Hey fellas,
I've got the front end torn apart on my Dad's 2003 F350 crew cab 2wd 7.3 PSD. It's a single rear wheel with a 10.5 rear end.
I have a big issue right now, the caliper slide pins are rusted solid in the bracket that holds the brake pads. I've tried heat, but only a little because I don't want to melt the rubber boots.

Has anyone ever bought new rubber boots? If I can buy them, then forget about the originals...I'll just cut them right off and heat away. Autozone doesn't list them, so I'm assuming it will be a dealer-only part.

The pins have been soaking in PB Blaster for about 3 hours and I've been whacking them with a chisel and beating the bracket to loosen things up. And it turns out, a 21mm wrench fits perfectly on the flat profile of the slide pin to turn it...but no results.

Thanks guys!!

 

A lot of auto parts stores now sell the caliper brackets complete with pins & boots--You no longer have to go to the dealer to get them. Dorman and Cardone manufacture them. If you do get them loose with heat, new pins usually come in a kit along with the rubber boots.


RON

 

@BlueOvalBud You are talking about the caliper pins, right? Get a thicker needle-nosed plier and squeeze the edges together and push at the same time. They have a lock channel, and won't move until you compress them. Good luck!

 

Thanks pal, I've got some Part Numbers for anyone else who may find this thread in a search.

It turns out that Autozone has to special order the brake caliper brackets from their factory source and takes 2-3 business days.
Advance Auto, which is just down the street from Autozone, had 2 brackets in stock for right around $40 each with a $3 core for each bracket. The part number is 14-1029 from Advance.
I bought a pair of caliper slide pins from Autozone before I found out the brackets weren't in stock, the kit came with 2 slide pins and 2 bolts. No rubber boots. Duralast part number H15087.
After leaving Autozone, I went to Advance and got the caliper brackets and got a full set of 4 pins and 4 bolts and 2 rubber "bushings" from Advance, but still no rubber boots. It's a Federal Mogul brand, part number 4802A. I used this full set on the install and will be returning the Autozone Duralast set because I was able to use this set on the entire front brake job. The weird part about the Federal mogul set is that 2 of the pins are exactly like the stock pins...but 2 of them have a recessed area near the bottom of the pin where this rubber bushing slips over the end of the pin and sits nicely in this recessed area. I was only able to remove 1 of the 4 pins from the stock caliper brackets, so maybe this is normal? If not, I guess it will work because the test drive yielded fantastic brakes!!
I was able to carefully slip the rubber boots off the original pins with minimal damage and re-used them on the new pins. Also on that note, Autozone did not have a listing for the rubber boots, so it is probably a dealer-only item.

Now I get to see what kind of mess I can get into tomorrow morning with the rear brakes!!

 

I thought maybe you were referring to the "diamond" shaped lock pins. Anyway, do yourself a favor and take pictures of your brakes before, during, and after tear-down. Makes the job go smoother if you space something out and need to refer back to the pics! Good luck and "Safety First!"