Is it time to replace them? (Caliper bolt hanger pin)

[Sidekick]

I am cleaning and checking the front brake and the caliper pins are rusty and scored.
Can I just polish and lube or should I replace them?
It's not about the $ but about the time lost waiting for parts...
Thank you!

 

[capnkirk]

Looks pretty ugly. I'd replace.

 

[Igofar]

Replace them, as well as the small o-ring at the end of the pin.
This o-ring keeps the pin centered.
An easy way to install the o-ring is to take a piece of cardboard, lay the o-ring on it, apply a little bit of rubber friendly grease, then push the pin downward onto the o-ring.
The cardbard will sink in a bit, trapping the o-ring, then hold it in place while the pin slides through it.
Put a very light coating of antiseize on the pin surface so the pads slide (float) freely.
PIN, HANGER
45215-MAJ-G41
Retail Price: $6.42
Your Price: $4.77
RING, STOPPER
45111-MAJ-G41
Retail Price: $3.78
Your Price: $2.81

 

[rwthomas1]

I'd clean them up and reinstall, but only to keep riding whilst waiting for parts! It's riding season! No downtime, miles to run.

 

[Slydynbye]

Ditto what RWt says clean, shine and lightly oil. Order parts and replace.
That expensive little o-ring is tough to remove so order a new one.

 

[Igofar]

Ditto what RWt says clean, shine and lightly oil. Order parts and replace.
That expensive little o-ring is tough to remove so order a new one.

Jeff, why would you tell someone to put oil on the pin that goes through the pads?
You know someone, somewhere, will think spraying them with WD40 or applying gear oil to it….because I read it on a forum
No Stan’s donut for you today.

 

[SMSW]

Jeff, why would you tell someone to put oil on the pin that goes through the pads?.....
No Stan’s donut for you today.

Exactly, just chuck the pin in a battery op drill and use some very fine sandpaper on the pin. If you start with 320 wet or dry and work your way up to 600 grit you will end up with a nice polish that will not need any lube. Since there will be no plating to prevent corrosion, you must replace the pin when your new parts arrive.

 

[dduelin]

They are meant to be installed dry without lubricant or coatings of any kind.

 

[SMSW]

I forfeit the Donut.

Your tag line is "I ride for pie", you don't need a donut.

 

[Chris09]

if you can get em, get em.

 

[Daboo]

Personally, I'd clean them up and reinstall them.

Chris

 

[jfheath]

For me, the condition of the length of the pin was never an issue. They always cleaned up well. I disagree with Dave about installing them dry. I know they arrive from the factory without anything on the pin, or on the backing plates, but we get a lot of muck, salt and grime chucked up off the road in the Uk. For me it is rust prevention rather then lubricant. Without it, they rust in very little time.

The issue with the pad pin has always been the state of the hex socket. Tightened to spec at 18Nm, they can become too tight to remove without affecting the soft metal. I learned that lesson the hard way, twice, on my ST1100 when they required major surgery to get out when the socket rounded off. The first sign of any movement on removing, I'd throw the pin away. That usually happened after 3-4 removals.

Whether those pins had an O ring, I cannot remember. I know now that they should have had one. Certainly, without, the narrow end is free to oscillate and I suppose this may result in the pin being harder to remove ? Both of my 1100s were second hand and I never had a Honda manual for these, so I doubt that I would have checked for an O ring if they were missing.

I don't have that problem on the A9. I modified a front pad pin to fit the rear caliper - and they do need modification !

 

[dduelin]

Yes John, UK roads are apparently a mess for those actually riding in the winter. You might try a smidge of anti-sieze on the threads of the caliper retaining pins to allow easy removal from the caliper.

While I live in a hot subtropical coastal salt sea air infused climate that attacks unprotected metals year round, I think the road grime and grit attracted to greased surfaces like caliper pins makes a wonderful grinding paste and is why they are installed dry on motorcycles, cars, and trucks. Try and find a manufacturer that details lubrication of friction pad retaining pins.

On the other hand caliper slide pins are protected by rubber boots to keep the grime and grit off of the lightly lubed surfaces.

