Brake problems again. Sticking calipers

[Frank8]

Drove my 2016 LR4 through some slushy New England roads and the front calipers have seized AGAIN. This happened last winter and I began smelling them.
My indy found that road crud and salt/sand gut in there and the calipers weren’t releasing.

A month ago I had my winter tires put on and they made sure the calipers were ok. Now they’ve seized up again. Started smelling them thru the heater vent. Stunk up the garage.

Fortunately I was close to home and my ind is only a mike away.

But this is scary. I could easily be stuck and possibly warp a rotor.
Is this an issue for warranty? It isn’t normal wear (22k miles) and I still have original pads.

Anybody got ideas or suggestions?

 

[ktm525]

In my experience my (2010) front calipers have been very tempermental with regards to sticking. The sticking seems to relate to the bushing equipped slider pin. This pin is to designed to reduce clunking when the brakes are applied. In my experiences the bushing gets beat up and tend to jam the pin in the caliper. When doing my seasonal tire/wheel changeovers I clean and regrease my pins. For the most part this has kept the sticking at bay although this year I got lazy and in 12 months I had sticking pins again. Sticking pins will destroying a rotor quickly. I actually bent my old slider pin as I was removing it. PITA.

The grease/lube you use is also a culprit. Despite using a synthetic grease specifically saying it was safe for rubber I had some degradation of the rubber bushing. I am now trying the fancy Permatex (orange silicone / ceramic based grease) that has a melting point of a bazillion degrees. We will see how it holds up this winter.

 

[Frank8]

Thank you very much. That’s very helpful.

I took it to my indy this AM and the first thing he asked was if the road was slick. Yes it was. Very.

Did I have the Terrain Response on the grass/snow setting?

Yes. And I felt the front brakes working every once in a while.

But they shouldn’t get stuck and start smelling burnt!

Is there any speed limit on this Terrain Setting?

 

[Waterndirt]

When I recently changed my pads and rotors on my 2015, I noticed the pins were not the same. One pin has a "plastic sleeve / bushing" if you will, the other does not. I put them back as I found them. Could re-installing pins in the wrong location have an adverse affect? Shooting darts here...

 

[Frank8]

Thank you. Hopefully I’ll find out tomorrow and I’ll post the diagnosis.

 

[ZR1Gerhardt]

When I recently changed my pads and rotors on my 2015, I noticed the pins were not the same. One pin has a "plastic sleeve / bushing" if you will, the other does not. I put them back as I found them. Could re-installing pins in the wrong location have an adverse affect? Shooting darts here...


View attachment 8740

Could be the pins, could be the grease. Maybe order an after market caliper rebuild kit and update the pins. I rebuilt my calipers at 65k and the new slide pins are all metal and same size. No issues after 33k miles on them.

 

[BikePilot]

I'd start by figuring out if the sticking is in the form of the caliper not sliding on the pins or is the actual caliper piston sticking. Brake pad wear and rotor discoloration from heat should tell the story. Worst case, maybe it's a good excuse to swap to fixed brembos from an rrs

 

[ktm525]

^Good point it could be the caliper piston.
^^Clear grease good. Likely silicone based


As for pins. Yes one should have a rubber bushing and it does matter where they are installed. If the latest ones give me issues I will likely switch to all metal and forget the bushing.

From the service manual:

 

[rally3]

The lubricant required on the rubber bushing on the slider pin needs to be silicone based, no type of grease should be used as that will cause swelling of the bushing and cause it to stick,
this is what we use at the shop I work at,
https://www.amazon.com/3M-08946-Clear-Silicone-Paste/dp/B005RNEH5O/

 

[Quijote]

That is the exact paste I bought about a month ago for when I changed my pads. It was the best option I could find. I just did my front brakes a week ago and the pins were lubed and still super smooth (lucky, I guess).