I was trying to intall a set brake pads in the rear but when I try to close the caliper it would not go back in,upon a closer look I found this metal spool(where the bolt went throught it )has slided out keeping the caliper from back in place,I guess this thing should be able to slide in or out freely itself? hammering did not works,please give some help thanks.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/z...Picture031.jpg

 

Yes that is one of the slides and it needs to move freely to reassemble the caliper and for the caliper to work properly. They tend to freeze up and need to be smacked with a hammer and re-lubed. If you can not get it to break loose and move freely you will need to replace the caliper.

http://home.comcast.net/~rx300how2/index.html

http://home.comcast.net/~rx300how2/brakes.htm

 

So did you just smack it as hard as you can? smack it from inner side or outer side? should not hurt anything else even it does not break loose right?

 

It took a few pretty hard hits to get it to break loose the first time I did it. I think I might have even used a little sledge hammer to get it to move. I actually do this once a year now when I switch over to my snow wheel/tire set up. It is always a little stuck and needs a little hit to get it moving again. Mine are full of grease and still get stuck once a year. The weird thing is once you get it to break loose they glide back and forth with no binding at all. You would think that they were dry as a bone and all rusty inside but they are not, just stuck until you give them a hit.

Yes you can smack it from either side. Just try not to damage the end of the slide or rip the boot. Once you get it to move you can just pull the slide out and clean it off and re grease it. It takes a little effort to feed it back through the boot, but it will go back in.

I don't think there is much to hurt there, it needs to move or the caliper is shot anyway. You might be able to push it with a little gear puller or battery terminal puller.

 

What kind of lube to use on the slider? Any specific one that will last a long time especially with snow and salt? Thanks.

 

I like this stuff: