SCORE

I have taken some photos during the removal of the rear right caliper of car. The handbrake would not disengage properly causing the pads to wear out and effectively driving with the brakes on :cry:

A new set of rear pads were about £35 (for 2 pairs, only 1 pair was needed because the other caliper is fine). Part Number 55810-50E10 -- "Brake Pad Set" 4 pieces.

Here the Rear bolt that holds the caliper is sticking out ( [color=red:9988776655]1[/color:9988776655] ). 17mm socket.

And the handbrake mechanism central pin has been removed ( [color=red:9988776655]2[/color:9988776655] ). 14mm socket.

Another view of the handbrake bolt removed. Remove the bolt and wiggle the bracket to remove.

This is where the other bolt is located.
They need a bit of force to undo, so make sure the car is secure. I bought a pair of 2 tonne axle stands from Halfords for £10. A good socket set is needed too, I think a spanner would be too awkward to get to the bolts.

This is the cause of all my problems. Salt :evil:

It has corroded the stainless ( 8O ) steel sliding pins (they don't actually slide, the caliper slides on them).

There are rubber gators/boots that cover the ends of these pins held on by lugs on the caliper body and end of slider pin.

In the photos the rubbers have been removed (forgot to take a photo before removing them). One was missing from my caliper, guess which one :x

It is now covered in a big blob of grease.

Excuse the colour, the camera must have had a funny turn :?

This is the other side of the slider pins. This would be the position when the brake is on, and the one with the salt is stuck like this, holding the brake on.

Here I've pushed the pin out (gentle tapping with a hammer, wooden or plastic if you have one, or something soft over the end to protect the pin).

This one came out quite easily, both rubber boots were intact.

The other was a different story :x I had to use the handle of a screwdriver against the slider and hit it with a hammer all the way through the caliper body.

Both pins had pitting around the ends on the shiny exposed parts, years of salt probably, and the caliper body is made of aluminium (disimilar metals and all that).

I cleaned up the pins with sandpaper and a small wire brush. And all round the caliper body with the brush.

There are O-rings inside where the sliding pins go, remove these before cleaning to prevent damaging.

Try pushing the pins through there holes without the O-rings to check they move all the way through freely.

The inside of my caliper body had small raised pieces at the edge, preventing the slider pin moving freely.

I used the edge of a screwdriver to shave away the small pieces of aluminium.

This is the caliper all cleaned up. Looks brand new :lol:

You can see where the O-rings fit inside the holes, but only the outer grooves, the middle groove is left open, probably to gather any dirt and a small reserve of grease.

I replaced the original O-rings but I would recommend new ones. The old ones had stretched a little and replacing them was a nightmare. I'm not sure of there size but should be standard or close too. I have a caliper seal kit but its only for the piston :cry:

The job took about 3 hours total but should take less after seeing these pics :lol:

Everything goes back together quite easily except the slider pins may catch on the O-rings on the way past because of the grooves for the boots at the end.

The brake hose was never removed but I had to keep the caliper secure to prevent the hose being pulled. If you want to be thorough, you could remove the caliper completely and give it a better bench overhaul, but would require draining and bleeding the braking system.