Well, the front control arms are all on and I'm ready to hook up all the steering components.  Or so I thought.  I was going to install the calipers tonight with new pads, but when I went to work on the passenger side, the caliper was "glistening".  Uh oh.  Pushing the pistons in and out caused fluid to seep out around the seals.   That one had been hanging kind of upside down off the frame for awhile, but I checked the driver side and same issue.  So I pulled one off and broke it apart.  Took out one piston and I'm pretty sure I've got the SS sleeves.  That's pretty good news, I guess?   I'm thinking I'm going to give the rebuild thing a shot.   Can I just pick up a parts house rebuild kit?  I checked Advance and they've got 'em.  Should be able to reuse the pistons? The one I took out looked to be in good shape.  




|UPDATED|10/4/2011 10:00:19 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Dave this tutorial might be of assistance to you:      

 

http://www.cssbinc.com/images/ads/howto/frontbrakecaliperrebuildinstructions.pdf

 

 

Larry

|UPDATED|10/4/2011 1:31:56 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

That caliper has been sleeved. If the pistons are not corroded, and funky lookin, they can be re-used, and you can just get the rebuild kits anywhere. The O-ring seals take different pistons tho, I think...
The factory(GM) never sleeved the calipers...this is an aftermarket deal only.

I use the rebuild kits from there too..cheap and easy..just clean them up good..getting the pistons back in with lip seals can be a little difficult..use a feeler gauge that has rounded ends to help install them..the seal on the outside..use a socket that fits the seal perfectly..usually only get one whack to get them in without damage..take your time and buy an extra set to use as a backup until you get the hang of it...I'm not into the o ring ones..as long as you keep the fluid clean they really are not needed. Rich

Thanks for the info, guys.  Rebuilding seems like the way to go.  I woke up this morning thinking I was going to bite the bullet and buy the O-ring kits, but they're a lot more expensive.  If folks have not had much trouble with the lip seal kits or if they did use them and wished they had converted, I'd be interested to know.  

You're right about rotor run out..it can be a problem..the cure is a machine called the Pro cut..it machines the rotors on the car..so no worries about bubba doing it wrong off the car..I wouldn't bother with it any other way..if you just have some surface rust just sand paper it off.. Rich

Thanks, Rich.  That's pretty interesting about the machine that will turn 'em on the car.  The local O'Reilly's (used to be Shucks) will do them for $15 or 20 per rotor; they did fine with my truck's rotors, but not so sure about my Vette's (a little too Bubba-ish for my taste).  Think I'll just clean off the surface rust and put 'em back on the car and see what happens.  

Dave, make sure to use a dial indicator to check the rotor run out. I always had a right rear rotor that made some noise. I had to add a couple of shims (in two places) behind to bring in the tolerence to the .005 limit. I finially bought a digital indicator, BIG NUMBERS.........easier on my old eyes to see.  

While you're at it, go ahead and replace the rubber brake lines if you don't know if and when they've ever been replaced before.  Even if they look good, they have a habit of collapsing on the inside.  It's doesn't cost too much extra for knowing your brakes are in top notch condition.

I most definitely will replace the brake hoses, in fact I cut one just to make it easy to get the caliper off.  They look a little sketchy (e.g. original) so I thought it was a no-brainer.  My question, though, concerns the rear trailing arm metal lines.  Seems like a lot of the catalog kits come with those.  Do they typically need to be replaced for some reason?  I haven't looked at anything on the back end for a while (rear wheels are still on) so I don't know their condition.