Caliper Piston Leaking

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Schurkey

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
10,969
Reaction score
13,750
Location
The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
I kept a Ford Pinto rotor where the fins show on one side, but the entire rotor braking surface separated from the hub/bearing part.

It's out in the shop somewhere. I should take a picture of that disaster.
 

Hipster

I'm Awesome
Joined
Mar 7, 2017
Messages
3,388
Reaction score
5,853
Location
Liberty, NC
My son is a grown-ass man, but needs to minimize the parts cost. He does get a 10% military discount on parts. As the old man, I can offer some expertise, the tools, and my sunflower propane heater; the temperature is negative here in Minnesota this morning.

Thanks all for your inputs.
You can buy cheap ass pads and rotors and do it every year or buy the better stuff and do it every 50k miles. Your choice. Bottom line either way it's going to cost what it costs and not a penny less. Military discounts can be illusionary. No point putting gas in a vehicle and driving cross town to save 10% on a $25 burger/bottle of beer combo where the place down the street that offers no discout has an $8 burger special and $1 drafts. You're typing out your're responses here on the greatest shopping tool to save money known to mankind.

I'll only rebuild a caliper is it's in pretty solid shape to begin with, If I think it's been cooked or possibly warped I turn it in as a core. Let it be the rebuilders problem.

The chewed up piston is just a symptom of another problem. So all these people that have responded to you of there own free will and generosity, some being pro level mechanics, their advice is spot on. So rubber brake lines, seized caliper pins etc. are all part of the diagnostic process.

If your son is in fact, a grown ass military man, he should be mature enough to be on this site to handle his own business without doling out snarky comebacks to those trying to help him.
 

GoToGuy

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 16, 2020
Messages
2,934
Reaction score
3,409
Location
CAL
The basic premise is if your not familiar with or have no training in hydraulics or brake systems do not attempt to rebuild/ reseal caliper or wheel cylinders. Being able to STOP is paramount.
There are plenty of good intentions that went catastrophic badly.
Bite the bullet , get new sets your not just buying new parts, your also getting some piece of mind.
You'll get good response, skilled quality answers with a complete description, pretend we're blind. The exception is if you have a few good photos with some details.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
 

Hipster

I'm Awesome
Joined
Mar 7, 2017
Messages
3,388
Reaction score
5,853
Location
Liberty, NC
The basic premise is if your not familiar with or have no training in hydraulics or brake systems do not attempt to rebuild/ reseal caliper or wheel cylinders. Being able to STOP is paramount.
There are plenty of good intentions that went catastrophic badly.
^^Never take chances or shortcuts with brakes or suspension. Do the right thing.
I've seen so much ridiculous stuff come through the shop that was downright scary. Crap from the alignment shop, mechanic shops, and other bodyshops.

You can only ask so many questions about being frugal and saving money before being down to buying one rotor, one caliper, a set of brake pads, and only fixing one side.... which happens.
 

Erik the Awful

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
7,610
Reaction score
15,522
Location
Choctaw, OK
Three hours on-track in a lightweight MR2. It was a brand new pad, but we'd done an emergency spindle swap and left the brake backing plate in place. The heat couldn't dissipate and we set the brakes on fire. Green/yellow flames were coming out of the wheel as the driver pulled into the pits. The only way he knew something was wrong was the brake pedal went to the floor when the piston had enough clearance to pop out of the caliper.

You must be registered for see images attach
 

someotherguy

I'm Awesome
Joined
Sep 28, 2013
Messages
9,798
Reaction score
14,160
Location
Houston TX
I've told the story before but worked on a friend's Mustang, decades ago, she'd been calling me for weeks telling me how the brakes were making a terrible noise. Kept urging her -bring it to me so I can fix it- but she'd put it off. Warned her the longer she waits, the more expensive it gets. Eventually calls and says well the noise stopped but the car is also really hard to stop. Big surprise right?

On those older Fox body Mustangs there's an ignition module that when it goes bad a common issue is it raises the idle to around, oh, 1200rpm. Hers was bad. Couple that with her driving the front brakes metal-on-metal until the calipers ate all the way through the rotor face and literally broke the rotor away from the hubs, so the rotor rings were hanging on the control arms, both sides, calipers locked up on them with the piston hyperextended. She was stopping that 1200rpm idling POS with just the back brakes.

When I pulled the rotors off, I could pry little triangular pieces of them out of the cooling vanes on the back side where they hadn't been completely eaten through, front side went first. Replaced rotors, put new pads in, and went to compress the piston. POW seal blown and brake fluid sprayed all over the place including the fender of my '69 Chevelle parked next to it. :( Some quick action with the water hose kept damage to a minimum.

Rebuilt the calipers as parts-house rebuilds didn't exist back then.. popped them apart, cleaned everything up, new seals and boots, everything back together, replaced the ignition module which requires that weird little stubby screwdriver tool, and DONE..

Richard
 

HotWheelsBurban

Gotta have 4 doors..... Rawhide, TOTY 2023!
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Messages
9,686
Reaction score
17,582
Location
Houston, Texas
Yeah we used to sell a lot of caliper seal kits and steel replacement pistons for Ford and Mopar applications in the late 70s/early 80s when those first came out. The garages that were our customers at the parts store, had a bunch of fleet accounts, and the cars were eating brake parts in Houston traffic and summers.... I've even seen a few F250s with multi piece hub and rotors (that weren't supposed to be that way).
Also, summer of 2015, we were driving the Denali a lot, and being an '06 model it has rear discs. End of June, rear brakes start making noise. Told Mom"we gotta park this thing, I need to do rear brakes on it!" Long story a little shorter, she didn't listen (too busy jammin' to the Bose I guess!). When she backed it into the carport, the rear brake rotors were so worn, they locked up.....I spent my 3 day July 4th weekend, doing rotors and pads on that truck, and then bedding them in, in a warehouse parking lot.
 

rose359

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2022
Messages
44
Reaction score
87
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Both of the calipers on the truck were remanufactured, and both pads on the other side had a lot of life remaining. We replaced rotors and pads on both sides and the caliper on the right. The caliper hose was not in stock at our local stores. The remanufactured caliper came with two new copper crush washers, which sealed well. After installation, I could tell when bleeding that the hose was good internally. Externally, it appeared newer than the truck. On the road again.
 

rose359

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2022
Messages
44
Reaction score
87
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
A 2004 Silverado 1/2 ton that I formerly owned came with rotors and pads that had stayed far beyond their useful life. Those front rotors required a lot of persuasion and unparliamentary vocabulary to fall free.
 

Attachments

  • Rotor 1.JPG
    Rotor 1.JPG
    174.4 KB · Views: 12
  • Rotor 2.JPG
    Rotor 2.JPG
    264.3 KB · Views: 12
  • Rotor 3.JPG
    Rotor 3.JPG
    204.3 KB · Views: 11
Top