Not something I tackled myself, but we had the brake slide pins pulled / cleaned / inspected.
While that was being done, we had helper springs installed (Rockwell / Meritor KIT15018 (https://www.meritorpartsxpress.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10154&urlLangId=-1&productId=1896754&urlRequestType=Base&langId=-1&catalogId=10001)) which help prevent the caliper from dragging on the disc and wearing out the outboard pad.
6 of the pins checked out fine but 2 of them (both of the lower rears) were extremely difficult to remove and had lots of pitting in the wrong places. Those were replaced.
I think when I had mine done we found the same thing.
Two years ago we had the same situation on our '99 coach except on ours two pins checked out and 6 were pitted and replaced.
My mentality would be if your going to pay to have someone remove the pins and check them and you find some good and some bad just bite the bullet and get all new ones.
So if some pins were ok and some others were pitted is there any other reason to replace a good pin such as discoloration from heat ?? Or...
Aren't they very expensive? Been a few years since I bought one.
I would only replace the bad ones. If they are good, they're good. The slide pins can be bought for about $100 each. They should be cleaned and inspected every few years. I replaced both both on the right rear. The rest looked basically new. I didn't measure them for wear (I probably should)
Tom
I replaced mine a couple of years ago with the help of a FD mechanic. Two of the pins were frozen, which led to scoring a rotor and my having to replace them. It took a lot of work with a pneumatic hammer and anything we could think of to loosen. We replaced several that were pitted. Glad to have the last (hopefully) remnants of the coach's former life in the New England removed. This is not a job I would recommend for a DIYer. It took us several days and the use of an 18 ton jack, lots of cribbing and air tools to finish.
Mine were fairly easy to remove. Hardest part was removing and replacing the wheels, and torquing the lug nuts. Glad they were not seized in.
Tom
Not that I can think of. If the plating is good and smooth and there's no signs of excessive or odd wear, it's not like these age out.
As for cost, we don't know that just yet, but yes, somewhere in the $100+ per pin is what I remember from the '03 and likely more now.
I agree with
@Sven and Kristi that this would not be a ready DIY job if any of the pins had major issues and was frozen in place.
Slide pins are one of those "out of sight, out of mind" things that sometimes become "deferred maintenance". That's great until they get to the point where they don't slide and you either end up with dragging or non-functional brakes.
You are both underestimating your DIY skills. Yes if the pin is stuck it is an 8 out of 10 on the difficult job but I have faith in you with some guidance.
On a side note if the pins are out clean (I use a small cylinder hone) to clean the bushings. Look the bushings over to make sure there isn't anything embedded that could cause the pin to get a galled spot. Check the bushing for proper spec. in both clearance and not being egg shaped.
Mike
Keep checking Ebay,picked up 8 pins a few years ago for under $100,there are deals out there.
Even told no lubrication, on all slide pins, we sprayed them with our CorrosionX, and then after a bit, wiped them dry before reinstalling. Never caused any accumulation like oil or grease would. Service was done a shops who did the heavy lifting with wheel removal, brake lubing, pin removal, brake adjust, where we could get our hands dirty with mechanic. Pitted slide pins were replaced, but usually they came out okay and were reusable.
The no lubrication is a wives tale, the manual says to lube them with a spray lubricant. This has started many long threads and the page and paragraph of this is in one of the threads.
We had a stuck pin that required a jackhammer to remove. :))
Just to be complete, the slide pins for our coach are KIT15017 (https://www.meritorpartsxpress.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/meritor-na/kit15017)
Just as as comparison. These are the 2 I replaced. On 1 there was a pit toward the very end, I don't think was a big deal because it was outside the area that the boss slides on. The other one had light pitting, you can feel it with you fingernail. https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=dlattach;sa=tmpattach;attach=post_tmp_8100_7634ff78f9e65ec9dfbf4e161dac6d01;topic=49034
They don't pit inside the bushing were they are protected from the elements. You certainly don't want them to collect dirt also. In the overhaul manual they actually say if you are painting that the open pin area should be packed with grease to keep the paint out. DWMYH. I will lightly lubricant with a dry lube. I do believe annual cleaning makes sense to me. Clearing the bushing with an adjustable reamer is a great idea, but I would expect nothing less from Mike. Also pits hold lubricant???
