Toyota Caliper Slide Pins — Rubber Sleeve binding

[Dave]

How common is this problem, and what causes it?

Front caliper slide pin on a Toyota RAV4, the bottom one with the rubber sleeve, is binding so badly it won’t go back in at all. You can see in the photo where the leading edge catches, causing the whole sleeve to ride up on the pin. Both sides were seized when I disassembled them, with extreme wear on the inner pads and virtually no wear on the outer pads.

I figured the problem was lack of proper lubrication…I wasn’t expecting the sleeve to be trouble as well. Do I need to plan a trip to the Toyota dealer in the morning for replacements?

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[Dave]

All of the aftermarket manufacturers I’ve found show the pin without the rubber piece.

Dorman http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=963428&cc=1434113&jnid=515&jpid=5
Carlson http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3055647&cc=1434113&jnid=515&jpid=2
Raybestos http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=571924&cc=1434113&jnid=515&jpid=4
Wagner http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=541061&cc=1434113&jnid=515&jpid=1

Carlson makes a boot kit but I can’t tell if those are sleeves for the pin. Whatever it is, the grooves run vertically, not horizontally like the Toyota OEM sleeve. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3055890&cc=1434113&jnid=517&jpid=0

Any suggestions welcomed. I’m desperate at this point.

[Paul]

Is there a build up of crud in the bore causing the pin to bind?

Napa has a bushing kit with the sleeves, but they have the vertical grooves. (I guessed at the year of your vehicle).

[Daniel Weith]

It might be the lubricant used on the slide pins caused the rubber to swell.

I have had very great success with the 3M product – http://www.jbtoolsales.com/3m-08946-silicone-paste-8-oz#oid=1002_1

The rubber on the pin may have been changed since the vehicle shipped, to be safe going with the OEM pins is a good idea unless able to determine the supplier to Toyota.

Anything that makes a car stop is not worth taking a chance. How much is your or passengers life worth?

[Dave]

I’m already using silicone paste, but it could have been a previous lubricant that caused the rubber to swell. Toyota actually calls for lithium soap-based glycol grease, so I should probably acquire some of that.

No crud of any kind inside the bore. The pin catches on the leading edge of the rubber sleeve (look closely in the above photo) and won’t insert all the way in. I even tried putting the sleeve in first, then inserting the pin. No go — the rubber sleeve got stuck inside the bore after I attempted to insert the pin.

I couldn’t find any Toyota part numbers for the sleeve, or pin + sleeve. Must be sold as part of a kit? This is a 2004 RAV4 by the way.

[Brian]

The short answer is, go buy newpins. I did for my Camry and its great now.

The long answer –

I’ve dealt with calupersnthat had rust of varying degrees in the pin sleeves. I found a wood dowel a bit smaller than the pin, the cut a slot in the end of it the same depth as my sandpaper was wide. I slid the sandpaper in the slot, then wound it grit out, the negotiated that into the sleeve. I used my drill since it has a large Chuck, but it works by hand too. The rubber part on the pin could have a build up underneath, remove if possible and clean it out before reinstalling it.

If that doesn’t work, go buy new pins.

New pins are guaranteed to stay crunchy in milk!

[Dave]

We have so little rain here that I doubt rust is a factor. The brakes front and back have no signs of rust anywhere.

I’m not sure yet if buying new pins is the answer (see above) because the photos don’t show the rubber sleeves included, and that’s really what I need. I guess I’ll have to drive to the dealership in a few hours and see what they have…

[Dave]

Called the dealership. The lower slide pins are $20 each, and won’t be available until tomorrow morning. Of course, the parts desk doesn’t know for sure if the rubber sleeve is included because all they have is a drawing.

I wasn’t sure what else to do. This is the kind of thing where I didn’t want to take chances on aftermarket parts since the sizing of that sleeve is critical.

[D]

What year is it?

[Dave]

2004

[EricTheCarGuy]

Ever wonder why I say over and over again not to use petroleum based lubricants on slide pins? This is why. The grease causes the rubber to swell and cause the problem you’re having.

Having dealt with this in the past, I’ve left the rubber boots off. There mostly there for anti rattle and noise purposes. I’d remove the rubber, and lubricate it with silicone paste. Drive it and listen for noise. If you don’t have any, call it a win and move on.

Good luck and please keep us updated on how things work out for you.

[Dave]

The prior lubricant on these pins was the green Permatex stuff, but I suspect the sleeves were already compromised at that point. This isn’t my vehicle so I don’t know what happened before that. As such, I went ahead and ordered the new pins which should arrive tomorrow.

I brought this up once before and received varying responses. Toyota recommends the lithium soap-based glycol grease for the caliper slides, but there are dealerships that don’t even use that stuff.

Nobody seems to know if that Toyota grease is critical for ensuring the pins (and sleeves) behave properly.

[Its me]

FWIW… I work predominantly on Toyotas and have used 3M silicon paste for years without issue…

You can get what Toyota recommends from a dealership or online…

Part #08888-01206

[ebay]http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-LEXUS-TOYOTA-SCION-GENUINE-LITHIUM-SOAP-BASE-GLYCOL-RUBBER-GREASE-BRAKE-/201428387903?nav=SEARCH[/ebay]

[Dale Boyles]

Which location does this pin go in? I have a setup (Fusion) with this exact pin and the other is similar, but without the brass ring at the tip. I failed to notice this when I removed the pins from the caliper. Both pins have the rubber bushing, only one has the brass tip.

[Author]

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