Any thoughts on getting a $10 used caliper from car-part.com and putting new seals in? The cheapest I can get a rear reman is $55. I'm sure it's obvious at this point.. I'm a student and strapped for $$.
Originally Posted By: Donald
can you use a big C clamp on the phenolic pistons to push them back in? Or will they crack. How tuff are they?
No problem with pushing them back in with a C-clamp. Ordinary braking forces will subject the pistons to far greater loads than you ever would when pushing them back in again.
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Any thoughts on getting a $10 used caliper from car-part.com and putting new seals in? The cheapest I can get a rear reman is $55. I'm sure it's obvious at this point.. I'm a student and strapped for $$.
The used caliper is likely to have the exact same problem as your existing calipers. If you buy a used caliper, you're doing it in order to obtain the caliper body for use in remanufacturing the assembly; the internals should be considered junk.
1. The rear passenger side recently started producing a groaning sound at very low speed (~1 mph) without the brakes applied (eg. parking lot or driveway), and there's unusual wear on the rotor. I could also hear the same sound faintly spinning that wheel with it in the air.
2. Removing the pads eliminated the sound and it's smooth, so I could rule out the wheel bearing.
3. After removing the caliper, I couldn't get the piston to go back in. Either the piston itself is seized in the bore or something's up with the parking brake mechanism in the caliper.
The caliper issue must have happened recently since the pads on both sides are both worn enough to warrant replacement and the side with the seized caliper isn't worn too much more than the other side.
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Originally Posted By: Dan55
On some vehicles it can be very difficult to get that piston back ,I had one of them and wound up getting this tool http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-...-kit-97143.html
Dude, give it up. I rent that tool from AZ to do the rear brakes.
Originally Posted By: Donald
So what constitutes "sticky" vs "seized"?
Sticky is pins not letting the caliper slide freely, or pads not sliding freely. Seized is the piston unable to move in the bore.
So if I can get the piston back in the caliper with a C-clamp then the piston and its movement are OK? No a need to rebuild the caliper's bore or piston?
Yea if it goes back in smoothly it's fine. Usually what gives issues are the pins. Make sure to lube them (with caliper grease) so they slide smoothly, as well as the pad contact surfaces where they slide.
