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Hey All I am contemplating going to the O-ring conversion route on my calipers for my '74, I hate to say it but the frustration has grown too large to keep trying to install the lip seals. I've tried the Popsicle stick method, lubed them up, tried a small screw driver, .20 feeler gauge, no dice cant seem to get the lip seals in........
so...if you have any last minute advice I'll gladly take it
Otherwise....
I'm looking to upgrade to the O-rings, I'm probably looking at doing the kit from Willcox, looks like a good complete kit for the money. Two questions:
1. is it required to change out the caliper pistons when switching to O-Rings? I realize most will say its worth it to do so while the brakes are off, I agree, just curious if it is required
2. any other suggestions for O-ring kits that have worked well for anyone?
I don't want to push you away from a cost effective fix, but when I did mine I opted for purchasing new calipers. After I broke my calipers apart I found that one side was sleeved and one was not. As I understand (others correct me please) is that the O rings need to be installed on sleeved calipers. Maybe not but I think I read that somewhere. Food for thought for money vs time and aggravation!
I just did my rears. I replaced lip seals in stainless-sleeved calipers with "high-heat" o-rings from CSSB Inc. The kit included pistons, springs, seals, valves, and a new pad bar bar in addition to o-rings. I painted them red at the same time with G2 epoxy, and bled them with DOT 4. It cost what it cost, but I got them just the way I wanted them.
i see no reason for the bores requiring to be sleeved. sleeved with what? stainless steel sleeves are the fad, but they can be sleeved with anything that the seals will seat against.
as long as the bores are standard size and are honed properly without any pitting you should be fine.
and also from a comment from above, new pistons are part of the o ring kit since the piston groove is different.
also, also from your comment above, o ring seals are not easier to install, if you struggled with installing your lip seals, you will struggle equally with your o ring seal installation.
How can I tell if the calipers are sleeved or not?
In the caliper picture I posted, the half on the right side is sleeved. Notice the insert, the left side doesn't have it. I was surprised when I open them up to see that!
I initially had some difficulty with the lip seals too. Here's what I did. I smeared a thin coating of brake fluid on the sleeve and then used a c-clamp to apply only enough pressure to bring the lip seal in contact with the bore. Then I used a small screw driver to push about 1/4 of the seal into the bore and then turned the c-clamp about 1/4 of a turn. This helps keep the portion you have in from coming out. Then I used the screw driver to push the rest of the seal in. It wasn't a perfect method, but it worked better for me than trying to hold the seal in place by hand. I hope this helps.
I use a plastic body panel tool. Pink tool in photo. Make sure the seal is seated in deeper portion of the pison groove or it will protrude too far.
I was surprised my rebuild isnt leaking.
Got home from work frustrated. Decided to blow off steam rebuilding a caliper. Gouged the sh*t out of one bores while pryng out the dust boot. Discover the kit did not come with a new small o ring for caliper half seal. Reuse flattened o ring. Discover pitting in one sleeve.
Feel like im probably wasting time and money. Install the caliper anyway. Bleed it quickly.
Test in the driveway no leaks. Around the block once no leaks. 5 mile road test no Leaks. I guess the gouges and pitting are both at different depths than current seal position. Hopefully my story gives you confidence to push the seals in just to see what happens. I told my experience mechanic friend about my botched rebuild mysteriously working well and he said “ if it dont drip dont trip”
Last edited by Greengear; Oct 25, 2018 at 06:02 AM.
I use a plastic body panel tool. Pink tool in photo. Make sure the seal is seated in deeper portion of the pison groove or it will protrude too far.
I was surprised my rebuild isnt leaking.
Got home from work frustrated. Decided to blow off steam rebuilding a caliper. Gouged the sh*t out of one bores while pryng out the dust boot. Discover the kit did not come with a new small o ring for caliper half seal. Reuse flattened o ring. Discover pitting in one sleeve.
Feel like im probably wasting time and money. Install the caliper anyway. Bleed it quickly.
Test in the driveway no leaks. Around the block once no leaks. 5 mile road test no Leaks. I guess the gouges and pitting are both at different depths than current seal position. Hopefully my story gives you confidence to push the seals in just to see what happens. I told my experience mechanic friend about my botched rebuild mysteriously working well and he said “ if it dont drip dont trip”
I'm happy with O-rings, but you need to make sure your eliminate runout in your rotors either way.
I used a large wire wheel to clean up the caliper halves, then epoxied them (they are wet in the photo, it dried a bit smoother). Just stay away from the bores with the grinding and paint/epoxy.
I have done about 6 complete O-ring conversions over the years for my two cars and cars of buddies. O-ring pistons are very easy to install. If you go with lip seals, make up an install kit. I purchased two stainless steel sleeves from a brake builder. You will need one for the back calipers and one for the front calipers. I lube up the sleeve, put the piston in the sleeve, put the sleeve over the piston and push the piston down into the caliper bore. It is just like installing a piston in a block. I also purchased two pucks that aid in seating the dust boots. The also are two different sizes. I line up the boot over the bore and put the puck on top and gently tap the dust boot down on the caliper. Very easy, no clamps, ice cream sticks etc. Good luck. Jerry
Just got the O-Ring kit in the mail yesterday and within 45min I had all 4 pistons rebuilt. I'm not kidding it couldn't have gone smoother. Great kit with new pistons from Willcox. If I've ever got to do another caliper job I'll be buying it again.
Thanks for all the help guys. One step closer to getting the Vette Back on the road!
O-Ring Caliper Conversion
