Sticking brakes

QSome months ago, I told you about my Toyota MR2 MKI, which had developed an offside rear binding brake. The car has been on SORN for some time, so it could have been due to it standing idle rather than general wear. I have owned the car since 1990 and it has a genuine 35,000 miles.

I want to get it ready to sell, but I am reluctant to take it to a Toyota dealer if I can fix it myself. You explained how to extract the caliper by removing the lower fixing bolt and swinging the caliper out on the top swivel bolt. However, having done that, it will not budge. I tried moving it using a wooden block and mallet, to no avail. I am a bit reluctant to use any more force in case the caliper is made from cast and breaks.

Did I miss something? I also removed the handbrake connection bolt. David Wood

AI believe you have found the source of the sticking caliper. The caliper should swing up on the top swivel bolt, which also should slide in and out as required. As the caliper will not swivel up, the slider bolt must be seized into position. I would try to pull back the rubber dust cover on the slider and spray in some penetrating oil, leaving this to soak for a while before again trying to free off the slider by manipulating the caliper. I don’t advise using an impacting force such as a mallet as this may damage the caliper, instead try a lever bar to gently move the caliper up and down until you get a small amount of movement. With further spraying with penetrating fluid you should be able to free the slider. Once the slider is moving fully, it should be withdrawn from the carrier and cleaned before greasing it with a suitable brake grease.