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Rust in calipers, etc
I bought my VX from someone in Chicago so it has some rust in the calipers, rotors and brake system overall (picture to be posted later). I did a quick search on this site and could not find the answer I'm looking for.
Any tips or suggestions on how to remove the rust from those areas? I contacted someone at Eastwood.com and recommended this product
http://www.eastwood.com/ew-fast-etch-32-oz.html
The customer service rep told that I can spray without removing wheels/tires as it won't damage it. I'm a little skeptical about this.
Opinions?
Also, if I have to replace the calipers...What do you recommend?
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Daniel,
Rust is really tough to get out of calipers as there are a lot of surfaces on them. And don't ever spray anything onto calipers or rotors without removing them. You may compromise the braking power of the VX (or any other vehicle for that matter).
If you do get new calipers, get loaded calipers. They come with the caliper bracket as well as new pads all put together so it goes on nice and smooth. When you call around to parts houses make sure you ask for loaded calipers, or at least that the caliper comes with the bracket. Most places don't have the bracket with the caliper. I say this because all the moving parts are brand new and greased in the proper places.
And if you want to paint them to protect them from rust, make sure you take the new calipers apart and protect the slide pins and caliper piston from the paint as this will cause uneven pad wear down the road.
I hope this helps a little. If you have any other questions, please don't be afraid to ask.
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All good advice...
In addition, while replacing the calipers I also did new brakes. The new calipers I had painted RED (as I have a proton) and the rotors were powdercoated black...
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I had replaced 2 rear calipers due to rust build up, causing them to begin seizing just last year. Replaced rotors all the way around while I was at it. Recently, it appears my fronts are also starting to seize. One pretty sure sign is excess buildup of brake dust on wheels. Just one of those things ya know. :(
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I just rebuilt my calipers a couple of weeks ago. also painted them while they were all apart. its not that hard of a job. I think the rebuild kit was around 8 bucks a side. and took about 45 minutes each to do. something to consider. while its all apart, you can wire brush, and dremel the rust away. just be sure to really, REALLY clean everything when you are done. my piston was kinda nasty looking, but a very light rubbing with very fine synthetic steel wool cleaned them right up.
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Daniel, yeah, it's pretty straight forward process. It does look like you have some serious rust. But, in my opinion, you should be able to clean it up pretty good with a wire brush chucked in a drill or air powered die grinder. After I cleaned mine, I got some quality caliper paint, painted them, and the bracket also. After paint cured, I put the new seals and cleaned up piston in the calipers,
Installed everything, and blead the brakes. Ta da!
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Daniel, this isn't exactly like our calipers, but pretty close, and gives you an ideA what I'm talking about. The biggest difference with ours is that the dust boot fits in a groove, And is held in with a wire ring....kind of like a big circle clip. This guy in the video uses a hand held wire brush, I used an air powered die grinder with a soft wire brush in it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cRUOChic7bc
Hope this helps.... There's not much to it, and no black magic involved!
