stupid question, but i need reassurance from anyone. the pin boot on my pass rear brake is torn, would this cause the caliper to break or not work as designed? its to protect debris from the pin i know, but would it affect performance of the caliper? causing it to seize maybe? its been driven like this for a few weeks, and will be taken care of soon.

 

It will dry out and seize eventually, resulting in a stuck brake. You can get new boots at autoparts stores pretty cheap. When you replace the boot you might consider cleaning and greasing the pin even if it's still moving OK.

 

thanks, reason i asked is because my master cyl is going and i thought it was because of this boot at first, then did research and found out its the master cyl. but also was wondering if this could have caused it or if both problems were causing the pedal going to the floor. now i realize that this boot will just cause it to seize in the future.

 

It wouldn't take out the MC, but would allow water in - rust the pin -- cause the portion that should 'float' to grab instead of pulling away when you let off the brakes. The result is that you get uneven pad wear, uneven wear on the rotors, much earlier end-of-life for the pad/rotor, and sometimes metal to metal contact because the side away from the wear sensor can wear away completely before you notice a problem.