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Figured I'd see if anyone else has experienced this issue.
So I purchased my CU2 in Oct 2017. Upon purchasing, driving home noticed a audible pop/click when braking or leaving a stop. I deemed it as a bad ball joint, upon further inspection noticed the front caliper slide pins frozen. Up on stands it went, pulled the caliper brackets, cleaned and lubricated the slide pins, reinstalled everything. Good to go...so I thought. Fast forward another 10k miles, same audible pop/click. Having experienced this once before, pulled the brackets again. Guess what? Slide pins frozen. Cleaned, slide pin grease, reinstalled everything. Good to go again...or was I?
Fast forward to yesterday, wife and I went to Branson, MO (about 45 min drive), coming to a stop...does it again. At this point I'm super frustrated. It's been like 8k miles since last cleaning. I opted to go ahead and replace the pads this time. Thoroughly clean with brake clean, q tips, probably over lubricate all the slide pins. Inspected the dust boots, no cracks. Put everything back together with fresh pads/grease. No more noise.
Am I missing something here? Caliper brackets look great, aside from being dirty on the outside. Thoughts?
Are all these parts currently installed on the car? Also note the upper & lower slide pins are different.
For lubrication of the slide pins, you should be using NigLube RM. That is what was used at the factory when the car was made. Unfortunately Honda/Acura does not sell that lube but, Mitsubishi does.
Since you bought the car used and don't know the history of the vehicle. Remove the caliper brackets from the knuckle and inspect the bolt holes. Also the mounting bolts for wear. I recommend replacing the slide pins if you have not already done so. Is the caliper piston #10 dust boot intact?
Are all these parts currently installed on the car? Also note the upper & lower slide pins are different.
For lubrication the slide pins, you should be using NigLube RM. That is what was used at the factory when the car was made. Unfortunately Honda/Acura does not sell that lube but, Mitsubishi does.
Short answer is yes. When removing the caliper brackets prior to cleaning, all parts were returned to their correct location. I only know this, because when cleaning I did 1 slide pin at a time. As far as the grease goes, I purchased some of the ceramic brake grease from Autozone. I've used it in the past, with zero issues.
I think if this happens again, I'll just order new caliper brackets and all associated hardware (pins/boots). It's possible that whomever did maintenance on it before mixed the slide pins up. But the diagram posted above, looks like how I installed them.
When I cleaned them the other day, I noticed that almost all of the "brake lubricant" (from my previous application) seemed to be solidified. If that makes sense. Its almost like it was cooking in the caliper bracket. All the caliper pistons are free, and compress as they should. So I didn't suspect any fowl play with a possible bad caliper.
Last edited by jdmjustin; Jun 4, 2019 at 11:53 AM.
You never know when you buy a used vehicle! I edited my post while you were quoting me. So look back on what I said you should do with the brackets.
Yeah the pin boot was free from damage, appeared to be intact. As far as the bracket itself, the bolt that mount it to the spindle aren't damaged and thread freely by hand. I only use hand tools on my vehicles to reduce the possibility of damage.
As far as the slide pins go, last time (read: before this time), I ordered new pins. During inspection I deemed the originals in serviceable condition. I opted to not replace them at the time.
I think if this happens again, I'll just order new brackets, slide pins and dust boots.
