grease for '97 4WD Tacoma calipers

The FSM says use lithium soap base glycol grease for the piston parts and disc brake grease on the inner anti-squeal shim. I have Sil-Glyde BK-4 brake lubricant, Sta-Lube SL3301 brake caliper synthetic grease, Super Lube with PTFE (rated at 450°) and CarQuest Disc Brake Quiet #2065. Can I use any of the products I already have, or do you recommend other specific products. I have uneven wear on my pads. Primarily, the top piston on the driver's side is causing extreme wear on the top of that pad.

 

The lithium soap base glycol grease seems to be a Toyota only product. Are you rebuilding your calipers and have the pistons out. I've always used fresh brake fluid to assemble them. As far as back of pads I use the orange disk brake quiet paste from AutoZone. And synthetic grease on the metal slide points on the pads.

 

From the forums, I'm discovering that everyone seems to have his/her way of doing things, yet there doesn't seem to be a consensus as to what is ideal. No one seems to be promoting Toyota's greases, yet all the others are used and seen as acceptable. I'm wondering if people use products they just have on hand or if there is a specific logic behind using any particular product or type of product.

 

30 years of experience and thousands of disk brake jobs.

 

I'm not saying you're not experienced. I'm just commenting on all the experienced people who share what they do, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on any particular method... just what they're used to doing. I've had 6 different professionals respond, and they all had different responses, while none implied one way is significantly better than another.

 

I'm sure there's a lot of different combinations. As long as they all have good results.
My combination was the same as the Chevy dealership was using when I went to work there in 1994.

 

Car repair is kind of like parenting. We all like to judge everyone else for how they are doing it. It's human nature... I'm sure I'm doing it "wrong" but my truck still drives, and my kids are happy and breathing, so I'm doing something right, too...

That said, I would say a good rule of thumb is to just use the same lube/fluid to assemble your widget that's used in its operation (i.e. brake fluid to assemble the calipers as Jon said above). General purpose/high temp grease works well for just about everything else, and maybe teflon/dry lube for cables etc that can attract dirt and get gummed up.

However, the more complex/expensive an item, like an engine or trany, you might as well go with the "proper" assembly lubes.

And as for the professional mechanics, I'd say what they use has more to do with who their supplier is, rather than any sort of well thought out study on which products function the "best" for a given application. I would bet that no (non-dealer) shop on the planet stocks the manufacturer branded lubes on hand for every vehicle brand they service). Then, like most men, we get stuck in our ways and figure that's the way everyone else should do it too...

The reason you get 6 different answers from 6 different mechanics is because it doesn't really matter. You'd be hard pressed to find major differences between the various brands of products - they're probably all manufactured in the same plant, anyway... But, people become brand loyal, and want to believe the money they're spending on that really expensive purple engine oil isn't being wasted because that's what it says on the packaging.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I was researching to find out if there is an ideal approach, but I guess there really isn't an ideal approach. I do find what you say about using brake fluid for the calipers interesting, as the FSM calls for their lithium soap base glycol grease for that. I'll use brake fluid. Maybe I'll use Sil-Glyde BK-4 on one brake and Super Lube on the other... just to see if there is a difference over time.

 

As long as it's compatible with brake fluid system.

 

I'll be using brake fluid inside the caliper. The other grease will be for the anti-squeal shims and pins.

 

I rebuilt my calipers and replaced my pads. I used brake fluid as the lubricant for all internal caliper components. I used CarQuest Disc Brake Quiet #2065 between the anti-squeal plate and the pistons. I used Sil-Glyde BK-4 brake lubricant on the pins, between the pads and anti-squeal plates and outside of the piston boots for RH brake, and I used Super Lube with PTFE (rated at 450°) on the pins, between the pads and anti-squeal plates and outside of the piston boots for LH brake. I'll keep my eye on the brakes over time to see there is a performance difference between Sil-Glyde and Super Lube.

 

notice any difference yet? Any updates?

 

I used the green permatex brake caliper grease from napa. Saw it on the south main auto channel on youtube. Seems to work fine.

 

Actually, it's a good thing I documented which lube I put on which side. This has been a very busy year (it took me 4 months to renovate my rental trashed by my previous tenants). The new tenants moved in yesterday, so I have time now, but it is too cold and wet to check my brakes. When it warms up in the spring, I'll do that and report the results.

 

I am guessing your Wet and Cold is different then mine

 

So true. When my son arrived in Florida for college, he called me and told me he experienced rain for the first time in his life.
If it's not necessary, I stay in when it is drizzling.

 

Sorry for the delay, but I've been busy all year with weed abatement. I finally got around to checking my brakes, and both sides are identical. I see no difference, so I can't recommend the ideal approach. They both worked fine.