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 got caught in a "Gotcha" and now I am flabbergasted and confused. 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 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 am confused and 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 the passenger side be different from the driver side and if so where does the bolt with the rubber bushing go, passenger side or driver side, top or bottom of bracket? I hope there is a brake expert out there who can shed some light on it, because I don't find any reference to this anywhere. The slider bolts on the front brakes were all the same.

 

[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?

 

[ueww40]

In the meantime the matter has been resolved. I received a clear and precise answer from a nice tech at my local Chevy dealer and from 2 other brake gurus. The answer is the same from all 3, so I am pretty sure that's how it is. I post it here for the benefit of everybody and anyone that is picky about doing their brakes correctly. It does have something to do with whether it is a 2WD or 4WD. The front brakes are the same on either one. The difference lies in the rear brakes. On a 4WD the 2 slider bolts per brake are the same. They are solid bolts. On a 2WD one slider bolt is solid and one has a rubber bushing on its tip. The one with the rubber bushing goes on top of the caliper bracket and the solid one goes on the bottom. That's the same on both sides.

As a final note before I close this topic. I am very disappointed by the ZERO response from this forum here. Either nobody gives a crap or nobody knows jack. Fortunately there are other more knowledgeable and enthusiastic forums out there that are willing and able to help.

 

[corvette744]

In the meantime the matter has been resolved. I received a clear and precise answer from a nice tech at my local Chevy dealer and from 2 other brake gurus. The answer is the same from all 3, so I am pretty sure that's how it is. I post it here for the benefit of everybody and anyone that is picky about doing their brakes correctly. It does have something to do with whether it is a 2WD or 4WD. The front brakes are the same on either one. The difference lies in the rear brakes. On a 4WD the 2 slider bolts per brake are the same. They are solid bolts. On a 2WD one slider bolt is solid and one has a rubber bushing on its tip. The one with the rubber bushing goes on top of the caliper bracket and the solid one goes on the bottom. That's the same on both sides.

As a final note before I close this topic. I am very disappointed by the ZERO response from this forum here. Either nobody gives a crap or nobody knows jack. Fortunately there are other more knowledgeable and enthusiastic forums out there that are willing and able to help.

I agree with you if anyone knew the answer little response on this forum-is common

 

[chubbs]

@EWW
thank you for sharing this info that you have learned. I understand that you would appreciate not having gone through more time & trouble. If you notice the date stamps on all of the threads, this forum gets ZERO traffic. I frequently visit the GM pickup truck sites for tech info, and TYF for the fact it is super-busy there and MANY 99-06 owners. thanks again for sharing your tidbit.