swhockey98

Hey all,

I'm in the process of changing my rotors and pads on my 13' RX350 and noticed the pistons look rather filthy. Is there a way to clean the gunk and dirt out without having to take the piston out? I'm a novice and I'm worried if I try removing the pistons I may damage it. Is it possible to remove the gunk by lightly scrubbing with an old toothbrush and brake fluid? Or could I use brake cleaner instead?

coolsaber

does the piston work properly like move freely? Is the dust boot intact? If yes, then finish the brake job properly with brake lube and move on.

While I understand the optics, I would leave it alone.

gs350fan

If there is no abnormal brake pad wear reinstall. If the caliper was bad one of the shoes would look very different (worn more, uneven wear, etc). Cleaning calipers won't do much. It is possible to rebuild, but that takes a bit of effort, usually cost effective to get a reman one and install, but if you old one is good leave it. A 2013 should be fine. If it was 2003 that would be another story. Maybe clean off the rust with 220 grit sandpaper and put silicone BRAKE grease on the metal (not anything else, it will eat the rubber).

tus

Just leave it alone. Don't even press the brake pedal with the calipers off, or the pistons will pop out. FYI, removing the piston will essentially create a situation where you'll essentially have to rebuild the entire caliper, then install it, and have bleed the system.

If you feel the need to clean something take the covers off of the engine and get out a toothbrush and detail the thing

gs350fan

Very Good advice. For a novice pressing the brake pedal/ removing pistons with the caliper like that will probably require a tow to a shop to get things right.

He should put a bit of brake lube on the pistons, put new pads (make sure they are in the right place if directional or different) and reinstall everything.

Clutchless

And he should be more concerned about cleaning and greasing the caliper slide pins. They are often ignored by novices and can get frozen in the caliper if not greased regularly with the proper lubricant such as Sil-Glyde brake lubricant. I recommend a visit to you tube university https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ide+pin+grease

lex_rx

Thanks Clutchless. I like the videos where you service the guide pins one at a time. I like disassembling stuff as I always end up with spare parts later. So taking out one pin at a time may solve my usual problem when I don't take notes properly.:-)

I think I'm going to include this job when I replace the winter tires with the all season next month and then again in late fall when I mount the winter tires. I'm also going to replace all the guide pin boots as these may still be the original from Sept 2010. I still remember in my 2004 RX when I killed the pads and rotors due to stuck guide pins.:-(

Clutchless

Don't do anything with the boots as they will last forever and are a real PITA to get inserted properly back into the caliper so they are locked into place. I have never seen a slide pin boot that needed changing in over 30 years of doing my own brake jobs.
Just clean off the pins, clean out the holes with chopsticks or long q-tip swabs then regrease the pins with Sil-Glyde. The trick when removing the pins is to hold onto the boot, then twist and turn the pin while gently pulling to get it out.
The guide pin bolts for them are not very tight, no more than 25 pounds torque.

If your new pads did not come with the hardware you need to clean off the old pieces that the pads slide on. Good luck.

lex_rx

Good point Clutchless. I'll just do an inspection next month since dealers have restocking charges on returned parts. My city sees a lot of sand and salt and I don't do a good job of washing the car during winter, e.g. only once mid-winter this year. Dealer washed the car a couple of times but probably don't do the underbody.

From what I've seen in my 2004 RX, I think that aging boots led to the leak on the air suspension bags. Same thing in our family's old Chrysler CV joint problem, boots aged and got torn off. Of course, guide pin boots have a very small area exposed to salt and sand.

swhockey98

Thank you to all for responding, I will leave the pistons alone then. I'll check out the Youtube videos too for how to lubricate the slide pins. I was also planning to use some antiseize around the hub so the rotors are easier to remove next time around.

Does this look damaged and need to be replaced?

Clutchless

It appears your CV joint boot has cracked or torn and is leaking grease. It needs to be replaced. Hope that the axle is still good and you only need a boot. The cracked paint with rust showing is nothing to be concerned about. It is only surface rust. Check your other CV boots for damage. Sometimes the cost difference to replace an axle as opposed to a boot is not that much. However it depends if you go to an independent shop or a dealer where the costs are much higher. This is a simple job that any repair shop can perform. All the Toyota/Lexus CV boots & axles are about the same procedure.

swhockey98

Ok thank you.

coolsaber

brake jobs:
grease the piston face and the other prong side with some brake lube of your choice
grease the slide pins with the same lube
replace or refurb the brake hardware and make sure you add grease underneath the clips

CV boot
If you dont see grease globs everywhere nearby or a visible crack its usually ok.
When it gets bad it also makes clicking noises on low speed turns
The rust is unusual since rubber doesnt rust, but in these cases just replace the entire half shaft with a reputable OE or OEM. Rebuilt units are hard to determine quality wise, unless the place or shop knows of a good replacement.

heshamos

No it does not. The leak on the rubber boot is from somewhere else.
Rubber boots don't like oil on them. Check the source of leak and wash it with soap at any manual wash station.

Clutchless

I agree it looks like an engine leak from above. You may need a pro to determine the source.
If that is the passenger side boot then you may have the timing cover leak, which is very slow and so expensive to repair it is not worth fixing ($3,000 as the engine has to be removed).