What to do when your brake caliper is stuck?

What to do when your brake caliper is stuck?

For seized caliper pistons, or slide pins, a special tool is available to apply force and retract the pad. Often a simple C-clamp can be used. To remove a caliper piston that has become seized, the hydraulic pressure of the brake system itself can be used.

What happens when a piston is stuck in the caliper?

If the piston is stuck within the caliper, or the pad is stuck, the car can feel down on power (as if the parking brake is on). You may also notice the car pulling to one side with the steering wheel pointed straight, when cruising and not applying the brake. As you drive,…

What causes a brake pin to get stuck?

There are several possible causes. Something could be wrong with the brake line or piston. But often the problem is a stuck caliper pin. One or both of the little rails the caliper slides along — the caliper guide pins — get sluggish or seized. And that means your caliper won’t slide, and the outside brake pad won’t fully squeeze your rotor.

What’s the best way to remove a sliding caliper?

Light up the torch and apply heat around the bracket the bolt threats into on the back of the brake assembly. Do not apply heat to the sliding caliper itself. Be sure all the rubber boots have been extracted or you will damage them with the torch. Keep the torch away from the bleeder screw and the caliper piston.

What to do if your brake caliper is stuck?

I read in Cycle World a month ago about a guy that was having difficulty removing his stuck pistons from the brake caliper. He had removed the caliper from the bike already so he couldn’t use the hydraulics of the brake system to force out the stuck pistons.

What does it mean when your caliper pin gets stuck?

Something could be wrong with the brake line or piston. But often the problem is a stuck caliper pin. One or both of the little rails the caliper slides along — the caliper guide pins — get sluggish or seized. And that means your caliper won’t slide, and the outside brake pad won’t fully squeeze your rotor.

Why is my brake caliper stuck on my Honda Accord?

In the video below, ChrisFix, a hugely popular mechanic on YouTube, shows the uneven wear on pads he took from a 2008 Honda Accord. He explains how the unevenness could, in theory, be caused by a crooked piston. But as he shows, the problem isn’t a piston, but a stuck brake caliper pin.

How do you get pitons out of brake caliper?

Being the crafty guy he was, he loosened the bleeder screw and attached his grease gun to it, then pumped grease into the caliper to drive the pitons out. Well I was in the same boat tonight while working on my old GoldWing so I tried the grease trick and it worked awesome.