Bent Rear Caliper Guide Pin: Replaceable?

[Charles.waite]

Hey guys.

I just received a set of B7 rear calipers, and I thought I would take them out of the box today and check them out. One caliper looked just fine, other than a bit of rust and some wear typical wear. The carrier and the caliper seemed to slide relatively well, there was a tiny bit of grinding but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary or that a bit of TLC and grease couldn't take care of.

The other one was a different story. It seems to have been bent where the caliper slides on the carrier. Basically the guide pins are bent. Do I have any options for replacement of them? Is this one of those cases where the fact that the caliper has seen enough force to bend it like that means the caliper is probably toast? I paid $60 for each caliper (carriers included) so I wouldn't be super upset if I needed to return just the one and stay on the hunt for another one.

The bend is barely noticeable. I didn't see it until I was trying to slide it and it wouldn't budge.

What are my options here I guess. I was planning on fully refurbishing the brakes before I threw them on and I'm not in dire need of rear brake replacement so waiting a bit for rebuild parts isn't a big deal. Is it even possible though?

Facts:
--They are B7 A4 brakes, keep that in mind, but plenty of people on here would have these brakes and the B7 guys would probably not be very helpful.
--Only one of the calipers appears to be damaged. The other seems fine.
--They are rear C41 calipers (288mm rear rotor size).

Edit: Will this bolt set work?
CARLSON 14197 Rear Brake Caliper Bolt/Pin

Also one more question: As far as the refurb process, I was thinking of this for my order of operations:
1) Clean rust, crap, off caliper with wire brush
2) Soak in rust remover
3) Rinse/Dry thoroughly
4) Paint with engine enamel or some sort of high heat paint (black probably)
5) Rebuild, including new seals
6) Install
7) Profit

Any thoughts or objections?

[Charles.waite]

Bumpy McBumperson.

Anyone ever replaced the rear slider pins??

[blackfc3s]

i would head to a salvage yard. audi has been using those slider pins forever. you could get lucky.

[Charles.waite]

i would head to a salvage yard. audi has been using those slider pins forever. you could get lucky.

Are they the same as the stock b6 rear calipers? Because I could just pop them out of my current calipers I suppose. I'll have to make a trip to a local wrecker it sounds like. Thanks for the idea.

Why is AZ so dead today? Its killing me. The batchelorette is playing at my house and I absolutely refuse to watch it. And AZ is really being a letdown!

[Charles.waite]

Well to answer my own question, it appears from all I can tell that those eBay slider pins should work.

Moreover despite the fact that my Bentley has zero mention of the slider pins, my Haynes manual has a section stating that you should remove and inspect te slider pins when changing pads. Given that I would presume its fairly trivial. After dissecting exactly how the caliper slides on the pins and carrier it's pretty clear to me that the pins should definitely be replaced. I really hope that the caliper or carrier hasn't been damaged, and that it's just the pins or caliper bolts thy have bent. I think that'll be the case. Hopefully tomorrow I can pick up a large quantity of PB blaster and a 15mm wrench to fully tear down the caliper. I've already ordered two sets of slide pins so hopefully I'll get them by Friday.

Anyone have any thoughts on my rebuild process I outlined above? Any tips? Recommendations? Things to avoid?

[bondar1989]

Damn are those the one's you got from ebay or something like that??

[Charles.waite]

Yea I picked them up from TomsForeign.com. They had them listed on eBay, but it was cheaper, shipped, from their website. Kinda bummed they lied about the condition of the caliper. It's clearly non functional as is. If it looks at all damaged, I'm going to return it as it seems they have a decent return policy.

[bondar1989]

Yea I picked them up from TomsForeign.com. They had them listed on eBay, but it was cheaper, shipped, from their website. Kinda bummed they lied about the condition of the caliper. It's clearly non functional as is. If it looks at all damaged, I'm going to return it as it seems they have a decent return policy.

