hello all,
i recently tried to replace my brakes. this is my first time on any car other than a ford truck. those were easy, just hammer the pin through and pull out the caliper an put in new shoes.
on my millenia i had trouble loosening the lower pin to tilt the caliper back. my brother thought he had one loose but broke the pin.we heated the bracket and pulled the remainder of the pin out and installed new ones.
my question is has anyone else had troubles replacing their brakes. i have priced the components to replace calipers and rotors and it comes up to about 650.00. maybe i'll do it one end at a time.

anythoughts or ideas would be appreciated.
kirk

 

Kirk,
When you say "pin", are you referring to the slide pin? I've always found it MUCH easier to pull the whole caliper off via the two mounting screws. The sliding assembly "slides"off and you can re-grease the boot cavities.
Also, when you have the caliper in your hand, you can inspect the lines, bleeder and if you're so inclined, can even paint them. (I have not)

The worst problem I've had was a front rotor frozen to the axle end. I still have pieces of it in my garage as a reminder to me about doing other's brakes. (stripped back-off threads, chisel damage, large indentations from my 18lb. hammer ... etc.)

Dam I need to get my camera fixed ... I'd post a picture.

 

thank you or replying mmmmmm,
yes, when referring to pin i mean slide pin. the pin with threads that hold the caliper to the mounting braket. on the older ford trucks these are a pieces of rubber that have angled pieces of metal that when hammered to the right position hold the caliper in place.
on my millenia these are two pin/screws that mount the caliper to the bracket. the lower pin was seized on both the passenger side front and rear.
thank you again
kirk

 

It is pretty common on most cars. A brake pad replacement always consists of cleaning and greasing those pins. They get moisture in them and seize. I have a ball hone i use on them then apply grease liberally.