 

[Sadlsor]

I tend to use anti-seize even where most would not.
But IF there is any compound that you use, go sparingly. I cross-threaded my brake stopper bolt, much to my dismay, when I reinstalled it once.
I argued (kinda) with some of you here, at the time (of course you were right) because I simply couldn't not see those medium coarse threads going slanty-wise, because they're big and I thought I was being careful.
@Igofar diagnosed the predicament as due to my light coating of anti-seize.

 

[rwthomas1]

There are always opinions about this stuff. I tend to use anti-seize on most fasteners, even when told not to. Why? Well, I live in a place that loves ice melting products, and this is in addition to being exposed to salt air from the giant brine bath known as the Atlantic ocean. Things here corrode quickly, and the piddly cad plating on brake pins don't stand a chance. I regularly use high temp brake grease on caliper slider pins, pad retaining pins, metal-to-metal contact points, etc. If this isn't done, calipers get "cocked", pads wear "funny", and generally brakes don't last as long as they should. Once a year, brake pins on vehicles need to be pulled, cleaned, lubed and reinstalled. The key here is quantity of product applied. It takes a very thin coat of brake grease on pins, or anti-seize on fasteners to do the job. Truth be told, I'd probably wire-wheel the pins above, put a little brake grease on them and be done with it. I'd grease NEW pins. If I didn't they'd corrode in less than a year. Using the correct product is also key. Brake Grease is intended for very high temperatures, so it doesn't run and stays where you put it.

 

[ST1100Y]

Tightened to spec at 18Nm, they can become too tight to remove without affecting the soft metal.

Zincked steel inside an aluminum caliper... add rain, washing water/detergent and contaminated road spray... threads tend to corrode quickly...
I apply a slight smear of Copper Paste on the threads (and to reduce corrosion, on the entire length of the pin as well), and tighten gently (like 12Nm)... never had an issue since... but I recall having to drill one out on my prev '92 ST1100...
The 1300 has those rubber plugs now, whilst the 1100 had the slotted caps (on which I took @UP suggestion to replace with SS hex parts, again with a slight smear of Copper Slip)

 

[ST-Traveler]

I am cleaning and checking the front brake and the caliper pins are rusty and scored.
Can I just polish and lube or should I replace them?
It's not about the $ but about the time lost waiting for parts...
Thank you!

I usually replace every pad change. I ordered about a dozen of them back in 2010 ($ cheap) and just checked I have 2 left- with the little "O" rings.

 

[Sidekick]

Exactly, just chuck the pin in a battery op drill and use some very fine sandpaper on the pin. If you start with 320 wet or dry and work your way up to 600 grit you will end up with a nice polish that will not need any lube. Since there will be no plating to prevent corrosion, you must replace the pin when your new parts arrive.

I think that the "hard plating" is the key.
You can polish these pins nicely and make them pretty, but they will rust as soon as you reinstall them.
Maybe some anti seize could slow down the process a little bit, but without plating they will score and rust in matter of days.
I don't know the kind of metal they are made with but definitively not the hardest steel!

 

[Sidekick]

Yes John, UK roads are apparently a mess for those actually riding in the winter. You might try a smidge of anti-sieze on the threads of the caliper retaining pins to allow easy removal from the caliper.

While I live in a hot subtropical coastal salt sea air infused climate that attacks unprotected metals year round, I think the road grime and grit attracted to greased surfaces like caliper pins makes a wonderful grinding paste and is why they are installed dry on motorcycles, cars, and trucks. Try and find a manufacturer that details lubrication of friction pad retaining pins.

On the other hand caliper slide pins are protected by rubber boots to keep the grime and grit off of the lightly lubed surfaces.

I was thinking of adding some anti-seize under the rubber boots before putting them back to prevent water to get in the thread, maybe a bad idea?
Maintaining the brakes is one of the must recurrent job on these bikes, like every 2 month!
I don't know if it si about the design, but I never had to do that so often on any other bikes I had in the past...

 

[dduelin]

I was thinking of adding some anti-seize under the rubber boots before putting them back to prevent water to get in the thread, maybe a bad idea?
Maintaining the brakes is one of the must recurrent job on these bikes, like every 2 month!
I don't know if it si about the design, but I never had to do that so often on any other bikes I had in the past...

I use a silicone based grease recommended for this application. The grease has to be friendly to the rubber boot and heat & water resistant. My preference is Sil-Glyde.