Brake grease question

CRC Disc brake quiet is the only stuff I've used on the back of brake pads. I'm not sure how it pairs with Kona Coffee though.

Hawaii is on my bucket list of places to visit.

 

If using pads with coated or rubberized shims (black one piece...not 2 piece steel/stainless) then no grease is required on the backs of the pads...just makes a mess. If you're in the rust belt...a bit of grease couldn't hurt, but it'll not last long so it doesn't really matter.

The pins in the front calipers are simply there so the pads don't fall out....they are NOT slide pins, in the conventional sense that one would typically see in a floating calipers that slides back and forth (those get greased)....the tacoma uses an opposed piston fixed mount caliper that does not slide.

The pins, both OEM and aftermarket, are zinc plated...which offers good corrosion protection in reasonable climates....but you guys in the rusty states aren't gonna get much life out of 'em, much like everything else on your trucks...they will rust. Instead of wasting time wire wheeling and greasing them, just spend $5 on a new hardware kit and replace them every so often....or don't, it doesn't matter. You're likely changing calipers at the point where the pads and rotors need to be replaced anyway, so who cares if the pins are stuck in the caliper? You could "upgrade" to something made outta stainless, but the caliper casting will still rust and grab the pins, so that's kinda pointless.

Metal on metal stuff should get a moly disulphide grease....and anything that's anywhere near rubber (in a brake system) should get a synthetic grease that's NOT hydrocarbon based....petroleum compounds don't play nice with the EPDM rubber used in brake system.

 

UPDATE: I replaced the the rotors with Element 3's and the pads with ProACT. I had some Silglyde so used that on the back of the pads. I replaced the pins and hardware with new stuff. I did not lube the pins. I've done plenty of brakes before but the project was a bit of a pain for me. I don't have a lift. just do it in the driveway. someone torqued the sh!t out of the bolts holding the caliper on. I am and older guy and had a hard time getting them off. Also the slide pins were rusted on there solid and I had to battle those.....now for the rant. I bought the truck from the OO 5 months ago. with 80k on it. He took it to the dealership for all maintenance and repairs. He even got a prepaid maintenance plan for the first 50k miles. other than oil changes they pretty much did no other maintenance. when i first bought it i went through and brought up all the maintenance using the 300k maintenance map. Tthe front driveshaft has 2 fittings. I BET no grease had been put in there since the factory. AT 70K The OO had the front brakes done. They replaced the pads and TURNED the original rotors. they charged him $630. On the invoice it says they "lube the caliper pins". I had a brake vibration that i could not get rid of. I tried rebedding the pads etc. that is why i changed the brakes. when they did the brakes at 70k they reused and lubed what had to be extremely rusty pins. as i said i had a bear of a time getting the pins out. also they did not grease the back of the pads. they did have metal shims on them. it is amazing how crappy some dealerships are. rant over! Thanks for all the help!

 

Now you know - every time you have the wheels off, pull the pins and clean/lube them or replace them.