Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 10, 2025 ...

Brake pins

April 07, 2017, 10:32:03 am

On our way out of the Rio Grande Valley I heard the dreaded brake squeal when I was pulling off to get fuel.  It continued to squeal some even after I was off the service brake, so I thought I must have a caliper sticking.  I suspected the passenger rear as it seemed to be warmer than the other wheels and even smelled a little.  We were south of Houston so I had Karen call MOT to see if they could get us in for a brake check- Eric said sure come on in.  I wanted to get this checked as we are heading to the east coast and will be moving for a while- didn't want to burn up my brakes or worse, have a fire.

Keith Risch checked my brakes and found on several wheels that the pins were not moving at all.  I had them pull everything out, hoping it was just dirt of something.  Nope- all the pins were pitted, some worse than others, so now I have all new brake pins and everything is working nice.  I guess after 16 years and 138,000 miles it was time to change the brake pins.  Thanks MOT for getting us in on very short notice.     

I am posting this to remind everyone about the dangers of stuck calipers , can burn up your brakes which can cost big $$$$ to replace calipers, etc.  Worse, if they get too hot, could cause a fire- none of us want that.  Check your wheels at every stop and if you are like me and have not serviced your brake pins ( 9 years full time for me and I never did it), please check or service them.  It will keep your brakes working right and you safe.

Cya down the road         

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #1 – April 07, 2017, 10:38:27 am

Our second big contribution to the NAC economy was because of not knowing about greasing brake pins. Now anytime we take the coach in to have the oil changed, that is also on the to-do list.

As the old man used to say, "grease is cheaper than steel"

Len

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #2 – April 07, 2017, 10:43:40 am

Maybe you mean the grease fitting on the brake caliper,from whats on the forum you do not grease the pins,you can use a non-
sticky lubricant or have the "springs" installed but both of these solutions have believers and non believers.

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #3 – April 07, 2017, 10:51:56 am

Keith Risch said the brake pin helper springs might or might not help.  The best thing is to use the brakes regularly so they do not rust, get clogged up with dirt etc.  These machines are made to run, not sit, which is what most coaches do a lot of...........
 

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #4 – April 07, 2017, 10:57:38 am

I have a set of new brake pins I found on Ebay for a whole $80,did'nt need them yet but price was right.

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #5 – April 07, 2017, 11:20:29 am

Hopefully with me spraying those pins every time I get under coach to check or do something I will not have this trouble. I use dry silicone spray with the fine tube on can so I can get to both sides of casting. They always look clean and definitly no rust so maybe ok.
JohnH

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #6 – April 07, 2017, 11:50:08 am

The same brake on the Prevost has different pins, of the same dimensions, that have an "O" ring at each end to keep the crud out.  The shop accidentally fitted those to mine last year and they work fine.  The "O" ring has to help??
Speedbird 1

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #7 – April 07, 2017, 11:53:22 am

When I completely serviced the coach after purchase to have a baseline, I pulled all the pins to install the helper springs and wire wheeled them and put them in dry. They are not an interference type fit they are fairly loose. I will check them every year for any signs of corrosion. I was tempted to use a graphite or silicone spray, but moving the pins in and out by hand in the caliper seemed free enough to not do it.

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #8 – April 07, 2017, 12:14:01 pm

Speedbird, unless I am missing something having an O ring on the ends would not do much as it would not be up against the casting part of the assembly and as dirt can get in between the  brake assembly where no O ring is  I fail to see the advantage.
I think the design idea was to not have a "tight" fitting pin so as to allow any water to wash the pins hopefully to keep dirt off them. They are for keeping the parts in alignment and a few thousands of an inch play between them will not affect the brake operation.
Anyway, that is the way I see it.
JohnH

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Re: Brake pins

Reply #9 – April 07, 2017, 02:52:02 pm

Hi John,
You are probably right but anything to keep the crud out of anywhere is a good thing.  Whatever, they work fine and the old ones were well pitted and corroded. Time will tell???
Speedbird1

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