Best Brake Caliper lube

[scooby074]

What are you using for brake caliper slider lube? Any factory OEM lubes that are the cats ***?

I swear Ive tried them all. Most of the loctite/permatex product (Green, Orange) except the "Extreme Purple" . SylGlide (which I think was best, but NA in my area off the shelf anymore). Plain old Antisieze, copper, nickel or silver

Im just doing brake job #4 after having caliper pins sieze. All 4 were on different cars, all were lubed with Kleen Flo Ceramic "purple" (below). All failed within 2 years due to siezure. If theres one product you should avoid its the one pictured below. It ***** and its costing me a lot of money.

 

[RickyPetite]

I like Mission Silicone Paste.

 

[mikey03]

I’ve used silglyde and ALWAYS replace the rubber boots every time I don’t mess around with that. You might go 5 years without changing brake pads and if the rubber is even only 30% worn you don’t know if it going to last 5 years

 

[Theronswanson]

I like this stuff

 

[Git]

I’ve used silglyde and ALWAYS replace the rubber boots every time I don’t mess around with that. You might go 5 years without changing brake pads and if the rubber is even only 30% worn you don’t know if it going to last 5 years

^ Yep

 

[scooby074]

Any love for Toyota's factory Red Rubber Grease 08887-01206? Called the parts dept. at 2 local Toyota dealerships and they acted like I was asking for plutonium, which implies that they aren't using it in their own shops .

Concerning as there are known compatibility issues with certain greases and Toyota rubber parts! There are Tsb from Toyota on the issue.

Biggest lexus / Toyota dealer in the province uses either Wurth Silicone grease or kleen flo Easy lube they told me.

I'm sure the wurth silicone is a quality product.

0888701206 - Toyota Toyota oem rubber grease 100g (lithium soap | Toyotatown Parts Direct, London ON

Genuine Toyota Part # 0888701206 (08887-01206) - Toyota oem rubber grease 100g (lithium soap based glycol grease). Oem. Made in japan. Ships from Toyotatown Parts Direct, London ON

www.toyotapartsdirect.ca

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Sylglide for the pins, plays nice with all rubber, including Toyota. Petroleum swells the toyota rubber up like ballons. Make sure to wipe it around the sealing surfaces of the boot as that's how rust gets in.

For contact points I like moly grease, ford brake grease from Valvoline is a good consistency and I usually buy the 1lb tubs.

I also apply this under the hardware to slow rust. The best option for under the hardware is actually anti seize in my experience as the oily/wet consistency soaks into the metal and resists wash out better than the moly grease.

After getting numerous "come backs" when the kid in the jiffy lube told the customer "anti seize isn't for brakes" I went back to moly grease despite the performance drop. Can't win them all.

 

[Hakeem]

What are you using for brake caliper slider lube? Any factory OEM lubes that are the cats ***?

I swear Ive tried them all. Most of the loctite/permatex product (Green, Orange) except the "Extreme Purple" . SylGlide (which I think was best, but NA in my area off the shelf anymore). Plain old Antisieze, copper, nickel or silver

Im just doing brake job #4 after having caliper pins sieze. All 4 were on different cars, all were lubed with Kleen Flo Ceramic "purple" (below). All failed within 2 years due to siezure. If theres one product you should avoid its the one pictured below. It ***** and its costing me a lot of money.

That’s a wild rate of failure. How do seized pins manifest themselves - with the brakes no longer functioning?

 

[AEAdam]

That’s a wild rate of failure. How do seized pins manifest themselves - with the brakes no longer functioning?

I’m with you Phil. There’s more to this story. Seized pins after 2 yrs tells me something other than choice of lubricant is to blame.

Instead of replacing grease I’d be replacing boots and pins. If their surface finish is degraded, that could lead to accelerated corrosion.

