Which way do the caliper pins go?

[Gene J]

MY caliper brackets finally arrived for my 98 GT Legacy with two piston front disks. And of course I have a question.

 

The 26226AC012 brackets are interchangeable. They are exactly the same from side to side. No problem there.

 

The slider pins look like they should be the same but they are not. They are the same length but different shapes. They slide down to exactly the same depth. (dial indicators are cool) Guide pin 26228AC002 is solid all the way to the bottom but has 3 flat spots machined on the sides. Guide pin 26228AC011 is similar except it has no flat spots and one end is a smaller diameter. Could there be a spring that goes there to preload to caliper? No springs or other additional pieces show on the exploded parts list.

 

I cannot believe the engineers would have designed two different parts with exactly the same function. What gives??? Which pin goes towards the front? Remember I could not get the pins out of the last brackets even with a torch and a 3 foot pipe wrench. Hence the new parts. I want to do this right and not half anused.

 

And last question... Do I lube these things with brake caliper lube? That would be my guess.

[porcupine73]

Hi. One might be 'green' and one might be 'gold'. You can only notice the colors if all the grease is wiped off.

 

Here's the diagram; it's for rear disc brake for '00obw but maybe it gives the idea; same looking pins but different noted color.

[Gene J]

The pins are new so the color is very apparent!

 

The pin with the three machined sides is silver. The pin with the narrower end is gold.

 

What does the "lock" pin lock do? It looks like a clip could go there but there is no clip in the diagram.

[jamal]

there's a little plastic piece that goes on the gold pin. Not sure what it's for or why they aren't both the same:

 

[Gene J]

there's a little plastic piece that goes on the gold pin. Not sure what it's for or why they aren't both the same:

 

 

Ah Ha! You are a genius! Those pieces are in the reseal kit!

 

It looks like they provide a little bit of drag so the caliper kind of stays where it was instead of sliding back and forth too easily! OK. One of each kind of pin goes on each side. It shouldn't make a difference which is front or back.

 

Those engineers at Subaru are kind of smart too!

[tcspeer]

I think the one with the little rubber tip goes on the bottom, I always thought the purpose for the tip was to work like a suction of a pump to force caliper back after you release the brake.

[Setright]

I can confirm that the pin with the rubber bung goes in the bottom hole. The one you undo to swing the caliper up when changing pads.

 

I can also say that if you use copper grease on the sliders, that rubber bung will expand and lock the caliper.....been there...done that...not too proud of that one.

 

Using silicone based grease these days