Nicole

My front calipers are peeling their finish, and one of the bleed nipples broke off recently.

Now I'm wondering, if I should just replace them with either

- a nice previously owned pair
- a pair that I refinish before installing it.

If you have a pair of the 90/91 style calipers (with the PORSCHE embedded in the clear coat), please PM me! I can't pay a fortune for the, but hope we can work something out.

Maybe that's the time for someone to upgrade to GTS brakes - or for someone who has already done this upgrade an opportunitiy to give the old calipers a good home.

Thanks!

RyanPerrella

a pair JUST sold on Ebay for $250 about 3 hours ago

Richard S

Nicole, I have one never used front caliper. I'm in Montana right now, and will be home on Tuesday. I'll pull it out for you and send some pics if you like.

Rich

Nicole

Sure!

Is it a left or right one? Is it the newer kind with the PORSCHE under the clear coat, or the previous one with the PORSCHE embossed?

I need the kind with the PORSCHE in the clearcoat.

Nicole

What other Porsche models would use the same calipers?

dprantl

944 and 968 with the M030 option.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C

dr bob

The bleed nipple is a replaceable part. I have a "spare" pair that I got from JB a few years ago in advance of a flush-and-bleed tech session. The old stub comes out with an easy-out AFTER the caliper is heated in the oven a bit. the new ones are yellow cad or zinc plated, and should be on the list of things to replace when doing a caliper paint and refurb. Around $20 IIRC.

The 'PORSCHE' lettering is available as a decal or a stencil IIRC, making a refurb of your old calipers a good choice unless you find some that are new for cheap.

Nicole

Hi Dr. Bob:

Well, the one that broke off, Bill and I tried to get it out, but our tool broke off inside of it, and now we're stuck. We can get it out, but it's time consuming and hard to do on the car.

So, my thought is, rather than having the car "down" for a few days, just prepare two nice calipers and then swap them in. This would kill two birds with one stone: The ugly peeling finish will be gone, and the nipple will be fixed - without the car bing down for days or weeks. I can then still replace the nipple and decide what to do with the old calipers - which work perfectly. I could refinish them for future use or sale, or just sell them for someone who wants to prepare a nice set for his car.

It just all depends on whether I can find a good pair at reasonable cost.

Make sense?

RyanPerrella

nicole try Ebay i think there is another set

EDIT:

here you go Nicole,

I would imagine they will go for $250-$300 based on what the other ones sold for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEBI:IT&ih=004

Bill Ball

I thought it would be pretty simple too, dr. bob. We tried to do this on the car. I avoid EZ-outs but I came upon another extractor that is driven in rather than screwed and is not supposed to break...well, it did. Lack of heat may be one reason. Probably not dilling out the bleeder enough to use a larger extractor was another reason. So, we had a bit of extractor stuck in the bleeder. No problem. We went and got one of my favorite extractor cutters - Dremel 7103 (Diamond coated point). It proceeded to break off. Anyway, we're going to try again with a few more Dremel diamond bits, but this baby is stuck. We'll hit it with a heat gun and go at it again. There is a bit of the bleeder above the surface of the caliper but not enough to grip. Maybe enough to slot and loosen with a cold chisel.

dr bob

The constant heat cycling and a tiny bit of corrosion make this a tough problem. Heating the aluminum calipers up to working temp will expand them away from the steel bleeder a bit, hopefully freeing them up some. The challenge in drilling out bleeders is the risk of damage to the seat at the bottom where the bleeder seals. Booger that up with the drill, and the caliper will be history in a heartbeat. I think that's one of the reasons I decided to grab the spare bleeder screws in the first place-- didn't want to have someone's car in my garage for a week or three while they searched for replacement calipers. Plus JB recommended it. Can't ignore great advice from Jim.

Mrmerlin

And if not able to spring for new bleeder take out the old ones and wire brush the threads and the sealing end and cot the bleeders new or old with nickle antiseize compound, they will never freeze in the outlets again

IcemanG17

Wow that sucks......for whats its worth when I had a EZ out break off in a bolt in my rear hub assembly (brake dust cover bolt) I used a "Artu" carbide drill bit I got from Ace hardware.....using my Rybobi 18V drill I got it out...BUT that consisted of drilling it out and ruining the threads too

New calipers might be your best bet....I think all 88+ S4's used the same front calipers...only the 86.5 & 87 used slightly smaller pistons 42mm vs 44mm or something close to that

IF you can salvage your existing caliper you can always strip and paint it or even better have it powder coated!

Bill Ball

Yes, I was concerned about that. We looked over the new bleeders and there is some space between the end of the threads and the seat. I think we can drill the threaded portion safely with a stop on the bit. BTW, we are using lefthand drill bits. The bleeders are very soft metal, but the broken extractor is not. We'll need to use a diamond bit to get that out, then resumes with the lefthand bits.

Gary Knox

Nicole,
If you really want them to look like new, check prices at Sunset Porsche (Oregon). New parts at 15% over dealer cost. Shipping to SF area shouldn't be too much.

Gary Knox