Finishes are expensive. Some economy cars skip finishes resulting in accelerated corrosion, especially here in northern America where we salt our roads. I try to do more remedial work on such vehicles (touching up paint, cold bluing etc)

 

[scooby074]

That’s a wild rate of failure. How do seized pins manifest themselves - with the brakes no longer functioning?

Uneven pad wear which ends with metal to metal contact (pad backing to rotor). Brakes will function mostly as normal until its too late and you get pulling or noise as the pads are worn out.

Not really caused by lack of prep in my case. Wire bore brush is used first to remove corrosion, then cleaned with solvent. Slider boots are OK, I'll change if torn, but changing by default is wasteful.

As mentioned, toyota has a tsb on rubber issues with certain lubes. I think thats what got me. Most were toyota with one ford.

 

[scooby074]

Sylglide for the pins, plays nice with all rubber, including Toyota. Petroleum swells the toyota rubber up like ballons. Make sure to wipe it around the sealing surfaces of the boot as that's how rust gets in.

For contact points I like moly grease, ford brake grease from Valvoline is a good consistency and I usually buy the 1lb tubs.

I also apply this under the hardware to slow rust. The best option for under the hardware is actually anti seize in my experience as the oily/wet consistency soaks into the metal and resists wash out better than the moly grease.

After getting numerous "come backs" when the kid in the jiffy lube told the customer "anti seize isn't for brakes" I went back to moly grease despite the performance drop. Can't win them all.

Your prep sounds about like mine. I'll hit all the rub points like back of pad and under the clips with brake grease too. After I wire brush.

I found out about the toyota swelling issue too late i think.

I think the purple stuff is going to get relegated to "Anti sieze" duty now. Just for use on the metal to metal contact until its used up.

Sylglyde used to be super common here but its ben replaced with permitex and/or kleen flo products at all the parts stores even the old school ones. Damn Henkel Mafia! Lol.

Napa (canada) doesn't even cary it anymore and when you ask for it they sub in kleen flo easy slide

 

[AldeanFan]

I use syl-glide, current tube is the Napa house brand which I’m confident is the same.

Lots of salt and de-icing compounds used here in Canada and I don’t drive many miles (work from home 4days a week) so stuck brakes are a real problem for me.

My daily driver only gets one oil change per year in the fall I pull and lube the caliper pins every time.

 

[AJHD]

I’m with you Phil. There’s more to this story. Seized pins after 2 yrs tells me something other than choice of lubricant is to blame.

Instead of replacing grease I’d be replacing boots and pins. If their surface finish is degraded, that could lead to accelerated corrosion.

Finishes are expensive. Some economy cars skip finishes resulting in accelerated corrosion, especially here in northern America where we salt our roads. I try to do more remedial work on such vehicles (touching up paint, cold bluing etc)

I can't explain it, but it's happened to me as well. Even on my personal vehicle.
I don't live in the rust belt and in all cases, there was no obvious sign of rust or corrosion, just whatever lube/grease was used.
All rubber also seemed to be intact.

On my personal vehicle, I replaced the slide pins, rubber and cleaned the pin bores. But I'm not sure what caused the issue originally.

I've used different products at different points in time both in the shop and outside of it... Permatex purple, Sil-Glyde, "Ceramlub", and currently using the Permatex orange. We'll see on the next brake job if anything changes.

Overall uneven brake pad wear is very common. Experienced it, seen it many times. But there are plenty of options when it comes to the variables/causes.

 

[jmdirk]

I've used the Permatex orange stuff without issue.

Though I'll usually try and do a brake inspection when I'm swapping between summer and winter tires. Doesn't take more than a few extra minutes per wheel to pull the caliper pins and check them.

I'm finding some manufacturers don't even have a brake service included anymore in the recommended maintenance. My 2016 F150 only calls for a brake inspection with each oil change. No recommended interval for a brake service or brake fluid change.

 

[rust in the eye]

IF coerced into working on a Toyota the rubber on the slide pins gets discarded. Problem solved.

 

[AJHD]

IF coerced into working on a Toyota the rubber on the slide pins gets discarded. Problem solved.

