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front caliper seems to be sticking / dragging - replace or repair? 200

It's usually the inside lower pistons that stick on my front calipers.

What I do is try pushing the all pads back by squeezing with a 12" Channellock. The stuck ones won't budge, it's usually just one cranky piston.

I remove the pad (a fence pliers hook is excellent for prying the pad out) from under the stuck one, leaving the other pad in. I put in a totally worn pad (you can make one by prying all the pad material from a backplate, hammer claw does this nicely), and start the car and pump the brakes. This will usually extend the stuck piston out further, exposing the stuck part.

I then gently pry the rubber boot open with a small screwdriver and spray a bit of silicone lube in there, not grease, the stuff I use is runny like WD-40 and I use the little red tube to get it on the top so it will run down around the piston.

I then compress the stuck piston with a c-clamp. This can take some force, sometimes it'll give and then hit intermediate stuck places. Get it retracted as far as you can, repeat until it's free.

If you can free it up, then put some waterproof grease under the boot with a cotton swab. I like Phil's Waterproof Grease for this, made for bicycles, doesn't appear to harm rubber or plastic.

This may seem like a lot of work, but it's nothing compared to trying to get those brass fittings loose to replace the caliper, then bleeding eight circuits.

I still like the PBR Deluxe, even if they are messier than the old compound.






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