New Rotors And Pads All Around

[HeckaTrebeka]

If you have the chance, DEFINITELY do something with your calipers while you have it torn down....

I am on my complete 2nd set cause the salty winters here manage to rust them up so bad they seize up and wreck my rotors and pads. And considering I only drive it on Sundays and it is garage kept, it aint saying much about our calipers (probably says about our overuse of salt though).

Thanks for the heads up. My state doesn't allow salt on roads, but I'm sure those calipers need a good inspection anyway. Maybe I should just take them apart, paint them if they're able to be reused, and save up for SSB brake lines while the opportunity is available. I haven't driven the poor thing in months, and I just know the battery is dead again, so I'll jump it and park it back in my garage to work on it at my convenience.

[tom4bren]

There are really only 2 failure modes for calipers.

1. The most common failure mode is that the two rods that the calipers slide on can become rusty/corroded. A simple cleaning and greasing will suffice to correct this failure mode.

2. Much less frequently, the piston in the caliper itself can bind/stick. I've had pretty good luck with forcing the piston along the full range of motion of travel. I use a very large C clamp to compress the piston and then pump the brake pedal to run it back out. 5 cycles seems to be the magic number for me.

I've never rebuilt a caliper so I don't know what comes in a rebuild kit. I'm guessing that rebuild is only effective for failure mode 1.

If you're experiencing failure mode 2 & exercising it through the full range of motion doesn't fix it, I'm guessing that replacement rather than rebuild will be needed.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.

BTW, I've only experience the sticking piston thinggy once but corroded slides many times.