Yea that's right I looked at the link you sent me a few days ago. That sucks bro I hate to hear shit like that happen to fellow Audi owner's. I would return it unless you can find a B7 A4 in a junk yard near you and take the slide pin and use it for your's. Anyway Good Luck.

[walky_talky20]

Just checked with our supplier. Carlson #14130 would be for the B6 rears, #14197 is for the B7 rears. I haven't ever used that Carlson number yet, but those would be the pins we'd order if needed. It looks like the B7 pins are shorter, and possibly of a larger diameter.

[Charles.waite]

Just checked with our supplier. Carlson #14130 would be for the B6 rears, #14197 is for the B7 rears. I haven't ever used that Carlson number yet, but those would be the pins we'd order if needed. It looks like the B7 pins are shorter, and possibly of a larger diameter.

Thanks Walky! The description said "Fitment: b7 rear brakes" But I trust ebay fitment descriptions about as far as I can spit. I ordered two sets so I'll need to pick up some piston seals to go with them and then I should be set for a rebuild.

I've found the slider boots, they're a dime a dozen, but I'm having issues locating a seal kit. The calipers have 41mm pistons according to the bentley, but the few kits I've seen listed show 57mm or 60mm which would be for front calipers. I know the OEM p/n is 1J0698671. They're $15 per caliper at GAP. Is it worth going OEM, or will aftermarket be fine? According to Carlson's site, the p/n 15260 is the rear seal kit, so I'm ordering two of those. Hopefully this stuff is all correct, haha.

[Charles.waite]

Alrighty, So I've got new pins, boots and bolt headed my way. I got some PB Blaster, brakleen, and a few wire brushes and I'm planning on attacking the calipers this weekend with restrained vengeance.

The more I was thinking about the caliper design, I'm pretty confident the calipers and carriers are just fine. It would seem the slider pins are designed to be the "weak point" and are sort of sacrificed so that the caliper itself doesn't get damaged. I just hope the pins aren't stuck in the carrier or something stupid.

I'll be sure to take lots of pics and possibly even put together a DIY of this as there is really nothing on the 'zine pertaining to rear brakes. I feel like it could be pretty useful.

One more question, how do I get the rear piston out? Is it just the reverse of pushing it in? or do I need some sort of compressed air setup to force it out? I want to be really careful not to break anything that isn't easily replaced, like the piston for instance.

[bondar1989]

Alrighty, So I've got new pins, boots and bolt headed my way. I got some PB Blaster, brakleen, and a few wire brushes and I'm planning on attacking the calipers this weekend with restrained vengeance.

The more I was thinking about the caliper design, I'm pretty confident the calipers and carriers are just fine. It would seem the slider pins are designed to be the "weak point" and are sort of sacrificed so that the caliper itself doesn't get damaged. I just hope the pins aren't stuck in the carrier or something stupid.

I'll be sure to take lots of pics and possibly even put together a DIY of this as there is really nothing on the 'zine pertaining to rear brakes. I feel like it could be pretty useful.

One more question, how do I get the rear piston out? Is it just the reverse of pushing it in? or do I need some sort of compressed air setup to force it out? I want to be really careful not to break anything that isn't easily replaced, like the piston for instance.

oh very nice, I hope your OEM brake upgrade goes well.

[Charles.waite]

oh very nice, I hope your OEM brake upgrade goes well.

Thanks I'm hoping it does too.

Got all the parts in (minus the caliper bolts) but tomorrow I'll do a little test fit. Anyone have any ideas on how to get the grease out of the slide pin holes? I was thinking a Q-tip maybe.

[chrislane31]

Did you get new boots or just the guide pin and bolt?

[diagnosticator]

For cleaning the calipers, I recommend using Castrol Super Clean. It is the best water rinsable cleaner available. Very caustic, but that is what does the work. It will dissolve the caliper crud better than Brake Clean, and is a lot less noxious to use. For best results, apply the Super Clean to dry parts, do not wet the parts with water first. After scrubbing, rinse with hot water.