The right grease in the right place during a brake rebuild dramatically improves the quietness, smoothness, and long-term reliability of the finished system. Brake systems live in a hot, dirty, contaminated environment, and the wrong lubricant, or no lubricant at all, leads to squealing pads, sticking caliper slide pins, uneven shoe wear on drum brakes, and the various small irritations that take the pleasure out of a freshly-rebuilt brake system. Brake lubricants are specialist products for specific applications and are not interchangeable with general-purpose greases, which can contaminate friction surfaces and cause brake failure.
Copper-Based Brake Grease
Copper-based brake grease is the established product for the back of the pad shims, between the pad backing plate and the caliper piston, and at the points where the pad ears contact the caliper carrier. The copper particles provide a high-temperature dry-film lubricant that damps out the high-frequency vibration that causes brake squeal, and the carrier grease prevents corrosion at the metal-to-metal contact points, dramatically reducing the chance of a freshly-fitted pad set developing squeal in the first few hundred miles of bedding-in. It is high-temperature rated to withstand the temperatures a brake system sees under hard use without melting away, and prevents the corrosion-induced seizure common on cars stored over winter, where pads and shoes can bond to their contact surfaces if left unprotected.
Ceramic Caliper Slide Grease
Ceramic grease is the right product for the caliper slide pins on floating-caliper brake systems used across the classic and modern-classic range. The slide pins must move freely to allow the caliper to track outward as the pads wear, and a corroded or dirty slide pin causes the caliper to bind, leading to uneven pad wear and a pull on the brakes when applied. Ceramic grease holds up to brake-temperature operating conditions without melting away, does not attack the rubber boots that seal the slide pins, and gives the caliper the free movement it needs across the service life of a pad set. On the MGF and TF, where the caliper slide pins are a common source of brake problems, cleaning and re-greasing the slides during every pad change prevents the seized-slide symptoms of uneven pad wear, brake drag, and pulling to one side under braking.
Rubber Grease & Drum-Brake Lubricants
Rubber grease is essential during caliper and wheel cylinder rebuilds, applied to the seals before fitting, as standard mineral grease must not be used on hydraulic seals because it attacks the rubber compound, causing swelling and failure. Drum brakes have their own specific lubrication points, the leading and trailing edges of the shoes where they contact the brake backplate, the adjuster star wheel, and the pivot points of the handbrake lever and self-adjuster mechanism, where a high-temperature grease applied lightly keeps the shoes seating cleanly and the adjuster mechanism turning freely. Brake lubricant must never be applied to the friction surfaces of pads, shoes, drums, or discs, as even a trace of grease on these surfaces will drastically reduce braking effectiveness and may require replacement of the contaminated components.
Brake Cleaner
Brake cleaner is the companion product, a fast-evaporating solvent that strips brake fluid, brake dust, road grime, and old grease from disc and drum friction surfaces before the new pads or shoes bed in, leaving no residue and being safe for use on brake friction materials and rubber seals. Using it properly, flooding the discs or drums until clean fluid runs off and then allowing it to evaporate fully before reassembly, gives the new friction material the chance to bed in to a clean working surface and produce its full performance from the first stop, as contamination from grease, oil, or old brake dust on the friction face will prevent the new material from establishing full contact and can cause grabbing, judder, or uneven wear.