C3 Novice Needs Advice
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 147
Likes: 0
From: MA
C3 Novice Needs Advice
Gentlemen once again I would appreciate your technical input: My 80' C3 project car received two rebuilt stock front brake calipers from a well respected brake service rebuilder a year ago. These people are used by a number of MA Corvette restores with fine results I'm told.
They installed the stainless interior parts to prevent corrosion to upgrade them from stock. At that point , the car was off the road through the New England winter as I worked on the fuel system and wiring in my garage. This spring I have now found that one of the calipers is leaking brake fluid. Since I cannot drive the car in the winter, do I have to switch to another caliper set up that is more able to handle a car that sits through the winter ?
I do not race or drive fast so was perfectly happy with the stock calipers performance.
Thank you.
Robert
They installed the stainless interior parts to prevent corrosion to upgrade them from stock. At that point , the car was off the road through the New England winter as I worked on the fuel system and wiring in my garage. This spring I have now found that one of the calipers is leaking brake fluid. Since I cannot drive the car in the winter, do I have to switch to another caliper set up that is more able to handle a car that sits through the winter ?
I do not race or drive fast so was perfectly happy with the stock calipers performance.
Thank you.
Robert
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,117
Likes: 104
From: charlotte north carolina
did you flush the lines before you installed the new calipers? it might be debris from the brake lines that damaged the caliper. or, it might simply be a bad-out-of-the-box part. in any case, flush the lines and either rebuild the caliper(not a difficult job) or, see if the supplier will exchange it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,590
Likes: 403
From: Nashville TN
St. Jude Donor '09
The stock calipers are fine, but prone to leak, especially if they sit for a long time. You will want to look at the stock calipers with the o-ring design which reduces chance of leaking. Your brake guy should be able to do for you. I had mine rebuilt by VanSteel with O-ring design and zero leaks so far. That was 3-4 years ago . . .
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,943
Likes: 61
From: Southern NH
My car sits in NH over the winter months. I've had it 3 years and only had on piston on one caliper leak so far. Luckily, mine are already all sleeved so I just keep a few sets of caliper seals on hand in case I get a leaker.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 396
Likes: 3
From: Buffalo New York
I replaced my two rear calipers with Cardone units from autozone 4 years ago. I flushed the entire system at the same time. The car sits in a cold Buffalo garage all winter, and only gets driven 1000 miles a year, no sign of a leak.
