Yeh You Guessed It, Sticking Calipers!

[Tim17]

Ok so after a search and a read through i can see this is a hot topic! However none of it sets me straight with the whole situation!

Does anyone know what the ACTUAL cause of this is??

My drivers side is the worst one but the near side is also binding upon rotation with the car jacked up.

It's pretty stupid to be honest how such a simple thing can be defective for SO many people. I don't fancy paying for another caliper either new or refurbed.. Has no one refurbed it themselves before or just gave it a generel clean/grease up?

There must be a way of sorting this without paying for another, because it seems even a refurbed one can be faulty again after a little while? Even if it means giving them a clean/grease every 6months or so, and yes i am being tight, i only bought the car for just over £1k so im not looking to pay almost £200 just for 2 refurbed calipers lol.

Anyways, rant over! ;)

[petayV8]

Like you ive read alot of ppl having sticking calipers but from personal experience my drivers side went after 13 years of use so im not complaining. Its just wear and tear. Not had any issues with the refurb but its only been a year

[The Transporter]

Not had any issues with the lexus bu I recently had a sticking calliper on my Jeep... Took it off and stuck it on the bench, popped the piston out, cleaned up, free off the bleed nipple, grease the sliders and rebuild... been happy ever since.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Welcome to the sticky calliper club mate! Had both my fronts sieze up too! I did what Transporter did but I wasn't so lucky, it seized again about 1000 miles and then the other one stuck too so I bit the bullet as i was frustrated and i need my car running perfect as its my daily driver and I work freelance so I bought new callipers for the front, not cheap!! £200 each

:(

[Tim17]

Not had any issues with the lexus bu I recently had a sticking calliper on my Jeep... Took it off and stuck it on the bench, popped the piston out, cleaned up, free off the bleed nipple, grease the sliders and rebuild... been happy ever since.

This i what i'm thinking to do, did you replace any seals while you were there?

Welcome to the sticky calliper club mate! Had both my fronts sieze up too! I did what Transporter did but I wasn't so lucky, it seized again about 1000 miles and then the other one stuck too so I bit the bullet as i was frustrated and i need my car running perfect as its my daily driver and I work freelance so I bought new callipers for the front, not cheap!! £200 each:(

Thanks for the welcome, however i wish i wasn't part of this 'club' ;)

What exactly did you do with the caliper? Did you use a refurb kit with new seals etc?

[The Transporter]

No, it was a Sunday afternoon so I had no bits so I simply stripped the caliper and gave it a good cleaning... Sticky callipers are common on Jeeps too. I think that we have to establish if it is the piston or the sliders that are the issue.... I did have an issue a few years ago with a rear calliper rubbing on the inside of the disc, turns out that it was just road gunge and corrosion on the outside not allowing the calliper to slide so a new set of pads and discs and a good clean up with a good dose of copperslip was all that was needed

[TigerFish]

As transporter mentioned, you need to establish if it is the slide pins or calipers at fault, or both. Otherwise you could spend a good deal of money and not fix the issues.

I got a pair of refurbed calipers for my gs430 for under a hundred quid, so there are probably cheaper options out there for you too. I used to free mine up every few months, but for £100, it was worth doing the full swap. If they only last 5 years I'd be happy with that.

[petayV8]

My old caliper looked beyond repair, it was a mess and looked ready for the bin. Maybe if i stripped it and cleaned everything it would of worked again who knows. I did try greasing everything up but that only lasted a week. Is it easy to refurb your own caliper? bet its a bummer to get the pistons out and i dont think you can buy replacement pistons

[RoniN_]

Been in Lexus dealer yesterday for a cambelt change and have same problem with my sliders on front calipers. Will have a quote from them today... See what happens

[Tim17]

As transporter mentioned, you need to establish if it is the slide pins or calipers at fault, or both. Otherwise you could spend a good deal of money and not fix the issues.I got a pair of refurbed calipers for my gs430 for under a hundred quid, so there are probably cheaper options out there for you too. I used to free mine up every few months, but for £100, it was worth doing the full swap. If they only last 5 years I'd be happy with that.

Well i presume it will either be the sliding pins not 'sliding' correctly, or the piston will be seized possibly due to a faulty seal. I will buy a refurb kit with new seals etc, clean up the pistons (haven't looked yet but i think there's 2 pistons in these Lexus calipers?) So yeh, for the minute i refuse to buy a refurbed one when i believe it's possible to do it myself, the only thing i wont be able to do is pressure test the seals afterwards.

[Tim17]

My old caliper looked beyond repair, it was a mess and looked ready for the bin. Maybe if i stripped it and cleaned everything it would of worked again who knows. I did try greasing everything up but that only lasted a week. Is it easy to refurb your own caliper? bet its a bummer to get the pistons out and i dont think you can buy replacement pistons

Shouldn't be too difficult hopefully, i believe you can buy replacement pistons from bigg red.

Been in Lexus dealer yesterday for a cambelt change and have same problem with my sliders on front calipers. Will have a quote from them today... See what happens

Let us know how you get on with the quote :)

[TigerFish]

You'll have to let us know what price the overhaul kits are when you get them? They seem to be around £30 for just a full seal/boot kit (including slide pin boots and bush), but that's without pistons. Just the piston seals is about £15 I think. BiggRed are good, got a pair of refurbed rear calipers from them for my old mk1 GS.

