Can you wonderful LD geniuses please tell me what all is involved in "lubing brake calipers"? Also, how frequently and under what circumstances do you have this done?
Thanksabunch,
Lorna
Your brakes slide back and forth (a small distance) as you push the pedal and release it. If the surface it slides on gets crudded up, the brakes can stay applied, or refuse to apply, or sometimes stick.
I find it to be more of an issue on the front brakes, on vehicles that sit for an extended period of time, and in climates that encourage rust (humid).
My personal routine is to lube the slide pins every time I have the tires off. I try to lube the slide pins and change the brake fluid every 2 years.
This video might help explain things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-MCSeIy2Y0
I've also had some issues with rusted caliper pistons over the years, fixed by replacing the calipers with some that have phenolic pistons (less likely to rust). Last year I replaced both front calipers b/c one of the brake bleed screws had rusted shut. It's not something I would have done at shop prices, but for DIY, it was cheap enough to replace both sides preemptively and avoid having an issue on a trip.
The real issue, in my case, is that the RV sits for extended periods in the southeast where sumer humidity is high.
Rich
Lorna,
I greased mine about six months ago. Here's the link to my post: Slide Pins (https://www.lazydazeowners.com/index.php?topic=39666.msg257363#msg257363)
Mine's an 09 LD so it's an 08 Ford. It has about 40K miles but has been in Southern California and Arizona apart from trips. All of my slide pins were in great shape and didn't really need any maintenance.
jor
I have to lube our 2003 LD brake calipers every two years,, the rear calipers are hard to lube and do seize. Mechanics hate lubing the rear calipers, removing and replacing the rear wheels and pounding out the caliper's sliding pins is hard work.
Back when I used to work on LDs, I found a couple of rigs with seized rear calipers that resulted in little or no rear braking.,the symptoms are usually poor braking and/or overheated front brakes.
Larry
Darn, another thing to put on the list! So if you take it to a mechanic to have it done, do you have to specifically mention the slide pins or is that something they would just do as part of a brake service?
Thanks for your responses everyone.
My 2004 LD lives in the CA foothills and experiences every sort of California weather imaginable! The chassis was built in 2003. I had a major brake job done about 5 years ago and have driven my LD about 7000 miles since then. This would not be a DIY project for moi, so I'm just trying to figure out whether I should add lubing the brake calipers (a very expensive job I'm told) to my next service list.
Any more comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Lorna
I'm just trying to figure out whether I should add lubing the brake calipers (a very expensive job I'm told) to my next service list.
It shouldn't be expensive. 1hr shop time should more than cover it. A lot of places will do it for free if they have the wheels off for something else.
My recommendation - ask to get the brake fluid changed, have the pads, calipers, and rotors inspected, and the slide pins lubed. Then travel without worries.
Rich