What Happens If You Don’t Grease Slide Pins?

If you don’t grease slide pins, the pins can become dry and start to rust. This can make them difficult to move and can cause damage to the pins and the components they are installed in.

In extreme cases, the lack of lubrication can cause the pins to seize up completely, resulting in equipment failure and potentially dangerous situations. It is important to regularly lubricate slide pins to ensure they are functioning properly and preventing damage.

How Brake Calipers Really Work?

To truly understand the importance of checking caliper bolts annually, let’s take a look at how these brake calipers work. As part of a disc-braking system, the car’s wheels are connected to metal disks called rotors. In the same way that a clamp covers a rotor, so does the brake caliper.

An internal caliper consists of two metal plates coated in friction material. It is usually these brake pads that need to be replaced. These are more commonly referred to as outboard brake pads and inboard brake pads, respectively.

Brake fluid, which comes from the master cylinder, puts pressure on the pistons in the brake caliper once the brake pedal is depressed. Using brake pads slows the rotor so your car can slow down or makes the rotor stop so your car can stop. 

Rotors attached to wheels stop the wheel because of their attachment. It is possible to have drum brakes instead of disc brakes on an older car. Instead of a rotating rotor, the wheels are slowed down by friction generated by a rotating drum.

It is much harder to replace these drums, which are much more prone to wear and tear when braking. Over time, the drum brake builds up quite a bit of heat because of the lack of ventilation within the drum.

The drum shape is more common on older vehicles, which might cause your problem if your vehicle has disc brakes instead of drum brakes.

Why Maintenance Of Your Brake Calipers Is Important

It’s not always easy to keep your vehicle running efficiently if you’re not a hard-core car enthusiast. Servicing your brake calipers is a crucial process you might not realize your vehicle requires.

Brake calipers may be confusing to you! As you apply the brakes, brake calipers push brake pads into brake rotors by using pistons, brackets, and slide pins.

It is common for the slide pins to lose their lubrication over time, making the calipers slide less smoothly. Because of this lack of lubrication, several things happen. Due to improper contact between the brakes and rotors, brake pads may wear unevenly. 

Secondly, the slide pins may stick, causing the brake pad to continually contact the rotor, which builds up heat and wears down your brake pads faster. 

The third reason your brakes may not be stopping as well as they should be is that the brake pads are not hitting the whole surface of the rotor. The result is that you aren’t using your brake pads to their full potential, which results in wasted money.

While the slide pins are covered in rubber, brake dust and rust accumulate, interfering with their ability to slide. When salt is put on the road, rust develops. 

Unless metal is regularly cleaned, the chemicals from salt can corrode metal. Due to corrosion, there is a lack of lubrication that causes problems.

What Happens If You Don’t Grease Caliper Pins?

Steel pins will corrode and bond to aluminum if the caliper is aluminum, as most motorcycle calipers are. A small punch and hammer from behind will not knock out the pad-holding pins stuck in blind holes.

Having to replace the pads poses a big problem. To keep them free, copper grease can be used to prevent them, but it is still a good idea to remove them once a year as a precaution.

It is a common problem to have steel bolts going into aluminum on motorcycles, which tends to be a problem with this view. Are you going to remove the engine bolts every couple of years?

You may wish you had removed the engine 10 years later when you want to clean up your motorcycle extensively.

Should You Grease Brake Caliper Bolts?

Make sure the caliper bolts are properly lubricated before reinstalling them. It’s important to use high-temperature grease on your car’s brakes because they’re one of the hottest parts. 

Your car’s brakes will reach high temperatures when using this synthetic lubricant. The lubricant won’t hold up to the heat if you don’t use this type of grease.

How Do You Grease Your Brake Caliper Bolts?

You’ll want to thoroughly clean your brake caliper bolts once they’re removed from the housing. You should make sure any grease or dirt left over from when they were inside the caliper is cleaned off. 

You can make it easier for them to slide in by applying a layer of high-temperature grease. Afterward, you can reinstall the bolts and pins into the caliper housing when you feel there is enough. 

You shouldn’t have to exert too much pressure on them. Lubricating the bolts properly should allow them to slide in easily. After replacing these, you can continue to work on your brakes as necessary.

What Type of Grease Should I Use?

Ensure you are using the right grease when checking your brake calipers. It is still possible to see brakes reaching 400 degrees Fahrenheit in everyday commuter cars.

Consequently, you must ensure that the grease you get can withstand temperatures like these. You might experience deformities in your bolts, or they may slide out if the grease cannot handle these temperatures. 

When choosing grease to use, be sure to check what temperatures it can withstand. Many different products are available today, but Permatex Brake Grease is one option that will work well. 

These items are also available at places like Napa Auto Parts and O’Reilly Auto Parts. In some cases, people found that getting parts specific to their vehicle’s make at their dealership was helpful.

What Brake Components Need To Be Lubricated?

You must also lubricate the bits on both sides of the rotor pad, the metal back of the rotor pad that touches the piston, and the edges of the piston, in addition to the bolts we mentioned in this post.

How Often Should I Be Cleaning My Brake Calipers?

When you drive in an area with a lot of snow, and you seem to use your brakes more frequently, it might be a good idea to clean them every two years. Over five years should be enough time for your calipers to last if you live in a sunny region like Texas or Florida.

Should I Clean Out The Slot Where The Bolts Go If There’s Dirt Or Grease In There?

Yes, it is. To prolong the life of these bolts, you should keep them clean. You can clean these holes using a small cylindrical brush if there is any dirt, grease, or dust present.

What Tool Do I Need To Work On My Brake Calipers?

Ironically, calipers can be cleaned with a special brake pad tool. It is merely referred to as a “brake caliper tool.” With this tool, you can retract the pistons into the calipers to access the brake pads.

Final Words

If you don’t grease the caliper pins, they can become seized or stuck. This can cause the brakes to become less effective and damage the caliper and brake system. 

It can also make it difficult to change the brake pads when they need to be replaced. It’s important to regularly lubricate the caliper pins to ensure the proper functioning of your vehicle’s brake system.