outside brake pad more worn?

This seems to be the consensus answer. I've had this problem in the past. Other than 'doing it right', is there a way to tell by inspection that this is happening, before the pad wear gets excessive? For instance, if you rotate the wheel after applying & releasing the brakes, would there be drag or noise from the un-retracted caliper?

Thanks

yes. also, assuming it's just on one side, you'll notice one wheel hub is warmer than the other after driving.

It's difficult to tell unless the wheel exhibits some symptom of the brakes sticking in which case you should jack the wheel up and check for a locked brake. Most of the time, the effect is not that dramatic and disassembling the caliper and retracting the pistons pretty much makes it not practical to test for this. The only thing you can do is clean it all up and reassemble it correctly.

The only way to make sure that the piston is not freezing up in the bore is to disassemble it - my guess is that most people will just stick on a rebuilt assembly and pray to the brake gods for good fortune. BTW, his name is "Buubaalaa." :-)

"hls" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

There was no saving any of the pistons I've ever replaced. The rust on them was in the form of pitting, and no crocus cloth was going to cure that.

If you've been changing the brake fluid at the correct intervals, the bores will be squeaky clean, just like they left the factory. No scouring needed.

It can be tricky getting the piston past the dust boot, but clever work with a piece of plastic makes it really easy. See these three photos:

I roll the plastic and insert it into the dust boot. Then I slide the piston in and screw it into the bore. Lastly, I pull the plastic back out again, which pulls the boot forwards and lets it snap into the piston groove as the fingers let go. Takes a couple of seconds, and works first time. The "petals" on the plastic have been smoothed off so they don't try to cut the boot.

Nothing at all wrong with popping a piston out with air; it's the easiest way when dealing with front calipers. The piston doesn't need to come out all the way, just most of the way. A piece of wood and an old cloth do fine as stoppers.

snipped-for-privacy@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (M.A. Stewart) wrote in news:inb6i1$da0$ snipped-for-privacy@theodyn.ncf.ca:

Sil-Glyde is available everywhere and works great.

"hls" wrote in news:q7SdnVQvRd snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Not at all, properly done. And "properly done" is intuitively simple. If one is not smart enough to know how to use air properly, then one is not smart enough to do brakes.

Bret wrote in news:13k8om01ot93f$. snipped-for-privacy@40tude.net:

I once read a story in the newspaper of a man whose co-worker thought it would make a funny practical joke to place the air nozzle on the seat of the man's pants and let fly. Apparently the compressed air ruptured the man's colon.

Other than that, I can't see any risk from /prudent/ use of shop air, even to blow dust off yourself, something I've done for decades.

How many people have died?

Before you pinch a weather-surface-hardened brake hose again, way beyond the limits it flexes naturally, tell me why you're doing that. Why would you do that?? Doesn't make sense.

--Vic

Vic Smith wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

jim beam is a Honda man. Honda brake hoses are fabric reinforced. You can squish them flat without problem.

Riiiight. Magic Honda hoses. They don't weather, they don't surface harden. Must be that special Honda Dot 3 fixes 'em up. Didn't know JB was only talking about the magic Honda hoses. Still doesn't answer the question why somebody would pinch a hydraulic hose flat.

--Vic

so do you think a tire falls apart if you let the air out and it goes flat? because that's a substantial pinch*.

should i replace a tire if i go over a bump and the side wall flexes? that can be approaching a pinch too.

if the absurdity of those [rhetorical] questions are not apparent to you, then i can see you'd have a problem understanding the concept of a brake hose made of substantially similar rubbers and with the same kind of polyester fiber reinforcement being a problem for you.

dot-approved brake hoses are usually exceptional quality. they will resist oxidation, chemical degradation, road debris, significant temperature and pressure cycling and above all, substantial flex, for millions of cycles and for decades. if you're trying to say your hoses are so degraded they fail because of a pinch, then i'll show you a car that's never driven - because they'd have failed in service long before and you'd not be here to bleat about it.

[* for the more pedantic - the pinch mode is important. brake hose reinforcing fiber is braided at 45° to the hose axis. pinching doesn't bend those fibers like they would be if the fibers were purely axial. in fact, the effect of a pinch on them is less than a service flex in terms of loading. that leaves only the rubber as of any interest in the flex equation, and again, if the rubber can't take that degree of flex, it would have failed in service long before.]

being hit with the stupid stick? not enough apparently.

dude, that's like putting socks on after your shoes. insert the piston, /then/ fit the boot. that's what they do in factory.

it seats all around just fine - especially if greased so it snaps in under its own elasticity. then the retaining ring goes in and everything is peachy. try it. outer first inside its groove, fit the retaining ring, then push over the piston, taking care to let the excess air out.

my experience with that brand is entirely negative. actual silicone content is very low and it turns to thick brown goopy sticky mess in no time. i'd never try to use it again.

Is that something ike a cluestick.

jim beam wrote in news:eeednRF1uIBsGgfQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

The dust boot MUST install into the caliper BEFORE the piston goes in. It seats into a groove that is entirely inaccessible after the piston is in. Look at the photos I linked (Nobody has, clearly, probably because they're so big).

You just try that.

"Retaining ring"? What retaining ring?

Vic Smith wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

They aren't sheathed in stainless-steel mesh, as are least some Toyota hoses.

jim beam wrote in news:bZidneT5F-HwwQTQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

You quite obviously have no experience with the Rust Belt. Up here, it matters not one whit what you put on the calipers or their boots, rust WILL eventually take over.

And silicone does not deter any but the lightest of storage corrosion because it does not displace water.