Brake Caliper Rebuild

[djawahir]

In case anyone is wondering, I've found a brake caliper rebuild kit that supplies the o-rings in the split caliper halves. One kit does one caliper.

Carlson Brake Parts - #15193

The parts are in the right side of the image.

If you search the internet, you can find the kit for pretty cheap.

As requested, I measured the dimensions of the o-ring that goes between the caliper halves:

OD - 12mm
ID - 8mm
Thickness - 2mm
Type - square-cut

 

[gregnash]

Can you do us a favor and measure the ID/OD of the split gasket/seal/thingy. Would make it a lot easier than having to buy a $10 box of o-rings that we only really need two from!

 

[plutonius]

I have a pair of OEM front calipers sitting in my garage, along with a rebuild kit, waiting for a rebuild. It looks like I'm in need of new pistons too. However, before I put them together and install, I want to paint them with caliper paint, and they are caked with brake dust, brake fluid, road grime, etc, and no amount of Simple Green is cleaning them up. Anyone have a good DIY technique to clean calipers and prep them for paint? Soak them in something? Is it safe to media blast them (I don't have a media blaster…)? Powder coat them?

 

[serenity]

Shouldn't cost much for someone with a cabinet blaster to garnet blast them, that is the quickest and most effective way. I've cleaned a few callipers this way now and never had any issues.

 

[floridan surfer]

I have a pair of OEM front calipers sitting in my garage, along with a rebuild kit, waiting for a rebuild. It looks like I'm in need of new pistons too. However, before I put them together and install, I want to paint them with caliper paint, and they are caked with brake dust, brake fluid, road grime, etc, and no amount of Simple Green is cleaning them up. Anyone have a good DIY technique to clean calipers and prep them for paint? Soak them in something? Is it safe to media blast them (I don't have a media blaster&hellip? Powder coat them?

Apple cider vinegar

 

[plutonius]

Apple cider vinegar

Hmmm. And let it soak? For how long? Sounds like Martha Stewart mechanics...

 

[floridan surfer]

Yeah let it soak. I let it soak over night to remove some rust a while back. Ended up being several nights for rust, but I'd bet less time for grime.

Pat

 

[blkprj80]

Note: this is only for the rear calipers, the fronts are a much easier design with the metal ring. You will need compressed air and a nozzle you can seal against the brake line hole in the caliper. I definitely recommend regulating the pressure down (maybe 50 psi).
Take the rubber piston boot and insert it into the groove in the caliper (no piston). Insert and close the bleeder valve. Clamp the caliper in a vice or otherwise secure it so you don't drop it on your foot Apply a light coat of appropriate brake grease to the piston, especially around the bottom corner. With one hand, press the air nozzle against the brake line hole and seal it up. With the other, hold the bottom of the piston against the rubber piston boot. As you blow air into the caliper (SLOWLY!), the boot will expand out around the piston. You may need to jiggle and realign the piston so the seal goes on all the way around. At this point you can stop the air and slide the piston down into the caliper as you guide the inner lip of the boot into the groove on the piston. Voila!

Thanks 96r50 for the above information. This made it so easy!

You are right, you want to sneak up on it (SLOWLY!), but when that boot flips up around the piston it's like magic! I had a couple attempts where it poofed out one side, but that's easy to recover and retry.

This forum is awesome!

 

[LXCRSR]

I searched the thread and didn't see a correction, but the Front Caliper Rebuild Kit part# is 04479-60020.

Maybe Slomo can edit the first post to reflect this.

 

[Slomo]

I searched the thread and didn't see a correction, but the Front Caliper Rebuild Kit part# is 04479-60020. Maybe Slomo can edit the first post to reflect this.

Will do, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Cruiser Cam]

Thanks for the Info easy to follow very detailed.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Just chiming in to thank @Slomo for this excellent write-up. I followed this to rebuild all four calipers on my 100 series without issue today.

 

[Noneya Bitness]

Thank you, Slomo and others, for sharing this information! Very helpful. Very useful. Valuable contribution to this community.

I found another front disc caliper rebuild kit that includes the inter-caliper o-rings. I installed this on my 1987 FJ60.

Brand: Centric
Part number: 143.44012

I got mine at CARiD.com but I've seen them on amazon and ebay. I paid $5.24 per kit. Bought 2 kits (one for each caliper). Shipping cost $10.94. So $23.19 all in.

 

[Joe Link]

Thanks for the excellent write-up!

Rebuilding my calipers now and my fronts are in bad shape. I wasn't going to split the halves since I have OEM rebuild kits which don't include the o-ring between the halves, but after seeing the condition of the bores I decided to do it in order to better clean them. My o-rings appear to be in alright shape, but I really hate re-using o-rings which might cause a ton of work if they decide to leak. Has anyone been able to source just the o-rings themselves?

Second question, at what point are the pistons too far gone to re-use? Which are the important surfaces for sealing and operation, and which aren't critical?

 

[TLCLVR]

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't reuse pistons that are pitted or scored in any way. I rebuilt the rear calipers on my 200 and the pistons were in ok shape, but I replaced them anyway. Not expensive. I used the Toyota rebuild kit (which does not include parts for splitting the calipers).

For the fronts, rather than assume the risks of splitting my calipers, I used factory rebuilt Power Stop brake calipers from AutoAnything that are reasonably priced— especially if you return the cores.

 

[Joe Link]

For the fronts, rather than assume the risks of splitting my calipers, I used factory rebuilt Power Stop brake calipers from AutoAnything that are reasonably priced— especially if you return the cores.

This was for the 200, right? I don't see them for the 80.

 

[TLCLVR]

Yes for the 200. Doesn't look like they have calipers for the 80. Sorry!

Pistons: Rear 47731-60020, Front: 47731-60010

 

[jonheld]

Which are the important surfaces for sealing and operation, and which aren't critical?

The pistons seal against the O ring in each bore. If the outer side walls of the piston have lots of pitting, then I would source new ones.
FYI, the OEM reman calipers come with new pistons.
Also, a neat trick to get pistons out:

NAPA Eclipse Calipers

My question was which caliper/s you are saying were a total of $205, Reading comprehension: I specified "OEM remanufactured calipers (including the core charge)" That's remanufactured, NOT new. Onur gave the part numbers in post #25 of this thread. I typically purchase OEM parts online from...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Joe Link]

Great info, thanks!

 

[jonheld]

Great info, thanks!

Also, changing the brake fluid yearly will keep internal corrosion of the entire system in check. Brake fluid is supposed to be water clear.
The darker it is, the more contaminated it is. Since the fluid remains stagnant in the lines, they can corrode from the inside.