Another reason I built a pit to be able to walk under coach. I never needed to worry about corrosion on those slide pins as I used to spray regularly and make sure the parts you can see are clean first. I also used Corrosion X.
While parked over pit, I did a weekly inspection of everything, no exceptions, to make sure all things were clean and lubed. That pit saved me lots of money.
Seems so long ago now.
Johnh
Ive wondered about installing a pit. I would prefer a four post lift. When I first purchased the coach I had a chance to get four above ground lift system. That would have been perfect. Would have had to poured a concrete pad to use them. 10" reinforced. They take up the same amount of space but you could roll them into a corner. Wasn't able to close the deal and they went to auction down in LA. No idea what they sold for.
How many miles are on them?
Miles are not the issue with the pins, inactivity and maintenance are. They could be bad in a year or still be good as mine are at 140,000 mi.
Ive got 80K on mine. They all will be changed out in the next couple years. If you drive in a dry area they wouldn't pit in the exposed area. I think Meteor didnt want them to attract road grime and wear out or hang up and drag. The pitting is between the components were they are exposed to road grime and salts causing the pitting. If they are not occasionally removed they can become corroded in the pinch area and can become a challenge to remove. I've personally spent hours getting pins out of friends coach because they couldn't be removed. Pullers and a big hammer with multiple heat and freeze cycles using Kroil or mouse milk penetrating oil. No fun. Never resorted to cutting out with a torch, but have come close. Again removing, cleaning, polishing any pits or replacement every couple years is a great idea IMO. Meteor has a great manual describing everything in detail
Throw in where the coach is driven. If up north on salted roads, that is hard on them.
Against what is recommended, probably the chassis itself would self destruct operating in those conditions. I would plan for annual pin removal and cleaning. The pin wedge bolt area is not subject to movement but I would get a grease zerk installed to pressure fill with grease that cavity to reduce corrosion. Anything near the brakes and the possible hi operating temperature needs to be fire safe.
I'm in the process of cleaning brake pins and inspection. It's been 4 years. 4 years ago I did the same job. I used a LITTLE touch of nickel anti size in the bosses and pin wedge bolt bushing and pinch bolts. All pins a pinch bolt have come out by hand and a light tap. 30 k miles.
Bruce would be awesome if you could get a YouTube type video of the process, I know, I will need to do the at some point on my coach, and it sure help a lot of us,
Mike
Easiest thing to do is get your tools and parts and a good diagram from the MERITOR site,not meteor and use the diagram,you
don't need a video,this is a simple procedure.
Here is a link to the 4M brake book that has been mentioned. Read this first and follow what it says and you will be able to do the brakes if you are a DIY person.
https://www.foreforums.com/MGalleryItem.php?id=1701
Mike
Thanks Mike takes a lot of the mystery out of it will bookmark this for later this summer
I gag when I see how much these pins cost. Is there any finish that could be done to old pins that would be effective financially, can the old pins be re-chromed for a reasonable cost?
I agree. By the time you take them to a machine shop and have them ground down and rechromed or nickel plated and reground to size you'll be close to just replacing them. Mine were in horrible shape yet perfect were they were covered by the calipers. Every time I service them I change the worse ones out. You'll find the lower ones will be worse because they collect more salts and grime to hold moisture. Ill just keep buying a couple a year till im caught up
When we had our coach I used to polish the sections I could with a green scrubby pad,made them shine,if anyone actually
removes the pins try putting in a vise and using that,another point,are we sure the pins are chromed? they don't seem to be but
I may be wrong,seems to me you would have the chrome peeling off at some point,looks like there just polished.
I believe they are hard chrome. I also think a lot of brake pins get replaced that are not necessary. The only place that maters is the area the caliper bushings are, and there is very little movement there. Also if you look close at the pins you can see where the caliper runs. When I clean mine I turn mine down they use a different spot. Haven't replaced a brake pin in 8 years. Coach has 130K on it.