Rear Brake Slider Bolts

[ueww40]

Yesterday I did some maintenance on the brakes of my 2004 Tahoe and while working on the rear disk brakes I made a confusing discovery. When I removed the caliper bracket on the passenger side and pulled out the slider bolts to clean and grease them, I noticed that they were both identical (2 straight bolts). When I did the same on the drivers side I noticed that one slider bolt was identical to the 2 bolts on the other side (straight) but the other bolt had a cut out at the end with a rubber bushing on it. Not expecting this I paid no attention to it and now I have a few questions. What is correct? Should they all be the same (straight bolts) like on the passenger side or should they all be like I found it to be on the drivers side (1 straight bolt and 1 bolt with a rubber bushing on it) or should all 4 bolts have the rubber bushing on the end. Should the passenger side be different from the driver side and if so what should it be? And if one bolt is without the bushing and one has the bushing where does the bolt with the rubber bushing go, passenger side or driver side, top or bottom of bracket? The best solution would be if somebody out there knows a link to the official GM parts list diagram for the brake system, which clearly shows all the parts and where they go. I hope there is a brake expert out there who can shed some light on this, because I don't find any reference to this anywhere. The slider bolts on the front brakes were all the same. However some parts suppliers show the bolts with rubber bushings and some without. What is correct? -- Help, thanks.

 

[treehan77]

following

 

[ueww40]

Looks like nobody knows enough about 2004 Tahoe brakes to clear this up. Maybe it is inconsequential and nobody cares, but it would be nice and reassuring to know what the correct way is. Apparently it all has something to do with whether it's a 4WD or a 2WD. Anybody out there that works for Chevrolet and is the brake man? Also I was told not to push the caliper pistons back into the caliper when replacing pads, unless I open the bleeder valve to let the fluid escape. If it gets pushed back in to brake fluid reservoir it will damage the ABS system. Never heard of that. Is that true?

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Looks like nobody knows enough about 2004 Tahoe brakes to clear this up. Maybe it is inconsequential and nobody cares, but it would be nice and reassuring to know what the correct way is. Apparently it all has something to do with whether it's a 4WD or a 2WD. Anybody out there that works for Chevrolet and is the brake man? Also I was told not to push the caliper pistons back into the caliper when replacing pads, unless I open the bleeder valve to let the fluid escape. If it gets pushed back in to brake fluid reservoir it will damage the ABS system. Never heard of that. Is that true?

Most would agree as long as you're gentle, it's fine.

 

[mizzouguy]

Just looked on firstcall, the 2wd ones have 1 rubber and 1 solid, the 4wd set are both solid. Looked on rockauto also, they show the 2wd and 4wd ones both and that also confirms. Maybe someone changed one side or the other somewhere along the line.

 

[ueww40]

following

I am still trying to figure this one out.

 

[ueww40]

Just looked on firstcall, the 2wd ones have 1 rubber and 1 solid, the 4wd set are both solid. Looked on rockauto also, they show the 2wd and 4wd ones both and that also confirms. Maybe someone changed one side or the other somewhere along the line.

I am getting up to speed on this whole brake dilemma. Once I became aware of the fact that 2WD and 4WD brakes seem to be different even though they are the same brakes I also came to the conclusion that somebody probably goofed along the way. One other question, where does the slider with the rubber tip go, top or bottom of the caliper bracket? The reason I am so **** about all of this is that my brakes all of sudden started pulling to the right for no reason. They were done not too long ago and are practically new. I checked everything carefully and it all looks good. So to be sure that everything is perfect I am trying to make sure that all the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, before I give up and take it to a shop.

 

[Rocket Man]

I've always pushed the pistons back in without loosening the bleeder valve, just keep an eye on the reservoir to make sure it doesn't overflow.

 

[JoeOmerta]

As long as the caliper floats properly, meaning it slides in and out just fine with little to NO play in any other direction then I'd say it's fine. As for the slider with the rubber boot on it, i wouldn't worry about where it goes since pretty much every after market slide pin I've seen doesn't have the rubber boot on it.

So give the caliper a shake, as long as it doesn't bounce/wiggle laterally on the slide pins you're fine.

 

[mizzouguy]

Does it pull when you apply the brakes or let off? I was thinking collapsed hose...only thing I can think of you wouldnt find with a visual inspection.