boots separately though. The breakdown of the kits are weird. The pin kits will have only two pins to do one bracket. The pin boot kits will have enough boots for both brackets. Use a dedicated brake grease to prelube the pins and bores. Don’t use a GP petroleum grease or a typical anti seize as they’ll both dry out much faster and will eventually act more like an adhesive than a lubricant.

[Brian]

Time wise, its worth it to buy new caliper mount brackets and use an angle GRINDER with a cutting wheel to free the caliper.
Use caution when you put heat on any part of the brakes, I’ve overheated the line once and it burst and I had the smell of burnt brake fluid in my nose for days. It also scared the wee outta me. Open a brake line or bleeder valve before hand just in case.
You could soak them in lube overnight, I use a 50/50 mix of atf and acetone and it works better than most premade lubes.
If you get it loose, you can get a small wood dowel and cut a 3 inch slit down the middle of the end, then slip in a strip of rough sand paper, roll that up and put it in the hold and spin to clear out the garbage.

[wafrederick]

Buy a reman caliper,lot of times you can’t get the caliper bracket.If you can get the bracket,don’t come with new pins.

[Author]

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