My front calipers need to be rebuilt & I have kits for this plus I’ll be replacing rotors & pads. Since I am going to have these parts off I’d like to restore & protect the finish before I put them back on my Vette.

Was there any coating on either the calipers or the brackets when originally new? I believe the calipers were bare but what about the brackets? If I decide to put a coating on top I’m leaning towards just an automotive clear coat as I prefer the bare aluminum look of the calipers but what would hold up to the heat?

 

Put C5 brakes on it. You'll never look back...

 

While I have the 89’s original J55 big brakes I still run only 17’s on her & one set is the original set.
I have heard the C5 brakes force one to at least use spacers if not a bigger rim, which I don’t want to do.

I did find a place locally that can powder coat the rotors silver or black in a high temp coating for only $20 each. So that may be the best idea for the rotors as long as powder coating the pad surfaces isn’t an issue & it rubs off without issues. Not sure if I’ll do anything with the caliper as I’d only want a clear on them but it would be nice to powder coat the brackets as long as it isn’t an issue with the pad contact points on the brackets.

 

When I swapped over to C5 calipers I used VHT caliper paint. It has actually held up well, prep is everything with those kind of jobs. Stick with your J55s, clean them up, and clear them with some high temp paint. If you want to spend the money have them powder coated, they'll look great and last a long time.

Purple power makes an aluminum cleaner that is pretty potent and does a good job of cleaning and brightening bare aluminum. If you are replacing seals and totally disassembling the calipers, it's a great option.

 

Yeah I’ll be totally disassembling the calipers, replacing seals & hopefully that’s all I’ll need to get them to stop sticking & release.

QUESTION: as I had everything apart I noticed wear on the bracket where the brake pad makes contact. There are no stainless steel clips like so many cars have, it got me wondering are there supposed to be in there & mine are missing?

 

I believe the pads have the anti-rattle clips incorporated, there are no separate clips I’ve seen.

 

+1 for VHT. Their ceramic paints really do hold up well to heat and chemicals. You can get clear and their aluminum colors really do look like bare aluminum. Cure them nicely before install by baking or hitting them with a heat gun. Once cured, they won’t scratch up during install. They have products all the way up to “flame proof” rated at 1200 degrees momentary and are able to sustain a very high number for constant heat. Definitely worth looking them up.

 

I'd get brake caliper assembly fluid to use as lube to lube the seal before installing it, and lubing the bore and piston. I recently rebuilt my front calipers. There are places you can get it cheap like at BimmerWorld.

 

I can't really believe they powder coat the area the pad contacts. I personally would not want that. Powder coat does not rub off easy. Dan

 

You should also go ahead and replace the front brake hoses since the caliper is going to be off the car.

 

You bring good insight, thanks. Probably 15+ years ago I put a set of steel braided brake hoses on in place of the OEM hoses. I’m a huge fan of them & they are on all my old cars even back to my 1937 Hudson coupe.

When I searched caliper assembly lube I usually have found products to use on the pins like sil-glide which is great for its intended use. If I’m correct you’re referring to a product to use when assembling the caliper pistons seals. I have found s couple of them but it’s not an easy thing to locate as most people just use brake fluid. I also read about concerns with using silicone products & cross contamination but I’d assume if one uses the correct lube it shouldn’t be s problem, if used in moderation.

im going to hit the hardware store to see if I can find a good way to seal off the brake fluid from draining out the hose once removed from the caliper. Initially I’d planned on a couple washers with a nut & bolt set up but in case that doesn’t work I need to find an alternative method especially since it’s my 1st time rebuilding calipers, I know it will take 10 times longer than it should!

I gave a call back to the powder coating company & they said they mask off the area where the pad makes contact with the rotor face, so that’s good news. Since I had some 2000 degree rustoleum spray paint, I masked off the old front rotors & sprayed them to basically see how that might work. Man it’s a lot of work, sandblasting, cleaning, masking, spraying then their 3 step heat curing process. Good thing my wife was gone & I could air out the house. Definitely not worth the time it took, I’d be better off buying new rotors with coatings already on them!

 

A tip, get a long board and some type of cushion like a piece of foam or wad of newspaper. And put the board inbetween the brake pedal and front of the driver seat plastic area. Use the cushion to protect seat from board. And move the seat in the forward position to where the board depresses the brake pedal by like 1/2". Just barely. Then when you disconnect the brake hose, zip tie a sandwich bag around the end.

This will keep you from losing brake fluid, and the plastic bag to help contain any drips that may happen. Barely pressing the brake pedal causes ports in the master cylinder to get blocked off so it doesn't gravity bleed.

 

This is the product I'm talking about and what I ordered when I did mine. Though there are other places you can get it from, I just wanted to buy a small bottle:

Brake Caliper Assembly Lube - 1 fl. oz. (30mL) (bimmerworld.com)

"If you are planning to rebuild your brake calipers, we recommend ordering a bottle of caliper assembly lube. Using assembly lubricant ensures that seals will slip into place without resistance, and that the seals and pistons will move freely when operated for the first time."

That's the type of fluid people generally say is the correct type of fluid to lube the seal and piston on caliper rebuild. Though FSM says to use brake fluid. But they say the assembly fluid is slicker than brake fluid, so less chance of damaging the seal. And they say it doesn't absorb moisture, so they say it better protects the seal from corrosion compared to using brake fluid, which will attract moisture. Though, I don't know if the fluid will even still be around the seal say 10 years later. Though our calipers are aluminum, so not sure how much corrosion would even occur compared to iron calipers.

I figured since braking is really important, that I'd go ahead and spend the $12 and use what people generally say is the "correct" fluid to use.

 

Again Thank You! Great advice & I appreciate sharing the logic behind your decisions too. I agree, with a slicker product it should help seat the seals better especially with their square edges (as I’ve read).

I took some hydrogen peroxide cleaner I had & a small steel brush to clean up the caliper brackets then wire wheeled them up & they came out pretty nice. I didn’t want to coat or paint them so this will help keep them looking good for a while.

Questions: I thought the FSM said to replace the caliper bracket bolts with new ones but I’ve not done this in the past, is it really necessary or will some medium thread locker on the old bolts be fine? One can see in the photos the wear on the brackets from the brake pad ears. I’m not finding any stainless hardware other than the one on the pads which seems a bit of a spring that holds the pad in place more than protecting the bracket. Is there any hardware I’m missing & if not do I need to have these surfaces machined flat? I will be using a high temp caliper slide product to help things move properly & to help slow future wear, but with autocrossing gravel ends up sticking to anything I put the lube I have on!

 

Wirewheel the caliper bracket bolts and put blue threadlock on.

 

Any thoughts on the bracket wear from the pads ears?

 

No, but you can buy new ones.

 

There are no clips on the bracket, just on the pads. You'll want to buy a pin kit. The new pads should come with new clips, but some usually comes with new pin kits. They sell pin kits at Autozone, or wherever you are buying your parts from.

 

I’m not finding replacement Caliper Brackets at any parts stores!

 

There is a reason why a set of J55’s are 400.00