[V8] frozen caliper

[dsaad at icehouse.net]

I finally finished the rear brake job Saturday.
The caliper with the bad cable was also frozen solid - one of the pins was
totally rusted tight. I managed to get it out but I bent it. Some quick calls to
the dealer and parts stores revealed that the pins are hard to come by and
expensive.
Not available anywhere on Saturday.
With nothing to lose, I went to the junk yard with my 6 year old daughter on a
shopping trip. I ended up finding the same pin on a 100 2WD with rear disks.
They gave it to me for free.
Besides finding the part I needed cheap, I also got to explain why seat belts
are a good idea. Katie thought the "spider web cracks" she saw on windshields
were cool until I explained that someones head broke it. I hope she got the
message.

After all of this, I have concluded that my rear pads were pretty likely
original. A smart monkee would probably replace the pin boots and service the
pins on a regular basis. ($10 a wheel for the boot/bolt kit and it is easy to
do) I actually thought I was doing just that - I always have the brakes
"inspected" when I have my tires rotated, and of course they always tell me that
there is tons of pad left. Of course they neglect to actually inspect anything
because they should have noticed the torn boot and worn to nothing inside pad.

Anyway, I am now hoping to see some imporved mileage now that the brakes are not
draging and I am not pouring fuel on the ground.

Dave