Brake calipers with seized pins - fix or replace?

I need to do the first brake job on my Tacoma in the near future, and three out of four of the front brake pad retaining pins are seized into place due to rust, so it's not going to be a simple job. I actually started working on the brakes last month and when I couldn't get the pins loose I stopped to give myself time to evaluate my options. I tried soaking them with PB Blaster and hammered them out with a punch, but nothing working and I stopped before I messed something up.

My first option is to cut/drill out the pins and replace them. Seems pretty straightforward, right? I don't have a drill press and I really don't want to have to disconnect the calipers if I don't have to, so I think I will use my Bosch oscillating tool to cut the pins out and use a cordless drill to clear out the remaining pieces out of the calipers. This option costs me nothing except for time because I already have new pins, but it has the potential to go horribly wrong and force me to purchase replacement calipers.

My second option is to replace the calipers with reman calipers and skip the whole pin removal exercise. Definitely the more expensive option but easier to do. I've replaced brakes and wheel bearings before, so replacing brake calipers is easy until you have to deal with bleeding them. I have the OR model with the electronic brake booster so bleeding should be easy but I've done it on other vehicles before and I know that sometimes it can be a real pain to get right.

If I choose to replace the calipers, who makes the best reman ones? I checked out RockAuto and it looks like there are a lot of options, even though most of them use the same cores.

Thoughts? Advice?

 

at work i have use a air hammer and a roll pin bit to get them out. its the same size bit and only takes seconds to get them out

 

Do you leave them attached when you do this? That's actually not a bad idea since I do have an air compressor.

 

I think it is much easier to get the pins out with the caliper on the vehicle.

I guess The Salt air and winter did a number on those pins

 

Nope it was the road salt.

 

I had the same problem on my first gen. and I see that the third gen. is basically the same design. Way to go Toyota!

I now take the pins out at every oil change, clean the rust off of them and put a little grease on them.

 

I guess you have Salt on the Roads every Month but July

 

I'm finally going to resume work on the brakes this weekend. The pads are worn down to minimum and I've been waiting for a warm weekend to do the work, so I guess it's now or never.

I'm going to start with an air hammer/punch and if that doesn't work I'll use a cutoff wheel followed by a drill.

 

If the pins are rusted to the caliper (not the pads), then the calipers might be toast.
I would just purchase loaded calipers, and then use a little anti-seize on the pins when installing.

 

Old thread, I know, but for what it's worth I did my brakes a month ago and encountered seized pins.
Heat was the solution, I used on OA torch but handheld propane or butane would work. I cut little strips from some scrap sheet metal to protect the piston boots, clamped (tightly) some vise grips to middle of the pin and proceeded to heat the caliper at each end of the pin while "wiggling" the vise grips until it starts to move. Remove heat, keep twisting pin, and spray some kind of liquid (I used WD40) on the ends to help cool the caliper back down quickly. Pulled pins with vise grips.
Once the torch/bottles were rolled over, it took all of 1 minute per pin.
Just important to protect those piston boots!

 

I also have an air hammer/chisel ..

Are you just placing a roll pin over the end of the caliper pin so that the air hammer (with a punch point) can stay on the end of the caliper pin ?

What size roll pin did you use? Looks like a 1/4 inch diameter (internal size) should work. What does that work out to for external size since roll pins are measured by external and not internal diameter..





And yes i am fighting with those caliper pins , thought about cutting them in the middle also since i figure the effort to push the pin out would be half if the pin is cut since it would only be stuck on one side. might also make it easier to possibly spin the pin with vice grips.

if i can finally get them out i am going to install the new ones with a goad coating of the permatex silicone ceramic grease on the pins and will put it on both sides and then slide it back and forth to get as much as possible inside the actual hole.
and i will take the suggested advice and remove and relube them when i do my summer/winter tires swaps.

 

here's a thought i have seen no one mention.

Every video and description has the caliper pins installed from the outside to the inside...
So when they get rusted in you have to hammer from the inside of the fender well which if you doing this in your driway on jack stand can be difficult and uncomfortable..


So is there any reason we cant install pins from the inside to the outside? This would make the part you hammer on so much easier to get to.

 

after only 4 years the passenger side caliper is in bad shape. torn piston books and one of the piston is siezed and cant be pushed back.

Anyone had calipers go bad this soon?

 

I think I’m dealing w a stuck caliper- intermittent vibes at highway speed greatly increased when I step on the brakes. It clears up then happens again in a day or two weeks. About 72K miles.

 

any recommend brand for remanufactured calipers? Saw power stop caliper for$165 cdn...
Never has to replace a caliper in 4 years... And with two bad pistons!

 

i have never seen this type of damage to a caliper piston boot. These is nothing i can think of that could have cause the visible tear/hole shown below..
Its only been dealer serviced so am suspicious that this was done when they last cleaned and serviced the brakes...
Piston above this one was frozen.

 

rebuilt caliper all setup and ready to install. looks like aftermarket is using a piston boot seal with a wire ring for retention. didnt see this on factory boots.