Cleaning Brake Caliper Clip Lands

[SKAutomotive]

Looking for suggestions on how you best clean the surfaces the brake pad clips clip onto. I have been using a brass wire wheel on a drill for years, tried using a Roloc on an angle die grinder and it just eats up the edges too fast. I would like to clean them faster and better than the wire wheel and drill do, so how do you attack this when doing a brake job?

 

[fatboy99]

I take the caliper frame off and glass bead blast them. Then apply a light coat of high temp paint.

 

[davedriveschevys]

I use a large file and then coat the surface with fluid film. Here in the northeast rust builds up between the stainless clips and the bracket preventing the pad from sliding. In most cases its so bad you cant even get the new pads in without performing this step.

 

[Fedwrench]

Here in the desert southwest, i take my Lisle caliper brush and make a few passes to remove the dust build up. Who gets rusty cross over brackets?

 

[oilslick]

Get a needle scaler, unbeatable on rusty brackets and rust lips on drums and hubs. Blue point makes a good Harbour freight knockoff one! I use a Harbour freight model daily it seems for the last 4-5 years and it is now due for replacement since it shed a couple needles a while back but it's only 20 bucks!

 

[chickenhauler]

I've used Roloc, wire brush, scraper, wire wheel and files, and glass bead blasting. Depends on what's closest, how bad they are, and if the customer is waiting. I only have the big needle scaler, so it's reserved more for cleaning up drums or rotor vents.

 

[SKAutomotive]

I will look into the needle scaler, maybe someone at the shop has one I can try out. I am in the northeast as well, New England to be more exact so every single brake job I do is on a rust bucket, and have the same problem with the pads sliding if I don't clean it thoroughly. I work on imports so I run into the problem with the die angle that it is too high to get in there and sit flat so I have to do it at an angle and it chews up the disc real bad and real quick. And that's with a "mini" one.

 

[volaredon]

Get a needle scaler, unbeatable on rusty brackets and rust lips on drums and hubs. Blue point makes a good Harbour freight knockoff one! I use a Harbour freight model daily it seems for the last 4-5 years and it is now due for replacement since it shed a couple needles a while back but it's only 20 bucks!

a Harbor freight knockoff... I thought HF made knockoffs of everyone else's tools not the other way around;

and it depends on how badly rusted they are, along with how much of a PITA the caliper bracket is to pull off; on my son's 90 Dodge 4WD heavy 3/4 ton with a Dana 60 front axle, I ain't pulling the spindle off just to toss it in the blaster tank; but on the neighbor's Honduh, no problem taking that one off...
I had the kid use a flat file and some emery cloth off the roll.... he needs to learn this stuff.

 

[SKAutomotive]

a Harbor freight knockoff... I thought HF made knockoffs of everyone else's tools not the other way around;

and it depends on how badly rusted they are, along with how much of a PITA the caliper bracket is to pull off; on my son's 90 Dodge 4WD heavy 3/4 ton with a Dana 60 front axle, I ain't pulling the spindle off just to toss it in the blaster tank; but on the neighbor's Honduh, no problem taking that one off...
I had the kid use a flat file and some emery cloth off the roll.... he needs to learn this stuff.

Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of not taking the brackets off at work. The on car lathe has been broken since...well the dawn of time...so to turn the rotors, they have to come off. Subaru caliper bolts love to freeze, I have gotten so use to it and dealt with it so many times that I heat the suckers immediately and can now get broken bolts out in 2-3 minutes flat. Every customer gets recommended for new caliper bolts and I anti-seize them, but by the time they need new brakes again, they probably already started going to independent shops. You are welcome indy guys.

 

[jhelrey]

Square file... Remove clip, file mount bracket, reinstall