My Nissan has those too. No idea what they're for. Only has them on 1 of 2 pins on each caliper.

The real thing that bugs me is even the Nissan factory service manual doesn't distinguish between the pins or their location.

Speaking of which, I also don't know if their location makes any difference as both pins seem to fit with an equal amount of movement in both the pin bores/holes.

 

[rust in the eye]

My Nissan has those too. No idea what they're for. Only has them on 1 of 2 pins on each caliper.

The real thing that bugs me is even the Nissan factory service manual doesn't distinguish between the pins or their location.

Speaking of which, I also don't know if their location makes any difference as both pins seem to fit with an equal amount of movement in both the pin bores/holes.

I'll let someone familiar with Toyotas to speak to their purpose which I believe is anti-rattle. If feeble memory serves me the rubber goes on the the pin at the leading side of the caliper.
Did some Toyota brake work gratis for friends and that rubber swelled, likely to my using incorrect lube, and caused issues. Lessons learned; Don't assume an unfamiliar brand uses same techniques as what I'm accustomed to and #2; No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[mikey03]

Sylglide for the pins, plays nice with all rubber, including Toyota. Petroleum swells the toyota rubber up like ballons.

why would Toyota rubber be different from Honda rubber or any other kinds of rubber?

 

[rlitman]

why would Toyota rubber be different from Honda rubber or any other kinds of rubber?

Because EPDM, buna, SBR and neoprene all all forms of rubber, all with different chemical resistance, and I could easily see EPDM and neoprene used for these parts. Not that I have any idea what the OEMs actually use (well, I do know a lot use EPDM, but they don't all have that "new tire" smell to me, so I have to wonder).

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I’m with you Phil. There’s more to this story. Seized pins after 2 yrs tells me something other than choice of lubricant is to blame.

Instead of replacing grease I’d be replacing boots and pins. If their surface finish is degraded, that could lead to accelerated corrosion.

Finishes are expensive. Some economy cars skip finishes resulting in accelerated corrosion, especially here in northern America where we salt our roads. I try to do more remedial work on such vehicles (touching up paint, cold bluing etc)

Toyota rubber will have that effect VERY quickly with only incorrect grease choice. The purple/ceramic stuff absolutely balloons the toyota rubber, and there "grease" degrades into a chalky gunk. My theory is all of the oil section of the grease gets absorbed into the rubber bits. Permatex purple/ceramic is a poor choice in general for slide pins, but a lot of shops use it. The pins will be tight enough stuck to need an air hammer to remove, choked by the rubber. Once removed from the rubber, the pins slide easily and smoothly in the bore.

If replacing pins/boots especially on toyoto brakes, they need to be as a pair. The aftermarket rubber damper ring will be too large for toyota pins, and the toyota ring will be too loose on the aftermarket pins. I believe the rubber boots are slightly thicker diameter as just replacing the boots and using toyota factory pins can lead to a very tight fit where aftermarket pins move freely.


I have seen many brake jobs foiled by permatex purple on slide pins, and toyota is likely the most easily effected.

 

[Jon h]

Kleen Flo eze slide silicone from Napa

 

[AEAdam]

Toyota rubber will have that effect VERY quickly with only incorrect grease choice. The purple/ceramic stuff absolutely balloons the toyota rubber, and there "grease" degrades into a chalky gunk. My theory is all of the oil section of the grease gets absorbed into the rubber bits. Permatex purple/ceramic is a poor choice in general for slide pins, but a lot of shops use it. The pins will be tight enough stuck to need an air hammer to remove, choked by the rubber. Once removed from the rubber, the pins slide easily and smoothly in the bore.

If replacing pins/boots especially on toyoto brakes, they need to be as a pair. The aftermarket rubber damper ring will be too large for toyota pins, and the toyota ring will be too loose on the aftermarket pins. I believe the rubber boots are slightly thicker diameter as just replacing the boots and using toyota factory pins can lead to a very tight fit where aftermarket pins move freely.


