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DO i need new brake calipers???


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So i've never had to replace the whole caliper and i was curious about the symptoms of needed new ones.....

 

Right now it seems like i can never get the brake caliper to recess correctly (i know it twists, and the correct want to twist in) the seals around the part that twists looks pretty bad, on one its almost gone, and when i put the caliper with the brake pads inside, it pinches down on the wheels really bad, to the point when the wheel is off of the ground and i turn it by hand... it wont free roll.

 

could this be something else putting un-necessary pressure on the system or something? or do i need to just replace the calipers and it'll take car of my problem...

 

curious :)

 

...and thanks!

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calipers are so simple i'd just rebuild them. take yours apart and see what they look like. if the piston and bores aren't rusted, pitted and distrubed, they're fine. calipers are very simple, not much to them. even the rebuild kit only consists of a seal for the piston, and the rubber dust boot. other than that, it's just benign parts like a new rubber bleeder screw cap. i scored some $8 rebuild kits off rockauto, and that's for both sides, and it's super easy to do.

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now that you mentioned rust, when I changed the pads a little while back i noticed quite a bit of rust looking stuff around the calipers, didnt think much of it, but that could be a possibility of a problem..... couldn't it??

 

i'll look into the rebuild kit, and i need to get all the wheels off..... see how badly each one is... take some pictures...

 

thanks for the advice!

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now that you mentioned rust, when I changed the pads a little while back i noticed quite a bit of rust looking stuff around the calipers, didnt think much of it, but that could be a possibility of a problem..... couldn't it??

 

i'll look into the rebuild kit, and i need to get all the wheels off..... see how badly each one is... take some pictures...

 

thanks for the advice!

The rust that is worrisome in this situation is internal, along the bore of the hydraulic cylinder that IS your brake caliper; all that metal holding pads in place is ancillary.

 

You have to remove the piston from the cylinder to see if there is any rust on the cylinder walls. If the walls look fine, then the cylinder can be reliably rebuilt.

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one other thing, don't use sanding paper on the pistons as they are metal plated, sanding them down will remove the plating and thus ruin the fitting inside the caliper (and they'll rust like there's no tomorrow)

 

if they are rusted, replace the pistons and check inside the caliper for wear spots.

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i just had a similar problem wit my GL-10 what i did was i went to the junkyard and picked up a caliper from an 89' DL wagon for about 18.00 bucks just letting u know this other option if time is wat u dont have to keep the car sitting but if u do a rebuild is also a good idea

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