interesting... I have not had good luck with the craftman flare nut wrenches either and almost never use them, I prefer an ajustable as snug as I can get it too....

hmmmm

 

I tried a bolt extractor route with plenty of heat and PB Blaster with no luck. I took it to a shop this morning and they couldn't take it off either. At this point rather than a diy job, I will let the pros handle it. I spoke with PMB today and I will let them deal with it.

For the fitting attached to the braided line he told me to cut the hard brake line as close to the fitting as possible and use a socket rather than the flare nut. I have been so gun shy that I haven't tried the passenger side yet. Since I already ordered replacement hard lines, I'm not messing with it and I will cut and use a socket rather than a flare nut.

I know this may be elementary to some of the experienced guys here but just want it to share with the first-timers.

 

One of my badly rounded off ones had to be "removed" with a cut-off grinder.

 

Guys... those prices are "with" the core charge. $269.00 is hardly what I would call expensive and, I'm a cheap-*** 914 guy at heart.

I find it ironic that we all have these awesome cars and it almost seems everyone here is advocating basically "Rattle Canning" your brake calipers... kind of an important piece of equipment in my book. Paint is what I see on Hondas with coffee can exhausts or guys that want to pretend they have Big Reds. Unless you have Big Reds on your car... you don't have Big Reds on your car. (sorry if I offended... Jorge, you did the right thing!)

1. Paint only protects the outside of the caliper... not very well and only temporarily.
2. Paint comes off with really odd things like... brake fluid and brake cleaner.
3. Paint can put a rather thick thermal barrier over your calipers.
4. Zinc is the factory finish and has superior corrosion protection (no, not cad... common myth with these).
5. Zinc re-plates the bore, which it probably needs it by now.

Rebuilders that paint calipers do so because zinc is expensive. They can easily slap on a coat of paint on "in-house" and it speeds up the process (why it takes 2-3 weeks to "restore" your calipers). They can even call it cool things like "Ceramic" or "Polymer" etc. If you want your vintage calipers done right they will need to be zinc coated like the day they left the ATE factory.

You can even get el cheapo mass rebuilder calipers if you want. Places like A1 Cardon and others do them even cheaper than we do. Why not?

1. Those things cost those parts suppliers $35-40.00 each (I can get them from IMC, WorldPac etc.). They're pushing them because there's big money to be made off you.
2. The caliper bodies are vibratory tumble polished. They put them in a huge bin of media and polish all of the finish off them. Then they get an oil bath. That's it! There is "no" protective finish on them at all! Give it a few years and your bargin calipers will literally be covered with rust. We've seen hundreds of them. The ones that come from the big-box rebuilders are almost unusable in a few short years.
3. We've seen pistons in backward. Your piston step needs to be set at a precise 20 degree angle to help eliminate pad squeal.

Here's another reason... I kid you not (hilarious):

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...2&l=7ec8a9039b

Again, the real benifits of zinc is the sacrificial coating properties. Zinc, by nature, will attract oxidents and literally save the metal it is protecting. Even if it is scratched off the zinc will continue to protect the steel it encapsulates. We've restored 46 year old 356 calipers and have them come out looking brand new. All thanks to the protective properties of the zinc coating applied those many years back.

Zinc also helps protect your piston bore. While the bore is not a sealing surface, it can get wear from the piston. Wear, lack of fluid changes and rusty caliper shellac will cause a caliper to stick. This usually happens just above the seal where moisture can get in. Other rebuilders use a hone to clean out your caliper bore. We recommend against that as it leaves a fresh steel on steel surface (bore and piston). The zinc bath leaves a perfect factory finish on the inside of your caliper bore. All in all, the process will clean and replate the entire caliper and make everything good for another 30-40 years.

Bottom line; there's a buttload of work that goes into "restoring" (I said it again) a set of calipers. Stipping them down to bare steel, using the proper bead to get the right finish, researching the factory finish, zinc coating, restoring NLA M7 and M9 fasteners, vibratory polishing pistons, cleaning knock-back mechanisms, restoring piston tops, setting piston angles. I think the pricing and the service is more than fair. That said, you can always find a cheaper solution if you don't have enough money...

Jorge's calipers came out great BTW. Thanks for your business. Sorry guys if it comes across as a rant, I'm just really passionate about these cars and calipers (oddly enough).

E.
- Caliper Geek

 

I'm really impressed how well they turned out. As soon as I find where my camera is, I will post some pictures.

Now if I could only find a way to take the brake lines off without rounding off the flare nuts. At the rate I'm going I will end up replacing all lines up to the master cylinder.

 

Oh Brother, I painted my calipers red so now I'm a poser...give me a break

 

There are "rattle can paints" and there are those made for calipers. Don't mistake the two. I did mine 5 years ago, and they still look great. I rebuilt my calipers to the tune of about $200 in parts (993 4 piston calipers all around. The bores were fine. Part of a $3000, give or take, redo, and I never even considered doing a full restoration, so don't think everyone is trying to save money or something.

I guess I should be glad I did mine in black....

 

I think we need to make sure we're comparing apples to apples.

Eric's point is that for the amount he charges, you get a product that is as close to original condition as you can get. Sure you can spend less on a DYI job, but then the comparison is no longer valid.

My guess is that Ed spent a lot of money rebuilding his calipers, but you're talking about 993 calipers. I guarantee you if I replaced the pistons on mine, the cost would sky rocket as well. So let's keep the comparison relevant.

I was willing to give a shot at rebuilding my calipers as my car is not a concours car. It didn't work out as I ran into problems. After that i figure I leave it to the pros. In this case, that was Eric at PMB. Rebuilding calipers is not the same as restoring calipers. Eric restores, we rebuild.

As to whatever color you paint your calipers...that's you prerogative. You own the car, paint it whichever color you want. For my taste, I like original so it is good there is an option to return them to the original finish.

 

My point really was that I feel the post was somewhat harsh toward those that want to do what they want to their calipers. It also seems a little self-promoting of what appears to be his business, and I know other companies pay for the right to do that on this board.

 

The Facebook thing was pretty funny. And I get a little smile when someone says El Cheapo.

 

I love Cardone1. Half my car is shiney black and has a lifetime warrenty.

 

+1

 

The guy I bought my car from painted it Yellow....Yuck!!! It looks awesome on a 997 but silly on a 77 Targa.

I never got to it but I have also considered just painting them with a spray can paint, black or silver grey before reading this thread.

now I am confused too

 

You just reminded me that I have a can of zinc paint somewhere. I'm going to use it on my calipers.

 

I like the Boxster brakes on these cars if cosmetics are your goal. Otherwise, rebuilding/maintaining the original calipers will yield a lifetime of great service.