Removing the caliper during a trailing arm replacement has caused a brake fluid leak. Now I need to decide rebuild or replace and what style seal (original or O-Ring). I rebuilt the fronts with original seals and did not enjoy the task. Looking for opinions.

 

use the o ring seals so much better in every way.I'm supprised anyone even sells the lip seal kits anymore

 

I've done the math, get new S/S ones....not a whole lot of savings if you're coming from stock non-stainless sleeves. Look on the bright side, you dont have to tackle these:

 

If your caliper is rebuildable the o-ring seals are alot easier to install. You will have to replace the pistons as the groove in them is different for the o-rings. You will not have the problem of getting the lip into the bore without damage. With the o-rings just lube them with brake fluid or brake assembly lube and push them in by hand. This is the contents of an o-ring rebuild kit for a front caliper. Good luck with it. mike...

 

Read this to find out how "superior" your o-rings are: http://www.duntovmotors.com/tech-calipers.php

 

None of the above .. replace with a set of Wilwoods!

 

I think you got a bunch of good answers here..the o ring rebuild works great..the wilwood cost a ton more than rebuild and the lip seal style are cheap and like to leak..its how much money are you going to spend.

 

There are pros and cons to both. Lip seals actually seal tighter than o-rings under pressurization contrary to popular belief. However they also have a nasty tendency to pump air back into the cylinders if you have too much rotor runout. They are also prone to leaking with long periods of dormancy as our cars often see. That final reason is why I personally went with o-rings. YMMV

 

I can think of at least 3 specific times my lip seals have put my car and myself in danger over the past 10 years. They always feel great in the driveway and fail the minute I need them... It is on my list of items to fix this spring.

I remember sitting in on a panel of Corvette engineers, past and present, during the 2003 50th anniversary celebration in Bowling Green. When asked why C3 calipers were designed with seals that leak, they stumbled around for a bit and finally said in so many words that it was a design flaw.

"Floating piston-type brakes (like the C2-C3 brake system) must address piston knock-back resulting from deflections generated primarily from cornering forces." - http://www.duntovmotors.com/tech-calipers.php

I am very curious exactly how much deflection actually occurs in mild street driving in between the spindle and caliper mounting points.

 

Lips seals work perfectly when used properly within the spec'd runout allowed by design. Part of that design is also maintenance flushing the system clean.
There is a reason only cup seals are used in EVERY master cylinder in the world.
Next best for calipers are "square cut" orings, that's what all the oem's use.
The round oring kits are a workaround that work very well for runout or seldom use.
Be aware that they become essentially "zero drag" calipers, but lack the 2 stage master cylinders the new designs use to achieve quick response.

 

That past two times I have replaced calipers it was with the lip style versions. Maybe they were rebuilt improperly or maybe the cores used were out of spec. Either way, the calipers on the car at the time of purchase and two other sets have failed putting me in danger. It is really hard to get used to the idea of putting another set of death calipers back on the car.

Anyone know what kind of seals SSBC uses?
http://www.ssbrakes.com/commerce/det....cfm?nPID=8224

 

I've had lip seals on my 73 and 76 for years with no problems except just after I bought my 76. I replaced the calipers with ss sleeved lip seals in 2006. The car had been sitting for a few years before I bought it and the seals had cracked.

The 73, my dad put ss lip seal calipers on when he built up the car back in 1994. We have never had a problem with stopping.

I autocross my cars during the summer, drive the 76 on the street occasionally, and they sit all winter (November-April). I try to go out there about once a month and step on the pedals to keep the seals lubricated. In fact, i should go out there and do so now, but with 20"+ of snow on the ground, it is kind of hard to get the the cars. I flush the system and put new fluid, Valvoline synthetic DOT 3-4, in there about every 2 years and bleed the system every year. Again, never once have I had a brake failure. In auto crossing, I can consistently lock up the tires.

Cory your problems might be exactly what you said, the bores are not good or the rebuild was poor. As long as these systems are maintained and used regularly, there should not be any problems. Go with a good quality rebuilder and that should be solved. I got my brakes from Muskegon brakes, but they just resell Lonestar rebuilt calipers. As for the SSBC calipers, i can't tell from the photos. You could call their number and ask.

 

I decided to go with a rebuild caliper using lip style seals as they were available locally. While not a daily driver, it does get driven when the sun is out and nothing else is broken. Prehaps when daughter gets out of college I will go for a full set of performance calipers and rotors.

thanks to all

 

Cool. I learned a couple things there.

 

Don't blame the system....most hydraulic brake problems are from moisture that is attracted from the brake fluid and forming rust, then cutting the seals no mater how expensive the parts are.........Brake fluid is clear, if it is brown or a orange tint there is probably rust involved...the first solution would be bleed them out unless one already leaks. It could still just be a matter of time before they do though.