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In our Chrysler minivan (5th generation, model years 2008-2017), I had one of the rear brake calipers seize about a year ago. It turned out to be the lower slide pin that wouldn’t move.

In that design, the slide pin and boot are part of the fixed bracket, not the actual caliper. I couldn’t figure out a quick and easy way to fix it. Can’t replace a slide pin if it won’t slide.

At least they thought ahead and put a hex head on the end of the slide pin. So the pin wouldn’t slide back and forth, but I could put a wrench on it and wiggle it a little bit.

The rubber boot surrounds the slide pin and protects it from water/dust/dirt/salt/etc. In this case, it also prevented me from lubricating the pin so that it would move again. So I went against standard practice and cut a small slit in the boot. I then was able to stick the straw from the can of WD-40 inside the boot and put some WD-40 in there.

I then used the wrench to work the WD-40 throughout the slide pin and I could eventually move the pin fully again.

That was supposed to be a temporary measure. Mainly because I had the caliper off in order to replace the brake pads, and I couldn’t get the caliper back on with the pin stuck. Cutting a hole in the protective boot is not a good long-term measure. Lubricating the slide pin with WD-40 instead of brake grease is not a good long-term measure.

But that was several months ago and I actually forgot about it, probably because it has been working well.

Then this last weekend I noticed that particular brake that I fixed last year was noticeably cooler than the brake on the other side. I figured that meant it wasn’t working anymore, so I investigated. It turns out that it was working fine, it was the other side was running hot because its caliper was seized, causing the brake to drag all the time. Of course, it was the lower pin of the rear caliper, so it seems that’s a trouble spot for that caliper design.

At least I knew what to do this time – nick a spot in the boot, put some WD-40 in there, and work the pin loose with a wrench. It went rather well. We will see how long this side keeps working – the other side is still going strong.

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