berny

First off I want to thank everyone here for helping me fix my IACV last summer. My truck was idling badly and by reading threads here I was able to identify and fix the problem. Thanks!

I drive a stock 89 pickup extended cab with a 22re.

I have been hearing a squeaking noise coming from my from passenger tire for a month or so now. It happens when the brakes are on or off. I jacked up my truck yesterday to see what the problem was. I did the wheel bearing test I read about here and that seemed ok. When I spun the tire I heard the squeaking sound. I took off the tire and determined that it was coming from the brakes. I pulled the caliper off and sure enough the pads are gone and the wear indicator was rubbing on the hub. Now my problem is when I pulled the caliper off, it was stuck grabbing the hub when the truck is off and obviously the brakes are not applied. Also the wear indicator was rubbing on the hub when the brakes were not applied. From what I have read it looks like that means I need a new caliper. Is that the case? Is there anything else it could be?

Also if that is the case I would rather buy a new one than rebuild it. Since I am buying a new one I figure I might as well get an aftermarket or at least a bigger one for more stopping power. Does anyone make a big caliper that would work for my truck? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

85excab

get a set of ifs v6 calipers

93YotaMonster

was the metal on the brake pad stuck or was the pistons on the caliper?

sb5walker

Be aware that the caliper pistons don't really retract when you take your foot off the brake - they just sit there: with the pads right next to the rotor but not squeezing. The pads back off a teeny bit, but not much at all. Still, it is important that they slide freely in their tracks so that they don't get stuck against the rotor.

It's a good idea to clean the tracks where the pads slide in and out, and also make sure the pins are nice and smooth. I usually hit my tracks (and pins if necessary) with rustoleum rust converter after cleaning up the tracks.

berny

I think the pistons on the caliper. The pad is worn down but besides that it just looked like normal worn out brake pads.

The caliper was actually squeezing the rotor to where I had to mess with it and put some force to pull it off. I think, like you said, normally the pad is very close but not actually touching the rotor. By tracks do you mean behind the brake pads where the calipers move them?

Also I will look into getting V6 ones, I take it they are bigger but I can just bolt them on?

berny

That's what I was wondering, because my truck doesn't have most of the symptoms of a broken caliper (like pulling to the right). Should I be able to push the pistons in with my hand? Because I could not. I got the caliper back on but had to sort of jam it on. Also if the caliper is supposed to be that way why does my brake pad wear indicator squeak on the rotor at all times during acceleration coasting and braking? When my cars brakes wore out it was only during braking. Are these trucks just different and I only need to do a simple brake job?

bugs1961

The pad indicator will make a squeaking noise while driving and not braking. It sounds to me like the caliper is fine and replacing pads and turning the rotor will do the job. A stuck piston may cause a pull to one side, but usually not because it is stuck pushing the rotor. Rather, it is usually stuck inside the caliper and not actually pushing the pad to the rotor at all. This will cause a pull--to the good caliper side, since the bad one isn't braking at all. Your piston is not stuck since the pads are worn all the way down. It's normal to have to work the caliper from side to side to push the pistons back in a little to allow the caliper to come off. Take the caliper off and use a C-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper. If it goes in smoothly, the caliper is fine.

berny

Awesome, I will do that. Thanks!

PCE91V64x4

You can also use a c-clamp to push the pistons back into the caliper. Leave the pads in the caliper, use the c-clamp to push the pistons back in and then you can change your pads.

berny

Just changed the brake pads today and everything works fine. Thanks everyone.

Now on to the gauge cluster swap!