99 Subaru Outback Automatic: Right front wheel is heating up which appears related to recent brake pad replacement. The lower pin for the caliper does not move. I am assuming the caliper should slide easily and this id the cause of the heat and smoke. Is it easy to replace the pin and how?

Let me rephrase. The top pin moves freely. The bottom is stuck. This is the caliper with two bolts, one bolt on the top and one on the bottom. How do you remove the bottom pin in order to replace it? It does move at all.

hehe...remove very carefully. If it's really siezed in there might need heat and vise grips to get it out. Then inspect the pin and bore. The pin can be replaced, but if the bore is corrdoed then that can be trouble. Let's see what picds I have on file.......

and the new purple ceramic...don't have a pic of that yet.

 

It is in there and I really don't have time to mess with it unfortunately. I think i will buy another caliper bracket but can't seem to find one that won't take a few days to get here. Anyone know of a place in Allentown or Bethlehem that would have one tomorrow?

That's the lock pin, which has a rubber grommet on the end of it. They tend to be more difficult to remove. Try attaching the the caliper to the lock pin, tighten the bolt, and swing the caliper back and forth in order to work that pin loose. Then remove the caliper and grasp the end of the pin with a pair of vise-grips, being careful not to distort the pin, and pull outward as you turn the pin.

 

If that doesn't work, reattach the caliper to the lock pin, pivot the caliper away from the rotor and hit the caliper with a soft-faced mallet to work the pin out. If the brake hose does not allow this, the easiest thing would be to remove in order to accomplish this task.

I fought with this same issue not too long ago. I spent about 2 hours whacking, twisting, and cussing to no avail. Pulled the whole shootin' match off (caliper and bracket) and put it in a vice, added some penetrating oil and 15 minutes later drove it out with a rod of metal of similar diameter, took a couple minutes.

I ended up buying a new caliper semi loaded with the bracket included. The caliper probably was OK but the extreme temperatures it experienced must have caused some damage. Either way, easy repair. Bled the fluid on all four wheels and back on the road. Replacing rotors this weekend since heat warped the passenger front. Sometimes it is just easier to spend the extra money - still less than the local shop.

Porcupine...is that the seal kit for the single piston front calipers? That acts on the 260mm disc?