Uneven Brake Pad WearUneven brake pad wear differences can occur side to side or between the inner and outer pad on one side of the vehicle. Not only does this indicate that there is a problem with the brakes, the side that is still working will wear down faster than normal – making them more likely to overheat due to their overworked condition. First, determine which brake is causing the problem. A sticking caliper piston is usually the problem on fixed caliper types. On sliding calipers designs, the problem can be caused by: a caliper piston sticking in its bore, a damaged caliper or caliper sliding pin(s), or lack of grease on the sliding caliper’s moving parts. Due to old age and possibly lack of brake fluid flushing, the caliper piston and/or the caliper itself can corrode, causing the piston to stick in place. When braking, the piston will be forced against the rotor due to the high hydraulic pressure, but will resist retracting, causing the brakes to drag (and wearing out the brake pad material). You have a couple of choices to fix the problem. One, replace the caliper (buy a remanufactured unit from your local parts store or from the internet). Or two (if the corrosion damage is minimal), pull out the piston from the caliper and remove the corrosion from the piston and caliper bore with fine sandpaper and reassemble the components (assuming the seals are still in good condition). On sliding calipers, it’s common for the inner pad to wear more than the other, or vise-versa, due to the inability of the caliper to “slide”. Damaged sliding pins If you are experiencing uneven brake pad wear, be sure to fix the problem as soon as possible. If each brake is not working to their full potential, a decrease in braking performance will result.
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or lack of grease will not allow the caliper to operate properly. Check the condition of the pins, and replace any that are damaged (you might have to replace the whole caliper if the pins aren’t available separately). Be sure to lubricate the pins with a high temperature, synthetic grease. 