FRONT BRAKE CALIPER PIN UPGRADE
 

O.K. guys,
I had to replace both front calipers due to the driver's side having some sticking pistons - no problems with that.
However, I upgraded the caliper pins per the Guzzle instructions.
The lower pin has a rubber bushing on the end and requires more force to push it into its bore than the upper pin.
Question: Exactly what is the purpose of this rubber bushing vs. a regular
pin? Also, will this rubber piece cause it to be more prone to
sticking in the bore?
Everything is installed and working fine, but I am thinking of replacing that pin with the rubber tip with a regular pin.

Comments?

That is a great question ! I just did the brakes all the way aroung on e99 f350 drw about 4000 miles ago and I had the calipers hanging up due to the pins were rusted. I thought about going with the upgraded pins but didn't know pro or cons. So I just cleaned and sanded the bores and pins and put back together ( Fingers crossed) no problems yet. Hopefully someone will know the what and why's ?

my 04 HAD those pins. Now replaced with regular pins. They stuck even worse with the rubber.

subscribing.

The rubber helps keep dirt off the end of the pins. If dirt builds up on the end of the pins, it will scratch up the inside of the bore on the caliper bracket. Kind of like dust boots on your shocks.

My dealer didn't have anything on the upgraded pins, so I used a bore brush on the end of a drill to clean holes out real good, put standard pins in with some special green lube from permatex for brake calipers.

I have read some threads on the brake caliper pins and how some folks have serious difficulty removing the pins and I do not think they are the newer pins. Some are having to soak and shoot them with PB Blaster and other solvents to loosen them up.
Up until now, I have not had any problems with sticking/frozen pins when changing brake pads.
Unless someone can provide a very good, reasonable and rational reason, I will be changing the bottom pin back to the standard pin.
Another question is "why do they notch the flange on one pin and it is not the one with the rubber bushing?" If the two pins are not identical, then why notch one flange and not the other.
I asked the diesel shop and they asked the ford dealer which bore the rubber pin went in - no one could answer......except for ˝Guzzle.
I hate it when the "diesel experts" are in the same boat I'm in - no clue.
Because of that, FTE becomes a valuable source of diesel info and experience.

Thanks FTE guys,

I agree with you TOTALLY !! Some of the best minds out there are here on FTE and I am so grateful they are willing to share their knowledge. I too have no help from the dealership. Since I have been coming here I will never go back to the dealership I'll drive 500 miles to have one of the FTE brothers fix something if I can't do myself. But thanks to all the help and friendly advice I get here I can do almost everything myself. Auto trans still scare me !!

I disagree with only this part of your statement.

The true "experts" are HERE at FTE. They've got real, hands-on experience with these trucks.

The experience of the "factory trained" guys is frequently questionable.

Pop

And thats why I am a supporter and think everyone should be!!

Pop,

Sorry, should have clarified the use of "experts".
I was actually referring to my "local experts" as found in the local diesel shops which are just possibly two besides the dealerships and most likely do not know about FTE. They local diesel shops are good folks and are very helpful at times (I am excluding the dealerships).
As you pointed out the "true experts" are here on FTE.

You've got a bunch of very-knowledgeable folks there with you in middle Tennessee.

They'll be a huge resource for you.

Pop

After my stock slide pins corroded and siezed in my caliper brackets I went with the upgraded slide pins and hardware. Unfortunatly new brackets too, we'll see, me being the test subject to (real world) testing here, we shall see.

I had a pin freeze up so bad I had to heat the housing where the pin goes in. Kinda scary but it's the only thing that worked. Note it was on the bosses sons truck and kept complaining about only wearing out one brake pad. When we reinstalled it he wanted to put neverseize on the pins and didn't want to hear anyadvice I had for him so I'm sure it won't last. Neverseize tends to dry up especially with the heat from the brakes.

You got lucky Bulla. My slide pins were so bad and siezed my shop couldn't even heat or torch them out of the caliper brackets.