[RickBlaine]

So I took my brakes off in order to paint the calipers and brackets. When I removed the upper slider pins on my front brake brackets, I noticed it took a lot of effort.

Loyal readers will know aranoid: that I did a complete brake job just 5 months ago. I cleaned and re-lubed the slider pins at that time- using Permatex Ceramic Extreme Brake Lubricant (Purple can), I reinserted everything and it all worked fine.

But when I pulled them today I noticed that the little "rubber bush" (item #9 in the part's link below) that attaches to the end of the front brake's upper slider pins was swollen, so they would not come out easily nor could I slide the upper pin back in easily.

Look at part #9
http://www.bkhondaparts.com/oem-par...atic/chassis/front-brake-1/bush/45233-s01-a01


The front brake's upper slider pin with old (above) and new (below the slider pin) rubber bush:

Old and swollen (on the left) vs. New and original size (on the right)

I picked up two new little rubber bush sleeves and could instantly tell that the swollen old ones were restricting movement.

I know rubber can swell up and expand over time, and more rapidly if you use the wrong type of brake lubricant. I am not knocking the Permatex stuff (those little rubber bush things and rubber boots are original to the car- now 8 years old) but decided to use good old Sil-Glyde (NAPA carries it, so does Advance Auto, O'Rielly's, all the usual suspects) on the upper pins with the new little rubber bush things. They slid in very easily....

Anyhow, next time you do your brakes, look at those little rubber bush sleeves and determine if they are swollen. I replaced them and all four swollen boots- the whole front set was just $7.99 at O'Reilly's Auto parts (PART NUMBER 13521Q and it includes new shims- such a deal!). Look at how the original ones swelled up in 8 years!
Old ones on top (like a prize-fighter that should have retired long ago ):

Now I have happy brakes:

 

[(K)]

I used sil-glyde when I did my rears also. It's a good thing you checked your fronts when you did, looks like it could have potentially caused your brakes to drag. Gotta have the happy brakes.

 

[BLCKFLSH]

Nice to know, and something I will have to check when I do the front brakes. I had to order a bottle of the silicone paste because no stores seem to have it in stock.
However, after thinking about this, could the difference between the two be, at least in part, due to OEM vs OReilly (aftermarket) parts?

 

[2006accord4]

Good info!

I'll probably change both of those rubber parts every time I do brakes on mine. Doesn't add much cost.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/
Part # 16108

 

[RickBlaine]

2006accord4: Good point but your set listed above is NOT the set I bought at O'Reilly's Auto parts. For $7.99 I purchased part number 13521Q shown here:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BHH0/13521Q.oap?ck=Search_13521q_-1_3391&keyword=13521q

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it is also $7.99 but includes new shims too! Don't ask me why that is, just buy the more comprehensive set for the front brakes.

1) Autozone wanted $17.99 for their set
2) Advance Auto charges $12.99 for the boots only (no shims).
3) O'Reilly's #13521Q includes four new boots, two new rubber sleeves, four new shims, and four springs (which you don't need) for the front brake calipers. Again, their part number is 13521Q and is $7.99.
4) The dealership will not sell the rubber boots as a separate item. You have to purchase the caliper rebuild kit for $28 for each caliper in order to get those boots. You can get the little rubber sleeves as a separate item from the dealership though....they are about $3.42 each.

 

[RickBlaine]

after thinking about this, could the difference between the two be, at least in part, due to OEM vs OReilly (aftermarket) parts?

BLCKFLSH: Excellent point!- I left O'Reilly's and stopped (on the way home) at Castle Honda in Morton Grove, IL to talk to Angel at the parts counter. He had one rubber bush sleeve in stock (not the two I needed) but was kind enough to bring it out so we could eyeball it. The new O'Reilly's rubber bush sleeve was the same size as the NEW Honda rubber bush sleeve. You can easily eyeball the difference between the new ones (be they Honda or O'Reilly's) vs. the old swollen one that was making it difficult for me to slide the pin in/out of the caliper mounting bracket.

Rubber can dry out and shrink, or swell up, or tear over the years.

 

[BLCKFLSH]

So you think it was the purple stuff, the age of the bushings, or both that made them swell up?

 

[RickBlaine]

So you think it was the purple stuff, the age of the bushings, or both that made them swell up?

I don't know....:dunno:

In the past 24 hours I've seen a couple of blog posts that stated that the Permatex purple stuff may have caused rubber swelling (Chevys, a Mitsubishi too) but each of these vehicles were at least 5 years old and I could not verify if the brakes were done before- nor what which lubricant was used.

I do remember the rubber boots being somewhat "larger" back in May when I first did all four brakes- but I did not compare it to new as the rubber boots were not torn or frayed- so I just re-used them.

When I reused those front brake upper slider pins back in May, they went in OK, but not easily like in Eric the Car Guy's videos, nor as easily as they went in yesterday with new rubber sleeves.

I think for my next yearly disassemble and cleaning (remember, I live in Chicago where road salt is KING during the winter) in May of 2014 I will pull all 8 boots and compare them to see what happened since September of 2013.

For my controlled experiment, the upper slider pins have Sil-Glyde and the lower pins have Permatex Ceramic purple stuff.....I can compare them and post photos to answer the question: Was it the Permatex that swelled the rubber? Or was it simply the 8 years of driving?

By the way- I never heard or saw a post about Sil-Glyde causing swelling.
But I saw many stating that age swelled their rubber parts.

 

[t-rd]

The OEM boots seem to be larger with more pleats. I've never replaced the OEM boots on my old 98 Accord V6 and I haven't yet either on my 07 Accord V6, 7 years later. You don't know where these boots came from from China (yep, I'm a China hater because I'm Taiwanese).

 

[RickBlaine]

@t-rd: One of my closest and oldest friends that I grew up with here in Chicago is Taiwanese- and I learned that distinction a long time ago.:thmsup:

You may be right, I may be crazy, but it was not the boots I was looking for. (apologies to Billy Joel)

I had to make an executive decision- let the car sit while I special ordered the Honda OEM caliper re-build kit (which was over-kill) or spend just $7.99 on the O'Reilly's parts and get moving.

The boots were not the concern- the rubber bush sleeve things were. The original boots, though swollen, were still doing their job. I will take all four brakes apart in May of 2014 and report updates on all the replaceable items.

Many automotive replacement parts are made in China.aranoid:

 

[t-rd]

I use this, http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ic-grease/_/N-268d?itemIdentifier=826455_0_0_

Just make sure you burp the air out of the rubber boot then it shouldn't expand.

 

[2006accord4]

I use this, http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ic-grease/_/N-268d?itemIdentifier=826455_0_0_

I use the same one.

 

[BLCKFLSH]

This is what I use on the Honda brakes slide pins. It works great on the rubber run channels for the windows too.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d..._silicone+paste_-1_781&keyword=silicone+paste