Newbie Needs Brake Help
 

Hello, and I'm looking forward to sharing with other Lexus owners on the forum.
I ran into a problem while replacing the rear brake pads on my 04 ES330 that, after replacing disc brake pads for years, I've never experienced before. It looks like the part of the caliper that swings up to reveal the pads needs to shift to the outside about 3/16 of an inch. When attempting to lower the caliper back down over the pads, it hits the top of the outside pad and won't go down. I made sure the pads were the right ones, so that's not the problem..
Is there something that happens to make the caliper shift too far to the inside, and, if so, how can I get it moved more to the outside?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

You need to take a C-clamp and slowly compress the caliper piston. Use one of the old brake pads against the piston to protect it.

Newbie Needs Brake Help
 

Sorry, forgot to mention that the piston had been compressed, so that's not the oroblem.

Well then either the caliper is not going onto the slide pin properly, or the pads are not sitting in the bracket correctly? Did you free up the brake line from the strut so the caliper can swing easier?

The pads are in the bracket properly and resting solidly on the rotor, and the caliper swings easily up and down, so I don't think the brake line is restricting it's movement. I will check to see if the caliper and slide pin are aligned properly.

Hey I am in the same boat as you I have a 98 and I did everything you describe but it does not fit at all.
The only way I got it to work is sand down the brake, let me know if you have other solution.
Funny thing is the front break fit perfectly.
I might replace both rear caliper when my next rear brake is due.

Newbie Needs Brake Help
 

Caliper problem solved!!! I finally found why the caliper housing was hitting the outer brake pad and not going into position. The calipers are the "floating", or "sliding" type which means the calipers move laterally to compensate for pad wear. The caliper was frozen up and couldn't travel along the pin as it should. I removed the caliper and tried to free it up (even got a bigger hammer), and it still wouldn't budge. Finally, I applied heat to the housing that the pin is in, and got it to slide out!! I polished the pin and the receptor and it works great now!
I have never seen this before, and have no idea what caused it to get stuck so solidly. Hopefully, my findings might help someone out if they encounter this problem.
Thanks again for your help.

Had the same problem today. I put the old pads back in, because I had not seen this solution to the problem. I will try applying heat later this week. It seems like very poor design. the front pads were easy with two removable sliders. My es330 is a 2006, did they use this design on current models? The forum has been very helpful to me in the past. This is my first post, just to highl;ight this issue.

sound like new pins are in order, with some brake grease

I recently had to replace both back calipers due to this problem. Could it be a design flaw???

On my RX300, Avalon and several other Avalons and Camrys I have experience with, the clearance between the caliper bore and slide pin OD is quite small. I have found it necessary to service the slide pins at least every two years to keep them lubed and moving freely. I do not know if this is what Toyota designed into the car but I suspect not because they certainly want to require the least maintenance possible for marketing purposes. Most owners who wait until they need new pads are probably going to encounter frozen slide pins.

Good call! It's pretty amazing how heat and/or PB Blast can pretty much solve anything!

It's not a flawed design but it must be serviced correctly. If there is any petrol based lubricant on the slide pins and rubber parts ALL of it must be cleaned out. Then use silicone paste or even better Toyota rubber grease this is what is used from the factory. People put in all kinds of lubricants and they dry out and seize up or worse cause damage to the rubber seals.

I've seen quite a few remanufactured calipers that have very poor application of lubricant or sometimes none at all!

I use only Sil-Glyde silicone grease and I stand by my comments. I agree that many probably use the wrong lube which exacerbates the problem, but even with the best grease these caliper slide pins need frequent servicing.

Anybody know where these rubber seals can be purchased?