Naitove

I need to replace the rear calipers on my 81 SC. All the regular auto part web sites list different ones ranging in price from about $35 to about $70. Some of the are rebuilt by A. Cardone. Some by Nu GEON, and a few others. Some say OE piston. Some don't. Am I safe buying any of these calipers? Any BTDT?

Naitove

Nobody can help me with this?

redtdi96

Ok stupid question, why not rebuild yourself.

Naitove

Sheared off broken bleeder.

Noel

I got a set from Autozone that are fine and I use them on the track regularly.

autobonrun

Have you tried calling PartsHeaven?

http://www.partsheaven.com/

Naitove

Those are used. Not rebuilt.

Matt Romanowski

Experience with Cardone, NuGeon and others - never had a problem. Deal with the NuGeon quite a bit.

Matt

der Mond

Naitove,
With all due respect to our sponsor, I have been in a pinch to get rebuilt calipers before the snow flies here. My local CarQuest store contacted Cardone, which does have a sterling reputation, and they are able to ship all but my right rear, because they don't have any to rebuild. So CarQuest is going to ship my right rear (Cardone P/N 19-722, caliper without pads, with OEM pistons) to Cardone so they can rebuild it. Matt - do you have a set of 4 rebuilt calipers for a 1987 non-turbo Carrera in stock ready to ship? I have all the hardware and pads.

autobonrun

That's true but since he said the issue was a sheared off bleeder, I thought money could be saved by purchasing used ones with the bleeder intact and rebuilding it himself. A little polishing and $30 in parts might be an option.

der Mond

I agree. Just answering his question. The CarQuest guys say that Cardones never come back. After I got into my '87 calipers and saw the crud and discoloration, I didn't have the heart to put my full trust in what I could rebuild. But I have seen a lot of posts from guys with much older calipers than mine who rebuild. What has been your experience? I have heard guys say to sand them out with #800 paper. I wonder how Cardone cleans and polishes them?

autobonrun

I used compressed air to slowly blow out the piston then gently polished it and the inside of the caliper with emery cloth. It takes very little air pressure to move the piston. I'd go finer than 800 grit since you're just refinishing an already polished surface. Basically I just removed the gunk that had stuck to the metal and some of the scoring from years of movement. If there is substantial pitting on the piston, then I'd replace it. If the boot has not been torn, chances are the pistons are in good shape.

My brakes have never worked better and this is not a stretch of the truth. My SC is 27 years old. One secret to hard brakes in addition to bleeding them well is to force fit the pads back in place. Pushing the piston back in too far then just dropping the pads in place leaves too much space that has to be made up. I originally did just this and they felt soft. When I allowed just enough space to press the pads in place, the brakes became rock solid.

Also, there is an angle the pistons must go back in to limit the brake squeal. The portion of the piston that fits against the brake pad has a cut out and it is this cutout that needs to be turned at a certain angle. I don't remember the angle off hand but can find it if needed. I cut a triangle from cardboard to set this angle.

I just checked and the kit is actually cheaper than I remember.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg4.htm#item15

Curiosity got the best of me. The angle for the piston cutout is 20 degrees. It's shown in figure 14 of this Pelican article.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...er_rebuild.htm

der Mond

Automan,
I do appreciate your taking the time to spell it out, and I hope Mr. Naitove is reading. In my case I made the decision to go with the remans. But I have read a number of posts that describe the way to prevent that soft pedal. Some guys say to install the pistons/pads as you say, then once the pads are in, to remove one and push one piston in and force it out again with brake pedal to the pad contact position, to do it on each side on each caliper. Some say the new square o-ring seals need a few strokes back and forth to get seated properly, kind of "pre-worn-in." What do you think?

autobonrun

No problem at all. I do stroke my pistons as well after I do a rebuild, but I do it on a bench while they are out. Once you insert the pistons back into the rebuilt caliper (making absolutely certain they go in straight) I place some wood where the rotors and pads would be. Then I use gentle air pressure to move the pistons, press them back in then repeat a few times. Make sure the wood is thick enough that neither piston can come completely out. I use a little brake fluid as the lubricant on the o rings, on the piston, and in the cylinder. You don't need much, just enough to coat the surfaces. And watch your fingers, sometimes the pistons pop out pretty fast and would crush anything in their path. It really does not take much air pressure to do this exercise. I actually used a modified garden sprayer as my air source one time. If using a compressor, I'd try using the least amount of pressure needed to move the pistons.

Lastly when you first remove the pistons, get them to move at the same time. If one comes out completely before the second moves, it's almost impossible to build up enough pressure to get it out. Then you have to reinsert the piston enough to block off the hole then pressure the second one out.

Naitove

I actually bought a Nu Geon right rear rebuilt from Paragon. It comes with the pad hardware but no pads which was okay, but now I have an extra set of rear hardware because I bought new hardware for the left rear and a rebuild kit and the hardware package comes with parts for both rears. I have been unable to get the pistons out of the right rear. I read all the proper stuff on this and may try remounting it.