Cardone Brake Calipers?

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DixieWASP

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I don't know if I should rebuild my front brake calipers or replace them. Has anyone had experience with Cardone Ultra Premium calipers? They have a finish that looks nice to me and is supposed to last.
 

evilunclegrimace

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I have used them in the past on my '90 plow truck. They work, they are inexpensive making rebuilding calipers not worth the time.
 
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454cid

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I put the coated cardones on my Saturn and had no issues. I dont have the car anymore, but I would give the calipers another shot.
 

TreeGeared

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I have also used them without issues. Rebuilding can be a crapshoot if you find that have scored caliper bores. Usually they are so rusted I don't want to take the time to clean them up over the price of new ones.
 

DixieWASP

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I have also used them without issues. Rebuilding can be a crapshoot if you find that have scored caliper bores. Usually they are so rusted I don't want to take the time to clean them up over the price of new ones.
I am taking an automobile mechanics' class at my local community college and that is exactly what my instructor told me. He said he would be glad to show me how to rebuild my old calipers if I wanted to learn but in a shop situation, he would use new or rebuilt calipers on a customer's automobile.
 

Schurkey

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Calipers are so easy to rebuild, everyone with a source of compressed-air should try it. Multi-piston calipers or aluminum-body calipers are somewhat more difficult, but still pretty easy.

My own cars get the calipers pulled apart, cleaned-out, and shoved back together. I don't even buy seal kits for 'em. It's a zero-dollar overhaul other than the time I spend, some electricity for the wire wheel, and some anti-seize and brake fluid.
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Scuzz on the square-cut seal, partially peeled-off with my fingernail. Aluminum calipers will need the seal groove cleaned out with a pick or other implement.
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The fit between the caliper bore and caliper piston is so loose that "scoring" of the caliper bore mostly doesn't matter. The PISTON has to be pristine below the dust-seal groove, though. No flaking chrome, no scoring, no dents.


I had a black-coated (NAPA) caliper almost certainly sourced from Cardone that came on my '97 Plow truck. The black coating was coming off. Not real impressed. Someone--the rebuilder, or maybe someone after that--had shoved a bleeder-screw "repair kit" into that caliper. The bleeder screw on the repair kit broke, and I didn't have a receipt for the "Lifetime Warranty" so I had to buy another caliper.
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I made sure that the replacement, black-coated "rebuilt" caliper DID NOT have a bleeder-screw repair kit in place!
 
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Schurkey

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Schurkey, Why do you not buy seal kits when you rebuild the calipers?
Because there's nothing wrong with the ones in the caliper. The dust seal generally isn't torn, and is still flexible. The dust seal doesn't even get removed from the caliper most of the time. (Depends on the design of the dust seal and the caliper it fits into. Most of the dust seals have a metal reinforcement, and I don't pry those out. Older calipers might have a seal with no reinforcement, and those can be pulled out without damage. They just tuck into a groove carved into the caliper. I do wipe them all clean, and clean the caliper bore and piston. Polish the threads on the bleeder screw, and dig the dirt out of the fluid passage in the bleeder screw. I always put a plastic/rubber cap over the open end of the bleeder screw when I'm done.

The square-cut seals aren't leaking most of the time. But the seal itself may have a layer of scuzz/crust that gets scraped-off with a fingernail. And aluminum calipers (and--rarely--iron ones) will have corroded behind the seal, inside the seal groove. The seal is fine, the groove it sits in needs reconditioning.

Yes, I do inspect the square-cut seals for any sign of aging--cracks, deformities, etc. If I saw a defect, I'd buy a seal kit. But nearly always, the seals themselves are just fine.

Now, show me a piston with flaking/pitted chrome, where the sharp edge of the chrome has slid over the square-cut seal--I'll show you a defective seal that needs to be replaced. Same for a seal that's degraded from contact with oil, or cracked from age. I'm not suggesting you slap the old seals back in without careful inspection.

The big deals with caliper overhauls are not (usually) the dust seal, square cut seal, or the condition of the caliper bore so long as they're clean and the square-cut seal GROOVE is ok. The biggies are the condition of the caliper piston(s) which need to be PERFECT below the dust-seal groove; and the condition of the mounting pins, sleeves, o-rings, and hardware.
 

DixieWASP

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Because there's nothing wrong with the ones in the caliper. The dust seal generally isn't torn, and is still flexible. The dust seal doesn't even get removed from the caliper most of the time. (Depends on the design of the dust seal and the caliper it fits into. Most of the dust seals have a metal reinforcement, and I don't pry those out. Older calipers might have a seal with no reinforcement, and those can be pulled out without damage. They just tuck into a groove carved into the caliper. I do wipe them all clean, and clean the caliper bore and piston. Polish the threads on the bleeder screw, and dig the dirt out of the fluid passage in the bleeder screw. I always put a plastic/rubber cap over the open end of the bleeder screw when I'm done.

The square-cut seals aren't leaking most of the time. But the seal itself may have a layer of scuzz/crust that gets scraped-off with a fingernail. And aluminum calipers (and--rarely--iron ones) will have corroded behind the seal, inside the seal groove. The seal is fine, the groove it sits in needs reconditioning.

Yes, I do inspect the square-cut seals for any sign of aging--cracks, deformities, etc. If I saw a defect, I'd buy a seal kit. But nearly always, the seals themselves are just fine.

Now, show me a piston with flaking/pitted chrome, where the sharp edge of the chrome has slid over the square-cut seal--I'll show you a defective seal that needs to be replaced. Same for a seal that's degraded from contact with oil, or cracked from age. I'm not suggesting you slap the old seals back in without careful inspection.

The big deals with caliper overhauls are not (usually) the dust seal, square cut seal, or the condition of the caliper bore so long as they're clean and the square-cut seal GROOVE is ok. The biggies are the condition of the caliper piston(s) which need to be PERFECT below the dust-seal groove; and the condition of the mounting pins, sleeves, o-rings, and hardware.
Thank you for answering my question!
 
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