I have seen many brake jobs foiled by permatex purple on slide pins, and toyota is likely the most easily effected.

I am NOT a materials scientist. My speciality is mechanical stuff. We must have a materials person on this board. I've seen a couple mentions, but not sure if there's been a thread on this or not. Here's my request:

Can someone summarize what the "rubber" material for:
Serpentine Belts
Radiator Hoses
Power steering hoses
Rubber brake lines
Fuel lines
Rubber flex boots like CV, assuming brake calipers are similar
Rubber window seals, windshield gaskets, etc

Then for extra credit what are interior bits made from?
Christmas trees and other plastic panel fasteners
Rubber floor mats (like the one in my F150, not the weather tech ones you buy and install yourself)
Interior hard plastic dashes, inner door panels etc.

If you want to start a new thread, that would be preferable. Then let's get a grease compatibility chart. If the answer is "everything is EPDM" I'll be embarrassed, but go for it.

Here's how dumb I am about this subject: I keep SuperLube on hand because I believe is it generally compatible with everything (rubbers, not greases). It's convenient, not messy and non toxic, so if I get it on my hands, then have a sandwich, I'm not poisoning myself. I bought a tube of dielectric grease the other day for my battery terminals. Pretty sure SuperLube IS ALSO a dielectric grease. I probably have a dozen products in all different containers for different uses that are either all the same or when combined would blow up my garage. I just have no idea about this stuff. Can someone please help me? I'm sure your answer would do some good here.

 

[rlitman]

...Can someone summarize what the "rubber" material for:
Serpentine Belts
Radiator Hoses
...
Fuel lines...

Serpentine belts used to be a TPV like Santoprene or chloroprene, which is why they were prone to cracking. EPDM is used in all stretch belts, and many modern micro-V serpentine belts. Gates has special testing tools, because EPDM belts cannot be visually assessed (they don't crack, yet can be totally failed).

Radiator hoses are most frequently EPDM (the typical choice for long term water contact), but can be silicone (which presents it's own issues). Many differing qualities of EPDM separate the good stuff from the ****.

Fuel lines can be just about anything, BUT "fuel injection hose" will have a fluorinated barrier lining to protect the rubber hose from the pressurized gasoline.

The rest of the list I can't spew out straight from memory.

 

[scooby074]

Kleen Flo eze slide silicone from Napa

Yup. Thats the same stuff my local NAPA is subbing in for SylGlyde.

 

[Steve_P]

I have both the SylGlide and a 3M silicone past in a jar. Not sure which I bought first, but both of them work for me.

 

[PopcornSutton]

On my Dodge truck, it's been notorious for the calipers freezing up. What seems to be the culprit is it has metal (stainless) clips that fit on the caliper bracket and the pad ends fit on these clips. I know the pads themselves don't move much, but they need to move as they wear. The caliper has two pins that it rides on. Over time, the pads, clips seem to rust in place, and ultimately only the inside pad applies pressure and wears. In the past when I have changed pads, I would clean, wire brush all the surfaces. Since the clips were new (provided) with the pads they were used. Never did the pins corrode or freeze up,

I just did it all over again, this time with new rotors and news pads and clips. I used Permatex synthetic ultra brake lube and everything. I coated the bracket surfaces that contact the shims, coated the shims where the pads lock onto. And of course I coated the pins when I put it all back in place. I did notice that the pads were very hard to get over the shims, looks like the paint coating was too thick on the inside of the notch that fits on the clips. I scrapped those down to bare metal then coated with the lube. They snapped right in place then. So time will tell.

 

[rlitman]

On my Dodge truck, it's been notorious for the calipers freezing up. What seems to be the culprit is it has metal (stainless) clips that fit on the caliper bracket and the pad ends fit on these clips...

