68 and catfish, agreed on the long life pads. brake pads are one thing i check regularly, anyhoo.
i am debating if the glue came off of the pad and that is what caused the stuck caliper or not? either way, even though they have not been locking up on us since that one time things were obviously not working as they should have been despite plenty good braking (considering the two crashes that happened 25 yards in front of us the other day on the highway which we needed to avoid - my confidence in the stopping ability despite what a mess the system is in was confirmed).
68 i know that you keep mentioning the 'ways' and my fsm even mentions something but i am still working to figure out what in the world i am looking for. i'll read and re-read your post and i'm sure i'll get it all figured out soon and when i put her all back together make sure those areas are lubed.
for now, my OEM 'like' idlers are due to come in today so that's exciting. sure hope they slide in with just enough resistance to make me feel confident they will fit nicely and not permit play.
meanwhile, i removed the shim from the piston and gave it a quick clean. other than a 'visual' imprint it didn't leave any material on the piston. still not so sure the piston shouldn't be replaced? we ran a quick test with a few pushes of the brake pedal and the piston does exit the cylinder as expected. not sure about retraction because we had it off of the rotor so i guess with no pressure on it the piston will stay out until i put it back in.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xUDAwWt6RPeUoDij6https://photos.app.goo.gl/og5E4puD1T1mPhqs6i was surprised to realize that our pistons appear to be phenolic. given that i had been reading about the differences i would not have thought on a van that they would have used those over metal back in the day. i thought that the braking and such that we do in the mountains and also the load that vans typically have not to mention ones converted like ours would have been fitted with metal. so, that was a lesson learned. but... they did last 30 years and seem to still be working although i may do a rebuild anyway since i've got it all off.
also finally addressing the control arm bushings. while they are not completely gone we decided that we'd go ahead and do them because they are the only thing bushing wise in the front end that has not been done and is still original. figured at that point we would at least be in a better position not having to assume that old control arm bushings are the root of all other evils that happen the the new stuff we keep putting in up there.
well, guess the rain has stopped so i'd better stop my fingers.