Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Well my youngest daughter normally drives BRUISER in the summer and this year is no exception.  BRUISER is my 87 Turbo Coupe. My daughter has a led foot and likes to blow away those ricers and slightly modified cars around the area. BUT!!! She does not have an ear for trouble. So she ran the brakes down in the rear. Not her fault as anyone that knows the TC is well aware of the frozen pins. Now i have a fix for this and just wanted to share it with you guys. I know i will get push back from the usual posters but i thought most of you would like what i do to these pin type calipers. Not only the TC but any pin type caliper. I do this and it is proven 100% effective. Here goes!!!

PROBLEM FROZEN PINS AND THE AFTER MATH

(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/001-136.jpg)



Here is the issue. The adapter bracket and pin bores freeze up from lack of grease. So drill both cavities on the back side and tap it with a 1/4 / 18. Then install grease fittings. You also have to drill out the bore size of the adapter to the proper size PLUS .010. This is what we do to prevent the pind from SEIZING UP. Getting the pins out when frozen is best dun after removing the bracket from the car. Remove the rubber boot ans save it if it is in good condition. Clamp the adapter in a VICE and heat the hell out of the back side of the BORE length wise to the pin. When the bracket is red hot try to twist the pin put. Move it back and forth till it comes out. Eventually it will. Then polish or replace the pins and do the following steps as i explained.

(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/005-27.jpg)
(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/006-23.jpg)
(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/009-10.jpg)

Here is the parts needed to reassemble it on the car after the MOD. Remember use only one shim rattle plate on the non loaded side of the PAD!!

(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/012-7.jpg)

Then install it on the car and use only ONE rattle spacer on the non loaded side. Grease the fittings to fill up the cavity untill grease comes out and you are dun. This should be greased at every oil change for a matinance peocedure and this will end the nasty seizing up of the pins. Hope you like this MOD

That's actually not a bad idea, especially around here where corrosion and seizing are common even on cars only a year or two old (my 2011 Sonata had seized park brake shoes at less than a year old, and it's a 6-speed so they're used frequently). Curious as to why you only use the one shim though...

That's pretty much the standard means of pin extraction as far as I've ever seen, but only one slide plate? I always use both, I clean them up and take down the seat underneath the slide plates a little because there's always rust there causing the plates to pinch the pads in place. What I haven't seen before is the zerk fittings.  I must say that it's bloody brilliant. The only question I have concerning that is if you're lubing them at maintenance intervals, what are you lubing them with? The standard grease gun load is chassis grease, and I don't think I'd be comfortable with chassis grease in my brake pins. Unless you have a separate gun with silicone grease. I've never seen that either.

I have found over the years that eliminating one plate will stop the pads from seizing in the slots. I have tried everything and this is a winner. I have used chassis grease for years on the pins with no issues. Lithium based and not one come back. But Silicone grease is available if you desire. Filling the bores with grease is like filling the out drive on an outboard motor. If it is filled with grease the water cant get in. Greasing at oil change intervals flushes out the old grease and replenishes it with fresh grease. I have installed fittings in all kinds of applications. Including TOYOTA which is plagued with pin seizure Thanks and have a good weekend.

Good idea Tom.. I do lots of brakes myself, I will have to remember this for in the future!

Thank you i am glad i can pass on my mods to people that enjoy the work i do.

Here is the finished product all greased up. Notice the grease fills the whole cavity including the boots.

(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/001-137.jpg)

(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/002-91.jpg)

Here you can see it better. Note i left out the plates all together in this application. Bendix pads are a bit tight so i trimmed them and the plates were not necessary. I learned a ling time ago what a bound up pad can do. And these pads bind up once a little rust forms in the bracket and hangs the pads up

Amazing. I WILL remember this when/if I make the swap back to discs on my TC rear that's been drum-converted.

I clean up the bracket so it's rust free, usually I also apply brake grease under the tins to help slow down the corrosion, but none over them as this causes sand and other road crud to collect around the pads. Those Bendix pads are good stuff, they seat fast and don't require burnishing.  I miss working with them, but I left that behind for dealership life. Having said that I almost always had to grind the powder-coating off the ends of the pad backing because they were almost always excessively coated. You just have to take the good with the bad.  Motorcraft pads fit awesome every time, but they're hard as stone and take a serious burnishing to seat nicely, especially if you machined the rotors.  This is where I picked up the habit of washing the rotors with soap and water after machining. Washing this way gets the metal dust off best and, assuming you used a brown 3 inch cookie and a wizzy wheel to ND the rotor before you stopped the lathe, washing makes the burnishing go easier and a little faster.  I still think those grease fittings are genius, I might start doing that.

I too think this idea is GENIUS and I'll be copying it on my 3 cars. Thanks Tom!

Awesome.... I'll be doing that next time I'm doing my brakes

Thanks for the kind words. It really makes me feel good when i can help with different ideas. The kind words really makes a difference. Thanks

I can just imagine the strange looks when you go to a lube shop and remind them to grease the brakes. Lol. This is however a great idea. Thanks for sharing Tom.

This info is golden. Everyone should read this.

Brilliant Tom! I will definitely be doing this next brake swap

Many years ago i used to do LOF jobs for my dad when he was the BOSS. Back then a car had tuns of grease fittings. On the spring perches clutch bell cranks  water pump and some even on the distributor. Just about every moving part other than the engine internals. We actually had a chart to tell us where the fittings were depending on the car. I always remembered this and that is how i come up with MODS. They are not new or MAGIC. They are something of old and now you most likely cant find one grease fitting on a modern car. HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!!! Or have they???

I remember crawling under cars with my dad and doing the same thing :D grease it here, grease it there and what the heck..... might as well put some grease here too :mullet: Shoot, I even put a couple zerk fittings on my front sway bar bushings since they're not available for our brackets.  Rats, I'll post up pics tonight after I get home from physical therapy.  :punchballs:

Physical therapy WHY??? Did you get busted UP????

Na, just too many years of driving semi trucks and jumping off trailers. Here's a couple pics of those swab bar bushings.

That is a good mod for sure!!! Hip joints suffer from that big time. If i only knew that about 45 years ago!!!

Also knees, kidneys, shoulders (from throwing chains & straps) LOL!  On the mod, since they're not available with the correct brackets for our cars, I just copied idea :D

Great idea!  One to keep in mind.

Speaking of brake jobs, it's been my standard practice as a DIY'r to replace the calipers at the same time to avoid the dreaded 'piston sticking in the bore' when the new pads push the piston back into the bore which may or may not be rusty.

Overkill?

Is there ever a case where you would/could just install new pads, not new rotors.  Local, low mileage/yr driver for example?

Thanks for sharing!