[Mr.Rudus]

some crap calipers on this model.

I have been through all of it and its best to save the headache and get refurbed ones or if you can get the kit and do it yourself.

if you get 2nd hand then its luck your testing.

[clifton 94]

hi the area between the dust cover and the piston seal corrodes and this is what makes the piston stick simple strip and clean off the rust and also check where the seals sit in the cylinder this sometimes rusts also but a simple job for the home mechanic

[Tim17]

hi the area between the dust cover and the piston seal corrodes and this is what makes the piston stick simple strip and clean off the rust and also check where the seals sit in the cylinder this sometimes rusts also but a simple job for the home mechanic

Good man that's what i like to hear! I would do this even tomorow but i'm 250miles away from home with no tools, trust me to only notice the brakes are binding when i'm away on holiday for the week! I keep worrying when driving for a while that shortly i will see smoke coming from the brakes when im doing a journey somewhere as they are getting rather hot! But with the car jacked up, they are not binding as much when they are hot compared to when i tried when they was cold. There's also a noise coming from the front right wheel when driving and when turning the wheel when jacked, it's like a rubbery squeeling type noise so i don't know if that's related, just wish i could get it done now before my long journey home at the weekend :(

[clifton 94]

I would not drive until it's repaired may be a wheel bearing best get it checked by a garage to be safe

[Lance]

Use Castrol Red Rubber Grease on the slider pins and around the dust boot seals. You can get small pots of it on eBay for £2. The very best stuff for the job.

[Tim17]

I would not drive until it's repaired may be a wheel bearing best get it checked by a garage to be safe

Pretty certain it's not a wheel bearing, as it's not the right noise plus i've checked the bearing by trying to rock the wheel at the top and bottom with the wheel jacked up and there is no movement at all, but thanks for your concern :)

Use Castrol Red Rubber Grease on the slider pins and around the dust boot seals. You can get small pots of it on ebay for £2. The very best stuff for the job.

Cheers for the tip :) :)

[lexus loon]

Tim ,to get pistons out if seized,take caliper off car, put a tyre compressor on to brake fluid nipple and the caliper will come out,just point it away from anything.I did this ,cleaned pistons up ,lithium grease on the slide pins and brakes are fine still after 4 months.

[Tim17]

Tim ,to get pistons out if seized,take caliper off car, put a tyre compressor on to brake fluid nipple and the caliper will come out,just point it away from anything.I did this ,cleaned pistons up ,lithium grease on the slide pins and brakes are fine still after 4 months.

Good stuff cheers for the advice, good idea also about using a tyre pump, i didn't think it would fit but then again i've never tried! Unsure as to what the best grease to use now then as there's been two different suggestions but i will have to look into it :)

[TigerFish]

Lithium soap grease is the official grease as per the service manuals. Others have had success with different greases though.

[Tim17]

Lithium soap grease is the official grease as per the service manuals. Others have had success with different greases though.

Alrite cheers maybe i'll use that then :)

[marsis]

hi the area between the dust cover and the piston seal corrodes and this is what makes the piston stick simple strip and clean off the rust and also check where the seals sit in the cylinder this sometimes rusts also but a simple job for the home mechanic

Good man that's what i like to hear! I would do this even tomorow but i'm 250miles away from home with no tools, trust me to only notice the brakes are binding when i'm away on holiday for the week! I keep worrying when driving for a while that shortly i will see smoke coming from the brakes when im doing a journey somewhere as they are getting rather hot! But with the car jacked up, they are not binding as much when they are hot compared to when i tried when they was cold. There's also a noise coming from the front right wheel when driving and when turning the wheel when jacked, it's like a rubbery squeeling type noise so i don't know if that's related, just wish i could get it done now before my long journey home at the weekend :(

hi to all,mine from back weeal sound like a bell when i take courbs ,in special

[Tim17]

hi the area between the dust cover and the piston seal corrodes and this is what makes the piston stick simple strip and clean off the rust and also check where the seals sit in the cylinder this sometimes rusts also but a simple job for the home mechanic

Good man that's what i like to hear! I would do this even tomorow but i'm 250miles away from home with no tools, trust me to only notice the brakes are binding when i'm away on holiday for the week! I keep worrying when driving for a while that shortly i will see smoke coming from the brakes when im doing a journey somewhere as they are getting rather hot! But with the car jacked up, they are not binding as much when they are hot compared to when i tried when they was cold. There's also a noise coming from the front right wheel when driving and when turning the wheel when jacked, it's like a rubbery squeeling type noise so i don't know if that's related, just wish i could get it done now before my long journey home at the weekend :(

hi to all,mine from back weeal sound like a bell when i take courbs ,in special

Vague description lol but a stab in the dark, could be the shield around the disc that is loose and clanging when you go up a curb.

[BillNick]

I had seized piston on each side when I went to replace my discs and pads. So I bought a refurb kit from BiggRed fitted myself.

All seemed ok for approx 800 miles and once again my brakes are binding. Chris on here also had the same issue. I cant be ar5ed anymore having already attempted to DIY fix so I am sending the calipers off to BiggRed for full refurbishment. I have negotiated a small discount having already attempted DIY with their own kit and when I get them back they will have 1 year guarantee on them.

Cant wait for a silent ride and worry free braking :-D