Front brakes sticking

[fwsprague]

I recently had a "needs assessment" done, at the local dealership, on my 88 Supra (turbo) for state inspection. The technician noted on the list 'left front brake sticking'. Any suggestions on how/where to start the fix?

[Busted Knuckles]

A common reason for sticking would be the sliders that the caliper rides on getting worn and jamming. I had one stuck so hard, I had to cobble a puller together to free it. Once free, I got some new sliders and seals, and used some Permatex synthetic brake caliper grease when I put them back together. If the brake pads are wearing unevenly, this is a sign of stuck sliders.

Originally Posted by fwsprague

I recently had a "needs assessment" done, at the local dealership, on my 88 Supra (turbo) for state inspection. The technician noted on the list 'left front brake sticking'. Any suggestions on how/where to start the fix?

[Bill UK]

Like Busted Knuckles said the slider can seize up, I had to remove the whole calliper and work on it in the vice. Crowbars, scaffold tubes and a big club hammer to get mine apart. I think someone had used anti- seize copper grease before, which went dry and tuned into cement. I've had allot of success for years with Castrol Moly Grease for the slides which is a high melting point grease. Toyota do a calliper seal repair kit part # 04479-14100 this contains all the seals, rubber boots and a sachet of lithium glycol grease for the pistons. The seal kit is for both front callipers. Its also worth buying 4 bleeding nipples, I found one of mine had rusted so bad the small hole at the bottom had rusted/sealed over, making it useless for bleeding. I've often wondered what the rubber cap over a bleeding nipple was for, when what ever went down the hole would come out eventually when you bled the brakes. It obviously stops water going inside and rusting the inside wall, which results in the small hole at the bottom becoming sealed over.

Note the part # is for one nipple.

[89basemodel]

I actually just went through all of this over the last couple weeks as I was getting my new supra (to me that is) into shape. I had a hell of a time on different calipers. The main one actually being the front left.

Easiest thing i found to do was to unhook the brake hose then compress the piston in a vice to break any rusted together parts. Then putting the hose back on and bleeding the brake. Followed by pressing the brake pedal several times to push the piston out. You get brake fluid all over your hands and the ground but its sure fire.

Second after pulling the piston out noticing a large amount of rust on it. I bought a brass wire wheel at lowes. The brass is very important because it is a softer metal than the piston so as not to score the piston itself. With a bit of wd40 as cutting fluid i used the wire wheel in a drill press and scraped all the rust off of the piston. Following that i cleaned up the inside of the caliper with some #0000 steel wool. It cleans up very well and is fine enough not to polish too much material.

Easiest manor i found was getting a junk screwdriver with a rubber handle, locking it in a drill and banding (yet high enough to keep the band out of the cylinder) the steel wool around it so it was like a huge steel wool q-tip. Putting it all back together with new seals is a chore but worth it in the end. Smooth operation.

As for the motion pistons in the caliper, moly lithium grease was the best lubricant. After of course using that brass wire wheel on the rust. I got lucky and all my boots on my motion pistons were in good shape.

As for cost
Front caliper rebuild set: - 15
Rear caliper rebuild set: - 13
Brass wire wheel: - 5
Gallon of brake fluid: - 14
Moly Lithium grease: - 8
Total cost: - 55 dollars

Hope this helps

[fwsprague]

Thanks for the tips (all of you), I'm going to start working on it over the long weekend.