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Old Dec 9, 2009 | 01:55 PM
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Default Rebuilding Calipers

Everytime I try to rebuild my calipers, they leak...I try so hard to be careful and exact....any suggestions ? Tips/Tricks ? A step by step guild ?!!!! Thanks in advance !

Jeff

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Old Dec 9, 2009 | 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by MrJlr
...any suggestions...
Swap them for rebuilt stainless steel sleeved units. Use your old ones as cores.

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Old Dec 9, 2009 | 02:17 PM
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well, I want to disassemble them, clean them up and powder coat them (I just bought a home powder coating kit !!! Woo-Hoo!), but then I need to put new seals and all...and it never seems to fail that they will leak between the 2 halves...and yes - I replace the o-ring ! I must be doing something wrong...
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Old Dec 9, 2009 | 03:29 PM
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I fouhd that corrosion had built up a bit on the caliper mating surfaces on my calipers. I used a fine file to smooth the surfaces out before re-assembling.



Rick B.
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Old Dec 10, 2009 | 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by MrJlr
well, I want to disassemble them, clean them up and powder coat them (I just bought a home powder coating kit !!! Woo-Hoo!), but then I need to put new seals and all...and it never seems to fail that they will leak between the 2 halves...and yes - I replace the o-ring ! I must be doing something wrong...
If these are your original, non-sleeved calipers, they're crap. Mine are crap. I've "rebuilt" them 3 times, they're leaking right now. You need rebuilt stainless steel sleeved calipers. Not sure if you can have your exact set remanufactured or not; but check with VanSteel.

If they are remanufactured stainless steel sleeved, and you have gone the whole process of seperating, cleaning, honing the bores, etc, make sure you're not putting the lip seal on backwards (if you're using a lip seal). If you're using actual o-ring style seals and the pistons are clean as a whistle, your bores are toast more than likely.

You really, really need to have a perfectly working brake system. Its why I'm not driving my 'vette at all. The pedal on the right doesn't mean much if the pedal on the left isn't working.

Good luck & be safe.
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Old Dec 10, 2009 | 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Stoge
You really, really need to have a perfectly working brake system. Its why I'm not driving my 'vette at all. The pedal on the right doesn't mean much if the pedal on the left isn't working.

Good luck & be safe.

I agree...no brakes = no Vette.

Not sure if mine are sleeved...when I seperate the halves, I should be able to see the sleeve material opposed to the cast material - yes ?

As for the lip seal, which way is correct - cup pointing into the bore or pointing out ?

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Old Dec 10, 2009 | 05:41 PM
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I've never seen a set of sleeved ones, but I would imagine that the sleeve can be disseminated from the caliper casting.

On lip seals, the lip points into the bore so that the fluid expands the seal snugly to the bore walls under pressure.

I don't know if corvettefaq (http://www.corvettefaq.com) is still around, but if so, I'll bet there's a good write-up on there for caliper rebuilding. Rebuilding is one of those things that to you, me, and the rest of us seems so easy to do that maybe there's something we're just overlooking. But if not, I'd bet its just the negative benefits of having sleeveless castings.
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Old Dec 10, 2009 | 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Mike
Swap them for rebuilt stainless steel sleeved units. Use your old ones as cores.

Mine were a nightmare till I swapped all of them with VB&P stainles sleeved, 'O' ring calipers. Once installed I never had a single problem. VB&P gave me $50.00 for all four of the old ones. But they got to be rebuildable. Fairs fair.
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Old Dec 11, 2009 | 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Stoge
...but I would imagine that the sleeve can be disseminated from the caliper casting...
Yep. You can see the SS inserts if they're there.

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