So this just happened.

[bowlofturtle]

Cruising down the road in nice chicago weather for once. I'm doing about 50 in 40mph zone. Come to a light, hit my brakes..... Pedal DROPS!!!! Almost no pedal feel what so ever. Good thing i brake early because i barely had enough stopping distance not to go into the intersection. I pull over the side and check everything, it all looks normal. Took a couple side streets home. All my lights are on in the car. Pedal drops to the floor still but i figured out how long it took to stop.

I get home, pass rear wheel is coated with brake fluid. I thought my line rusted out or someone cut it. Instead i found this...

Seems my piston seal is leaking. I'm assuming the rust cut into my seal and made it [censored] out fluid. Pads were changed maybe 2-3 years ago and have 65-75% life in them. This is on my 2005 infiniti.

Now the debate between getting a new seal and cleaning this up or going to autozone and just getting a reman. I never did rebuild one, but i think the rust might do it again. I should check the other side.

 

[Eddie]

Get a new or rebuilt unit and I agree that the other side should be checked. ed

 

[GenesisGuy70]

I would not recommend rebuilding that. It looks like it has lived a long life. If it were me, I'd retire that one not only for peace of mind but also because chances are, you'll have more issues with it in the future. A reman at AAP with a code shouldn't be too much.

Brakes are THE most important component of a vehicle. Always better safe than sorry. This also gives you a chance to get fresh fluid in the lines.

 

[Burt]

Dude, you live in Chicago and your calipers have aged 40 years in the last 10, from the salt. Get different calipers.

 

[bowlofturtle]

I'm not trying to be cheap, i'm just going with the logic OEM should still be then aftermarket.

I know where you guys are coming from. So far it seems like Napa has their house brand for $55, advance has their brand for $47 after coupon and autozone has their for $68. All 3 are about the same distance, I replaced calipers on my maxima with AAP and one side was perfect, the other had 3 leakers before the 4th one was good. The manager kept telling me i'm installing it wrong. I was a little [censored] that day but i still go back cause they have lowest bottom dollar on parts.

All seem to have lifetime warranty, which i hope to NEVER use in my lifetime. Any thoughts on which one is better.

 

[mclasser]

Wow, scary stuff. Rear calipers on Nissans/Infinitis around that age in the Rust Belt are prone to seizing/failing. I replaced the rear pass one on my I35 with a new one shortly after buying it. Original owner was from upstate NY.

Make sure to properly bleed the brakes afterwards.

 

[Donald]

I order high quality ones from RockAuto. NAPA would be my second choice. I think AAP and AZ are selling a lot of junk these days.

I would not rebuild. You might need a piston and pins in addition to the seal.

My guess is the seal was damaged by road debris. Pull out the piston, is it rusty?

I would flush the brake system also.

 

[bigt61]

If you're going to keep the car for another 10 years, I'd just get remans for both rears. Cheap insurance. I hate dealing with body shops, not to mention the chance of hurting a pedestrian at an intersection.

 

[theKman]

I would not try to rebuild them. Another alternative is to contact the dealer and see if they have remans available. That's what I did when I needed some ASAP for the Corolla. You'll pay more than the parts stores, but will get the same quality as if you got them replaced at the dealer. The price I paid at the dealer ended up being more reasonable than I had assumed it would be.

 

[JHZR2]

Im rather surprised that they only lasted that long. Ive heard that infiniti has had quality issues, I wonder if they scrimp on corrosion protection.

Even with the salt; lots of us live in winter salt climates, Id expect better life. If the car is worth keeping, Id probably look at replacing all four with decent remans (may need to paint them, the corrosion protection on the remans can be pretty awful too, BTDT). Though theyre still young, Id consider brake rubber hoses and metal lines too if there re signs of issues. Better safe than sorry.

Most importantly, glad youre OK and could safely stop.

 

[bowlofturtle]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I order high quality ones from RockAuto. NAPA would be my second choice. I think AAP and AZ are selling a lot of junk these days.


Always thought most people got them from A1cardone. Just rebranded.


Originally Posted By: bigt61
If you're going to keep the car for another 10 years, I'd just get remans for both rears. Cheap insurance. I hate dealing with body shops, not to mention the chance of hurting a pedestrian at an intersection.


This car is a keeper for the time being, as much as i want a new car with better MPG then i get now (18mpg) its paid off and is/was low cost of ownership.


Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Im rather surprised that they only lasted that long. Ive heard that infiniti has had quality issues, I wonder if they scrimp on corrosion protection.

Even with the salt; lots of us live in winter salt climates, Id expect better life. If the car is worth keeping, Id probably look at replacing all four with decent remans (may need to paint them, the corrosion protection on the remans can be pretty awful too, BTDT). Though theyre still young, Id consider brake rubber hoses and metal lines too if there re signs of issues. Better safe than sorry.

Most importantly, glad youre OK and could safely stop.


The maxima and my g35, never gave me brake issues. Rust is an issue with these both cars tho. Maxima has its radiator support rusted out and rear calipers seized last year. G35 has had all 4 doors replaced due to rust under warranty last year.

I'm getting this caliper done most likely with a napa house branded. Check the other side and make sure nothing stupid is happening. Be done for now. SS lines were something i've wanted to do, just never had the time or found the parts.

 

[01rangerxl]

I think that caliper is too far gone to be rebuilt. That's a ton of corrosion. Aftermarket is a [censored] shoot, but I doubt you have much of a choice.

 

[michaelluscher]

Go on RockAuto and look for Beck Arnley reman calipers.

New calipers and pads on both sides, and check brake hoses closely.

If this happened to this side, I can only assume the other side is well on its way.

 

[supton]

Yeepers. That looks bad. Yet the rotors look ok. I expected more grooves etc.

I am starting to go thro my brakes every 5k, and might just replace all hardware every 5 yrs. Pads start separating around then.

 

[Joel_MD]

When I do a brake job at home on one of my cars I tend to rebuild the calipers myself as a preventive measure. However, if a caliper fails on me I like to trade it in on a rebuilt one. Typically I use A-1 Cardone from RockAuto, but it can be a pain to wait for the shipment and then have to ship the core back to them. Napa stuff is generally pretty good if you want it right away. I would definitely replace the calipers on both sides if that was my car.

 

[EdwardC]

Wow, that's pretty scary. Is there some kind of preventative maintenance that could have prevented that, without replacing or rebuilding the caliper regularly?

2005 is not that old at all.

 

[bowlofturtle]

I dont think anything can actually be done to prevent this from happening. Nothing i would consider preventative maintence. All my brake jobs include lubing the pins with slyglide and brushing off surface rust with a brush. Bleeding brakes every 2 years. I did brakes on this 2 years ago and you can see pad life is great.

Its a 2005 that is garage kept as well but daily driven no matter what.

Picture time. Here is the reman caliper installed.

Napa branded "total eclipse" Cost me $50ish minus the core

Here are shots of the other side since i had to replace pads anyways. The old on sitting on the rotor with plenty of life but i wanted match pad life on both sides.

Other side looks OK for now but i'll change them up in the summer, when i have vacation time. I'll also check the conditions of the fronts.

I'm still a little [censored] this happened, i understand stuff happens. Rust happens. Brakes do fail. But i think this was way to early. I dont consider brake calipers something that needs to be replaced before 100k.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
All 3 are about the same distance, I replaced calipers on my maxima with AAP and one side was perfect, the other had 3 leakers before the 4th one was good. The manager kept telling me i'm installing it wrong. I was a little [censored] that day but i still go back cause they have lowest bottom dollar on parts.


So you got 3 bad calipers in a row before the 4th one was good, and you defend going back because they have the lowest price on parts.

I think I can see why they have the lowest price on parts.

My time is not cheap, I would gladly pay a little more for quality parts.

 

[bowlofturtle]

Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
All 3 are about the same distance, I replaced calipers on my maxima with AAP and one side was perfect, the other had 3 leakers before the 4th one was good. The manager kept telling me i'm installing it wrong. I was a little [censored] that day but i still go back cause they have lowest bottom dollar on parts.


So you got 3 bad calipers in a row before the 4th one was good, and you defend going back because they have the lowest price on parts.

I think I can see why they have the lowest price on parts.

My time is not cheap, I would gladly pay a little more for quality parts.


Younger and with a lot of time on my hands. But there was more to that reason why i stuck to AAP for that particular caliper, i dont recall why as it was a few years back.

Rust on Nissan rear calipers aren't new i guess.

 

[turtlevette]

That's an interesting mill pattern on that rotor. I've seen holes, dimples, and grooves in a much different pattern. I like those.