Caliper cylinder has slight rust

[newby]

I removed one of my calipers tonight (I'm painting them) and after taking it apart I saw some slight rust on the cylinder walls. Nothing major, however I was just curious if I should be concerned.
After I clean it off, is there anything I should coat it with to keep it from happening again?

Also, there is no guage line on the brake pad letting me know how much pad is left. Does anyone know how thick the OEM pads are new? How thin should I let them get before replacing them. I have the calipers off, so it only makes sense to do it now then later.

Thanks

 

[nsxtasy]

Also, there is no guage line on the brake pad letting me know how much pad is left.

Gauge line? You can just check the thickness visibly. Heck, you can even see the thickness of the top edge of the outer pad without removing the wheel (except for the front pads of the '97+). And the stock pads have a "squeaker", a metal tab that starts to hit the rotor and squeal when the pads need replacing.

Does anyone know how thick the OEM pads are new? How thin should I let them get before replacing them.

As noted in the service manual which is available on this site... When new, the pad material is 11 mm thick on the front pads, 9.5 mm on the rear pads. The service manual tells you that the minimum thickness is 1.6 mm, front and rear. However, you can replace them when they're thicker than that, especially since you have the calipers apart (but if they're a lot thicker than that, you may be doing so sooner than necessary, and "wasting" pads that still have life in them). OTOH if you are planning to go to the track, you will want to do so with pads that have plenty of material on them.

 

[newby]

Gauge line? You can just check the thickness visibly. Heck, you can even see the thickness of the top edge of the outer pad without removing the wheel (except for the front pads of the '97+). And the stock pads have a "squeaker", a metal tab that starts to hit the rotor and squeal when the pads need replacing.
.

nsxtasy....damn you are always up. I start a threat in the am...you respond. I start one late at night...you respond. Thanks for all the input!!

My Nissan 300ZX had a small line in the side of the pad. You could tell how much pad was left by how close it was to the line. It was a nice reference. I must admit the NSX calipers and pad are a much easier set up then the 300zx to remove. Leave it to Honda to keep things simple!! :smile:

I measured the pads and I'm still at about 7.5mm (front). I'll check the back once I get them off. I might just wait until next year to change them since I have over 50% left. I'll track my car next year, but nothing to major.


Any thoughts on the rust in the cylinder wall?