brake caliper piston seal

[alphatarget1]

So I finally got a set of jackstands + floor jack, an el-cheapo set from sears. Started doing my brakes and realized there is still a ton of pad left so I left it alone and started bleeding. Bleeding with a 1 man kit sucks, makes your hands really tired. I proceeded to do the passenger's side and realized that one of the piston seals (there are two, go figure) is busted. wtf. Now I have to find it somewhere and replace it, plus the kit really sucks.

Oh well, such is life.

Is it hard to replace the piston seal? I have never done it before, the manual says to use compressed air to force the pistons out. I guess I'll have to bleed that side of the brake fluid again. grr. And my MT fluid T70 screw wouldn't come out, even after using a 15" "breaker bar" from wallyworld.

I hate cars, I wish I could just ride trains and not have to worry about these things. I do love driving my car though.

 

[dud]

Consider replacing the entire piston assy. They're not that expensive.

Welcome to the world of brakes. It's one of the easiest on a car to work on.

 

[bruceb]

I think you mean replace the entire caliper. That would be best, as care must be taken to remove the caliper piston, properly clean and lube the new seals and install it without damaging the new seals. Caliper is just a bolt on, except for lubing the slide pins and bleeding the lines. Some calipers even come preloaded with new pads or reuse yours if they are still in good shape.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Yep, replacing a caliper was one of the first jobs I did outside of breaks. I think the new caliper was around $40, and it had a core value if I'm not mistaken. Just replace it.

 

[alphatarget1]

I'm trying to find one but they don't have it anywhere. Is it pretty risky to drive with that seal cracked? I have new rotors and brake pads but they're not ready to be replaced yet (actually still has some ways to go). I could get an overhaul kit for around 25 dollars, but a new one is at least 70 dollars...

 

[AMCRambler]

If the seal is cracked you're going to get air in your lines. Just out of curiosity is it leaking fluid? If not you might be alright driving it for a little while but I would replace that caliper asap. Don't even bother with the rebuild kit either. It will be more trouble than it is worth and if you make a mistake you'll either have to buy a new repair kit for the seals or you'll have bigger problem because the brakes failed while you were driving it. Your safest bet is getting the brand new caliper.

 

[AMCRambler]

Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

 

[alkemyst]

The seal you are probably talking about is the dust seal. The seal inside the caliper is what keeps the brake fluid in. The dust seal protects the inner seal from damage by grit.

Depending on brake setup is what determines if you run down to buy a set of rebuilt.

Brakes are really something left to those with more experience. It's not rocket science but if you mess up something it could be pretty fatal.

I did my Skyline brakes. Didn't have a compressor at the time so I paid $10 for a machine shop to pop them out. Cleaned them up, had them powdercoated and then all it was was lubing an inner ring seal (4 for each front brake, 2 for each rear) and inserting them...then placing the dust shield on each piston and sliding them in and then attaching the snap rings for the dust shield to caliper mounts.

The rest was no different then a pad change.

Even if you only change one brake you need to rebleed the whole system though.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

No fluid leak yet... I have a 05 subaru legacy GT wagon. I checked the schematics on the caliper assembly and as mentioned already the outer boot is just to keep the dust out. I haven't been able to find a caliper for cheap yet.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

No fluid leak yet... I have a 05 subaru legacy GT wagon. I checked the schematics on the caliper assembly and as mentioned already the outer boot is just to keep the dust out. I haven't been able to find a caliper for cheap yet.

You know about rockauto.com right? if not check them out, probably find one cheap or at least the right rebuild kit. Your brake caliper should have a core return on it...keep that in mind. If you send it back to them via DHL ground it would probably only cost $5-6 to get $40-50 back.

 

[AMCRambler]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

No fluid leak yet... I have a 05 subaru legacy GT wagon. I checked the schematics on the caliper assembly and as mentioned already the outer boot is just to keep the dust out. I haven't been able to find a caliper for cheap yet.

Rockauto has re-manufactured calipers for 50 bucks. They're $100 with a $50 core charge on them so when you return the old caliper you get credited back the $50. Of course with shipping that will be about $60 altogether.

That's assuming I was looking at the right car. 2005 Subaru Legacy without the turbo? If it has the turbo, then I don't think they have front calipers for it.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

No fluid leak yet... I have a 05 subaru legacy GT wagon. I checked the schematics on the caliper assembly and as mentioned already the outer boot is just to keep the dust out. I haven't been able to find a caliper for cheap yet.

You know about rockauto.com right? if not check them out, probably find one cheap or at least the right rebuild kit. Your brake caliper should have a core return on it...keep that in mind. If you send it back to them via DHL ground it would probably only cost $5-6 to get $40-50 back.

Thanks for the site... I have been there before but i didn't know the prices was that good. I bought a seal repair kit. I pretty much can't find a reman caliper for the GT (turboed) anywhere. The seal is cheap enough and it should be a fairly easy fix.

I picked up some V belts at rockauto.com too

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: AMCRambler

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
Post up the year make and model of your car and maybe we can find the caliper online for you cheaper than 70 bucks.

No fluid leak yet... I have a 05 subaru legacy GT wagon. I checked the schematics on the caliper assembly and as mentioned already the outer boot is just to keep the dust out. I haven't been able to find a caliper for cheap yet.

Rockauto has re-manufactured calipers for 50 bucks. They're $100 with a $50 core charge on them so when you return the old caliper you get credited back the $50. Of course with shipping that will be about $60 altogether.

That's assuming I was looking at the right car. 2005 Subaru Legacy without the turbo? If it has the turbo, then I don't think they have front calipers for it.

yeah it has a turbo... I can't find calipers anywhere unless it's a subaru one which costs 200 dollars. I'll just replace the seals.

 

[alkemyst]

use non-metal items to pick the old seals out.

 

[alphatarget1]

btw I did end up changing the MT and diff fluid today, both a PITA. Front MT gear oil was a T70 torx bolt and I had to use a 3' pipe on a 1/2" ratchet to break it loose. I had to buy another extension for the rear fill hole, couldn't get the drain plug to budge (because the 3' pipe was too long and I couldn't get leverage without it so I sucked fluid out with a pump and then refilled it with the same pump. It was a big mess, I won't do it again.

 

[alkemyst]

if you need pipe you need to use a breaker bar and not a rachet. A ratchet isn't so direct. A bit of torque skew and you can break a bolt off pretty easy.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
if you need pipe you need to use a breaker bar and not a rachet. A ratchet isn't so direct. A bit of torque skew and you can break a bolt off pretty easy.

Or the rachet itself. I have screwed up my knuckles really badly from putting a pipe on a rachet and having it fail.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: alkemyst
if you need pipe you need to use a breaker bar and not a rachet. A ratchet isn't so direct. A bit of torque skew and you can break a bolt off pretty easy.

Or the rachet itself. I have screwed up my knuckles really badly from putting a pipe on a rachet and having it fail.

fingers grow back, extracting bolts is no fun.....