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Vibration at high 60 mph, brakes malfunctioning?


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I went through a number of days when my 97 Outback had a shimmy when I went over 60 mph or so. Driver's side front brake was smoking a couple times, I checked it removed the wheel and sprayed the metals parts down with PB Blaster.  Problem seems to have gone away.  Do malfunctioning calipers get better ever? As the front brake overheated a few times but has gotten better now no shimmy, am I still likely going to have to replace the caliper?

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Depends.  You really need to get the slides that allow the caliper to move in and out freed up.  They are protected by boots and are in essence the sleeve that the bolt and hinge run through.  Once you get them freed and greased up well, that may solve your problem.  Also, you can usually buy the sleeves and boots separately for much less than a caliper.

 

Sometimes, however the caliper is siezed more where the piston presses out.  That would mean time for a new caliper.

 

Haven't watched this, but videos like this are all over the web:

 

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Do you mean vibrating while driving at 60mph or while.pushing the brakes at 60mph?

 

Did you spray the rotor surface with on blaster?

 

If it's while driving then wheel ligs weren't tight, snow packed inside wheel, wheel needs balanced....

 

If brake related Need to find the failure:

1. Seizing caliper pins

2. Bent or rust or debris/dust build up on brake caliper clips

3. Internally collapsing brake hose (rare on Subarus)

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It was vibrating at higher speeds before I did something about the apparent caliper problem.  Caliper was definitely sticking, seems OK now.  

A sticking caliper will not fix itself. Be assured the problem will return. The caliper needs to be investigated to see what is going on. As others have said, it is either a sticking slide pin, or caliper piston is not retracting properly with foot off the brake pedal.

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its just my two cents but calipers have come down so much in price now that especially on twenty year old cars (like the one i just bought) one of the first items i will get is a rotor and caliper set. and nice pads. theyre really pretty cheap now its amazing its not worth playing around with them and they look a lot better too. esp in a cold climate area. :)

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Replacement is simple for sure. That's a great fit for simplicity and availability and clean install and finish. And if everything is compromised - clips, pins, rust...great fit No doubt.

 

Do the aftermarkets come with new clips?

 

But The OEM units routinely last the life of the vehicle if well maintained. It's pretty easy to maintain them and if they do fail the rebuild kits are even cheaper and that's easy as well. but that's a rare failure on Subarus.

 

Some folks have had aftermarket calipers rust up within a few years. Presumably the most likely people to replace calipers are those in rust prone areas. Some folks may want to avoid possibiy cheaper metal castings that may rust. If the metal is cheaper tolerances and piston seals may not be as tight as OEM either. Probably low faikure but usually no compelling reason for me.

 

I would rebuild or replace with used Subaru calipers (nonrusty ones from the west or south) before aftermarkets.

 

But I agree it is much mich simpler to just buy the whole thing and have a nice clean install all the way around. Cheap and a great deal.

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well the thing i just mentioned the parts stores but a lot of the rebuilds are subaru refurbished. thats generally what i go for if i can find them. most of the companies selling them are too cheap to actually make new ones i think.

i remember when i had one of my older wagons i got powerstop rotors and when i researched them they were actually the rotors they used in like corvettes and mustangs now.and i think the sube 4 rotors cost 120?

the one thing i like too about the total rebuild idea is that when people try to piece it together like i used to, the shop says replace one caliper cause it's frozen, well thats all they do, whereas i like to get new rubber lines at the caliper too, and the one great benefit is you replace all the brake fluid.

and some of those caipers man are they rusty i mean the rust and dirt just flakes off when you take it apart. half the time what could have been a one or two hour job turns into an al day affair because a bolt breaks off.

some of the kits come with hardware, some dont. some are loaded with pads already but i like to get a nice set of ceramic or two. that way really you probably never have to change the brakes again something else will go on the car before then. :)

ive just had terrible accidents when i was young and brakes are nothing to fool around with.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I got into the caliper finally today as I picked up replacement pads, etc. with the brake tool kit rental, and one of the two caliper pistons is nearly frozen, the other went back in fine.  How involved is the caliper replacement without a helper to pump the brakes, etc.?  Thanks.  It doesn't look like lubricant lol is going to help this time around.   

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Buy a "one man brake bleeder" kit. They are cheap, and work great.

 

Here is a URL to a you tube video showing how it is done.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTmlOZbXgs

 

The guy in the video makes his own catch bottle, but you can buy a kit with a catch bottle included.

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OK, thanks, will review it and do tomorrow probably.   Outside in parking area with signs "no working on cars", wrench shouldn't be a challenge to get the caliper off.  My friend's mechanic said a failing caliper is very dangerous, but my guess Subaru ones as less so than some makes.

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I would get a used caliper if you have a lot of rust in your area. www.car-part.com

 

You can also rebuild the caliper if the piston/bore isn't too damaged. I've rebuilt every subaru caliper i've attempted. Push out piston, clean up bore, clean up piston and just reinstall the piston with a new oring.

The single piston caliper rebuild kits were like $3 a few years ago, the doubles not much more. really cheap and easy.

 

As to calipers being dangerous - Yes and no.

 

They can be very dangerous if the caliper itself is actually failing - meaning leaking fluid past the piston seal, essentially the only failure mode of a caliper. Basically the only failure mode is fluid leaking past the cylinder seal. If the piston frozen/stuck then presumably there is rust/corrossion there and leaking at some point is inevitable once that seal is compromised. It's just entirely unknown when that would be - tomorrow or 100 years.

 

If you loose fluid there is air and you'll have essentially no braking which on these rear-brake emergency brake equipped vehicles is very dangerous. Driving with the ebrake on EJ vehicles is not safe. I generally do it in the middle of the night with no traffic and would not recommend it for anyone.

 

But often "failed" calipers are mis-diagnosed, they're replaced by shops due to stuck pins which can be replaced without replacing the calipers.

Edited by grossgary
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Relatively easy, and it sure beats having the drag; on the last half tank of 7 gallons I got around 100 miles with the drag.

 

Advance auto had the caliper for $50 with the discounts, free brake bleed kit and other brake replacement rentals.....I had to separate the new caliper from the bracket for the time being as I don't have the 17mm to install it.   Junkyards did not have OE calipers.

Edited by ThosL
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