99 Leg. Wagon Anniversary edition, 126,000 miles, auto. There was a loud noise when braking... kind of a loud sqeak, growl, not-quite-a-grind sound... didn't quite sound like bad brakes but the pads were low, so I replaced them. Old pads were super rusty and material was cracked. Took out one of the caliper pins because it seemed stiffer than the other one. Added some grease and tried to push it back in... it just pushed back out, and I couldn't even get it far enough in to slip the caliper back over it. Eventually, I removed as much grease from the inside of the hole as possible and it seemed to go in futher, making it possible to slip the caliper in place, but it was also pushing back out harder than the other pin.

 

So, 1) Will uneven 'pushout pressure' between the pins cause me problems? (new pads seem to be working fine after test drive) and...

2) For future referrence, did I just have too much grease in the hole, or was there some other cause? It acted like it was trapping air in the hole behind the pin.

 

Now, the second issue.... the squeek. Part of the brake noise involved some squeaking from the front driver's side tire. The brakes are new, and I still have a light squeak when turning right. Quiet to the left and straight. Sounds like a little bird down there. Any ideas on what's squeaking?

 

Thanks!

Mike

A stuck slide pin will give uneven pad wear. You'll see when you change these out Some of the slide pins have a rubber grommet kind of deal on the end of them (the end that goes inside the caliper holder) A lot of times when you remove the pin, that piece of rubber comes off and stays lodged in there. Making it so that you can't put the pin all the way back in without removing it. That's my idea at the moment, I just got home from work...13 hours of Subaru today,lol.

 

Oh, and as for the squeek, check to make sure you didn't bend the rotor shield on the back so that it is contacting the rotor now. Otherwise, give it a few real hard stops and see if it still makes the noise.

Did you clean the pin?

 

I hope you used brake lube.

 

Most likely you used way too much grease and the pin cavity is now full of grease. You push the pin in and there is air traped. You push hard, you compress the air, and it acts like a spring.