loup68

I could see a brand new o-ring doing that, but not a slightly used one, due to the heat involved in calipers, making the rubber hard. This is just my opinion. Lou.

The Punisher

If you do the o-ring conversion make sure you have sleeved calipers. I had one caliper that wasn't and it leaked. Bought a rebuilt caliper. It has lip seals. No leaks so far , when it does I have a rebuilt kit ready

briankeery

So by your statement, are you now mixing o-ring and lip seal calipers?

John Ulrich

Good info to look into......thanks!

694speed350

Had mine converted to the o rings/ss think they are superior.

Sayfoo

I've used both, and both work fine, and both have failed/leaked. I'm not convinced that either is superior.
Here's another random thought. If you buy rebuilt calipers, warranties can be worthless. When 1 of my rebuilt o ring calipers developed a leak, I called the rebuilder (big seller on this forum) about a replacement. There would be shipping costs and about a month turnaround to get a new caliper, IF they determined that the fault was theirs and not just normal wear. They could not tell me if a rebuild kit from the local parts store would work or not, so I bought a rebuild kit--at full retail price + shipping-- from them to expedite the delivery and repair. A simple exchange at a local parts store with a lifetime warranty, would have been a better solution for me.

DUB

I have installed so many lipped seal calipers and that is my preference to install. I have also installed the 'O' ring design when the owner brought the set for me to install. I prefer the 'feel' brakes have with lipped seals versus the 'O' ring design. To me...there is a difference in feel.

I also have seen 'O' ring seals fail along with the lipped sealed calipers. SO the "o' rings are not forever.

AND...honestly....I have also seen that the calipers you can get from a auto parts store be different. Meaning...I have dissembled them and one half of the caliper had 'O' rings seals and the other half was lipped seals.

DUB

mbeeman350

FWIW
I installed O ring seal WITHOUT springs about 8 years ago and have not have any problems with drag, leaks or excessive brake dust. Car is not driven much and so it sits, a lot.
In other Vettes I never got more than 2-3 years of service with the lip seals when the car sat a lot.
To me the pedal feel is better.
I have much more confidence driving the car with the O rings especially after it has sat a while. I never really enjoyed the sinking feeling when the pedal went to the floor when I used the lip seals!!

John Ulrich

Interesting idea!

drspencer

Could you please explain the difference in feel?

Thanks

DUB

It feels like a hesitation or lag in the response time when the pedal is applied on 'O' ring calipers The 'crispness' is lost.

That is about as close as I can think of to the feeling. It just does not feel right...

DUB

joewill

someone 'splain to me how there could be any difference in feel? its a sealed system and presume properly bled out?

Haggisbash

I read somewhere that if running lip seals and the car is parked up that you should step on the brake pedal every couple of weeks and this helped to prevent leaks.

DUB

In my opinion:
RESISTANCE in the area where the seals contact the bore....thus...reaction time. VERY similar to how SOME hydraulic throw-out bearings for a clutch have a slight lag to them...versus the 'old school' linkage set-ups.

Take an 'O' ring caliper and press in on the piston and see what happens.....THEN...do it to a lipped seal caliper. THAT will show you the difference in that portion of the dynamics of the caliper.

I can not explain it any further so all of those who LOVE there 'O' ring calipers....I am glad for you.....SERIOUSLY I AM.

DUB

redvetracr

I tried the original billet o-ring pistons from Zero Tolerance in the car below, the pedal was great, best ever until I hit the race track, then it was two pumps at every corner, bled the calipers, it didn`t help, bled them again still didn`t help and to boot I had aluminum flakes floating in my master, we changed the master cylinder and rebuilt the calipers right there in my trailer at Road America putting my trusty lip seal J-56 pistons back in, a couple of cans of BrakeKleen and a liter of SRF later I was back in business, for the street masking the symptoms of loose wheel bearings ok maybe but for me never again.

blu73

DUB,

Your comments seem to address exactly what I mentioned in posting #20. You say there is a difference in the feel of the brake action. Specifically the "crispness" in the behavior. You then mention pressing in on the piston of an o-ring caliper and see what happens. Are you saying that the piston will "return" slightly as any distortion or deflection of the o-ring is allowed to relax? Sixteen o-rings returning the pistons slightly will add up to a volume of fluid that needs to be pushed back into the calipers before the pistons move far enough to actually apply the brakes. Am I on track as to what is happening or am I overthinking this?

loup68

There is a huge difference in contact area between a V seal and an o-ring, in my opinion.
That could be making the difference in feel. Lou.

DUB

My test to see how the piston react between the two types of seal designs is just that. Something that I have observed.

YES...I AGREE with 'loupe68'. The amount of actual seal that contacts the sleeve HAS to be greater in an 'O' ring seal than the lipped seal. Unless my sense of logic is completely screwed up.

How people what to look at this and decide on what to do for 'whatever' reason ' they choose is up to them. I do not worry about retracting fluid or any of that ( unless there is a need to during a brake job). Mainly because...if you think about it...there are springs BEHIND the pistons doing what??? Pushing/aiding the piston outwards. They are not pulling the pistons back into the bore.

I am of the firm belief that the lipped seal is lipped in a specific way...so when pressure is applied to the fluid side of eh lipped seal...it presses harder against the bore of the caliper....and thus this added pressure is making sure it does not leak. ( if all is correct)...and in doing so...due to the design of this lipped seal.,..it can push the piston outwards 'easier' because it has LESS surface area of the seal to add a resistance to the piston.

I do not like the side view of a 'O' ring design seal when it is installed. Something about the curved area where the 'O' ring meets the bore does not make sense to me...even though it works....for me does not make it the best....in my opinion.

I am NOT trying to have people feel that MY choice is the ONLY choice. I am only expressing what I feel and what I do for my customers...and what I have noticed. That's all.

DUB

loup68

With my being in maintenance at the original MTD plant for 34 years until it closed in 2007, I just wanted to say that I saw three different types of hydraulic cylinder seals. Cup seals are what you guys are calling V seals. And o- rings were mostly the round type, but some were square cross section. Lou.

kdf1986

I plan on doing the stainless steel sleeve insert and the O rings on my 72 when I redo the brakes this winter. I figure with the car in the garage for a couple of months, that is the time to redo the brake system.

kdf