“fixing” a SEIZED brake caliber for $3 bucks (complete diagnostics)

You win the award for Best Edited Video. Not a second wasted with gibberish. I didn't have to fast-forward like I do for most videos.

Excellent presentation. No muss. No fuss. Thanks for not wasting any time or bombarding us with crap music / intros / egos! Good work Bro.

That whole set-up appears to be on it's final days.

This man showed yall how to fix ya car's seized brakes for THREE DOLLHAIRS and you're all jumping to criticize! Good on him, man's a real fixer not a parts cannon operator. And now he's still got the money he saved on those calipers.

Nice, straightforward and to the point. I hate wasting my time on videos that have useless parts. Every second here had a point.

I really appreciated how you took the time to show what proper performance in a caliper would really look like and what poor performance looks like. This is the first video where the poster didn't assume that the audience would know what good and bad performance in a caliper looks like.

One thing I learned rebuilding a caliper piston is to not let the pedal go all the way to the floor. I went through several master cylinders (the NAPA guy at the counter thought they were bad masters) before I was told by a brake mechanic after explaining my issue, he said 'you're blowing your master cylinder seal when you go all the way to the floor, put a brick or block of wood behind the pedal to stop it from traveling all the way to the floor.' Sure enough by doing that it didn't blow out and was able to unfreeze both front calipers with those kits saving several hundred dollars.

This is the best complete and concise DIY on wheel stiffness cause I've found on the Internet. I had an issue with occasional noise and heat from one wheel hub. I thought initially it was bearing (only has 60,000 miles on new bearing) but then determined it was sticky brake caliper. Bravo!

With brake parts that look and function like that and with the relative low expense of all new parts, caliper, rotor, bracket, pads it just make more sense to buy and replace with new parts. I mean we are talking about brakes and the safety issue involved. I'm talking from over 50 years of experience of replacing, and dealing with brakes of all types. This video was good from the standpoint of showing how disc brakes work, which is nice for those who never saw this or didn't know how they worked.

great video, you went directly through the process, didn.t waste time on chatter, and explained the problem and the solution. Basically this video gets to the point and doesn't make you sit for 45 mins to see the results, thank you.

for those of you watching, this is a WHOLE day affair, sometimes just worth it to get a new caliper.

I really appreciate your approach. Straight to the point but also including all the information you need

I know it is too late for a response being a 1-year-old thread, but for future DIY freaks, here is an insight. I had a confounding problem with my Chevy Cruze Diesel for more than 6 months when the calipers would not release after lifting the foot off the brake pedal once it got to high temperatures. The brake assembly used to be serviced the usual way at the authorized service centre by greasing the slide pins with appropriate grease from many different brands, but to no avail. The mechanic then felt it was the synthetic brake cylinder seal, but that too was not the culprit. I then decided to do a DIY of the problem and found out that the caliper pins were not the problem at all and neither was the piston rubber seal. The actual issue was with the front disc brake alloy pistons of the brake caliper assembly. Do not ask me why but the composition of the piston used in the Cruze Diesel in Bhaarath (India) was suspect as it enlarged minutely over time (it was not the brake cylinder rusting); I sanded it down and then cleaned it thoroughly and put back the assembly, and it has been a smooth ride ever since. Fuel efficiency too has gone up from 9kmpl to 14kmpl as there was severe drag from the brakes. Acceleration too has gone up by leaps and bounds. In my particular case, the piston was the culprit and not the sliding caliper pins, brake cylinder or the brake cylinder synthetic seal.

Be very careful when pumping out the piston completely. Worst case is it'll smash your fingers if the pressure is high enough.

I have been a mechanic for years. I do not recommend using brake lube on the the pad ears, but instead under the shims that the pads slide on. The issue that happens over time is the uncoated steel under the shim rusts and expands, pushing on the shims/pads making them tight. The proper solution is remove the shims, clean the rust, grease where the shim goes, then reinstall shims. This prevents the rust buildup under the shim. The shims always seem to be stainless steel in my experience and dont rust, pads slide easily across them without lube. The lube on pads can attract dirt and grime and be counter productive. I have not seen any new cars where the manufacturer greased the pad ears, but they do grease the slider pins obviously.

Man the pacing of this video is great. Quick simple explanation and presentation.

Nice video. You are the first presenter that I have seen who addresses the grinding of the tabs of the brake pads to insure movement. When I got my Nissan X terra, every time that I needed new pads this was a critical part of the process. Just did a brake job on the vehicle and I still have some brake noise. I rebuilt the last set of calipers, so now I will swap out the current with the rebuilt then rebuild this set for future use. I prefer to work on the bench rather than on the vehicle.

I just replaced brakes that were worn all the way down to metal pad. Caliper looked fine, compressed very easy. Moved in and out smoothly but would cause brake to drag when brake was released. After playing with this for a couple days I just replaced the caliper, but never saw anything wrong with it. Problem is now gone. Seems like the piston would only stick when under a load but when caliper was off vehicle worked perfectly.

Fixed 100s during my working days. Rebuilt calipers where pretty cheap and a quick fix. The sliders are often overlooked.

That screw and plate tool is so cool. I was struggling to get a piston open and never thought of something like this. I came for a bite of knowledge and I'm leaving with a full belly. Thank you!