The last few brake jobs I've done were with Carquest Wearever Gold pad kits, and they included the stainless clips, but the clips were all black. They had a slippery shiny coating (believe ptfe) on the side that faces the pad ears, and a very thin rubberized coating (probably for anti-squeak) on the side that meets the bracket. In the past, I've always found rust spots on used stainless clips. Kind of like the rust spots on Cybertrucks, stainless will rust where iron contacts it, and there's plenty of iron in brake dust, so exposed stainless here just doesn't make sense. Time will tell how these coating help, but I have high hopes for it.

I wouldn't have touched the paint on the pads. Anything that protect the steel pad ears from corrosion helps. What you want to do is give the bracket a really good scraping (I use a chisel), before sticking the clips back in. You could use a wire brush, but you don't need shiny metal. You just need to remove any rust flakes.

 

[PopcornSutton]

The last few brake jobs I've done were with Carquest Wearever Gold pad kits, and they included the stainless clips, but the clips were all black. They had a slippery shiny coating (believe ptfe) on the side that faces the pad ears, and a very thin rubberized coating (probably for anti-squeak) on the side that meets the bracket. In the past, I've always found rust spots on used stainless clips. Kind of like the rust spots on Cybertrucks, stainless will rust where iron contacts it, and there's plenty of iron in brake dust, so exposed stainless here just doesn't make sense. Time will tell how these coating help, but I have high hopes for it.

I wouldn't have touched the paint on the pads. Anything that protect the steel pad ears from corrosion helps. What you want to do is give the bracket a really good scraping (I use a chisel), before sticking the clips back in. You could use a wire brush, but you don't need shiny metal. You just need to remove any rust flakes.

I did clean the bracket surfaces with a wire brash so no scale was left. As far as the ears of the pad, when they won't fit over the bracket/clips, you have to do something. The paint was definitely thick on the inside, plus it was obvious these metal plates were punched, not cut, nothing precision about them. So I opted to scrape the paint off, I did not file or enlarge, my focus was the pads to fit and be able to move.

 

[rlitman]

I did clean the bracket surfaces with a wire brash so no scale was left. As far as the ears of the pad, when they won't fit over the bracket/clips, you have to do something. The paint was definitely thick on the inside, plus it was obvious these metal plates were punched, not cut, nothing precision about them. So I opted to scrape the paint off, I did not file or enlarge, my focus was the pads to fit and be able to move.

Fair enough. I'm just confused, because these should fit pretty loosely.

 

[PopcornSutton]

I agree.

 

[NHtoolguy]

I use 3M Silicone Paste for caliper guide pins, and Permatex Ceramic Extreme purple lube for the brackets and pads. I just recently learned that the silicone paste has been discontinued, so I'll likely try one of the alternatives mentioned in this thread.

 

[cmandp]

I used to buy the little Purple ceramic brake grease packets. But didn't need to rebuild any caliper brackets or slide pins until recently.

But i then needed to rebuild the brother in laws Fiat 500X slide pins. Sil-glyde or Napa equivalent is what I bought, I dont remember which. Worked great!

 

[dscheidt]

I wouldn't have touched the paint on the pads. Anything that protect the steel pad ears from corrosion helps. What you want to do is give the bracket a really good scraping (I use a chisel), before sticking the clips back in. You could use a wire brush, but you don't need shiny metal. You just need to remove any rust flakes.

if you live somewhere that salts the roads, you need to use something more aggressive than a wire brush. You might think you got it clean, but there can be a really had layer of corrosion still there. Sand blasting or a file are the way to go.

 

[bcschief]

Back in the 80s Ford recommended dialectic grease and to be serviced every 30k miles.

 

[Chipm]

I have been using CRC synthetic brake caliper grease with pretty good success. I pull the pins and clean out all the old grease with solvent every time. One of the youtube guys, maybe Flat Rate Master, had a video about purple stuff seizing pins.

 

[pbon]

I used to use Purple but read the same thing about sliders and know I used it on some. I don’t like using 2 different greases on a brand job so I changed to Permatex Red that is Silicon Ceramic.