What should I do fellas. I am in the process of some major suspension upgrades and I am replace all 4 rotors. At this time I am going to rebuild the rear PBR's but I wondered how much replacement calipers for the front go for and if it would be worth while just to get a new set. Also where can I get a rebuild for both the fronts and the rears???

Will

 

i'd replace them, considering the time and effort to rebuild instead of just swapping parts and the cost differance usually isn't much.

 

plus there's also the factor that the rebuilt calipers usually come with a warranty.

 

Cool beans, I hope to have all this done soon. I absolutely hate the way my car brakes right now. Barely gets the job done, the pedal extends so far. I think the whole system needs a good once through

Will

 

first check your master cylender and work your way back....i worked on a friend of mine's IROC (rear drum brakes) and wound up replacing his full brake system, when the only things wrong were the rear brake drum cylenders and the master cylender...

 

If you can find the piston boots & seals, caliper bracket boots, & pins - that's about all there is to it.

With my Vette, I had to combine the GM Partsdirect kit, with a Napa hardware kit. Total was maybe 20 bucks for both. I think the dealership wanted 45 bucks a piece for a rebiuld kit.

I used a sodium hydroxidieiuwyiuiudds chemical(Can't remember the name, but I use it in my parts cleaner bin.) to clean the crap out of my PBR AL calipers & caliper pistons. ---like new---
(btw: this shi# has eaten the power coat off the bin )

Ron

 

Ain't worth the time and effort to rebuild Camaro calipers yourself IMHO. I can buy fully re-manufactured Bendix or Raybestos Camaro front calipers for $20 CDN a piece. ( Cheap brands such as Fenco go for $17 CDN my cost ...I get jobber cost)

Check out the price on re-man rear PBR calipers from a decent Automotive Jobber such as NAPA. The price is usually quite reasonable. Bendix, Raybestos and Wagner are all top brands and all have a re-man program.

Vette calipers a bit more pricey, granted. But even they are surprisingly cheap for a decent re-manufactured product.

 

$70 each for rebuilt PBR calipers from Autozone.

 

Right on, I will have to cruise my and check out the prices here on a set of rebuilt calipers

Will

 

I rebuilt my 9bolt calipers for $10 each side, new ones woulda cost me $80 each, if you have 2 hours thats all you need and some basic tools, though the rite tools make it go faster.

and an excellant cleaner to use would be EZ OFF over cleaner the one witht he yellow top and warning label not to inhale fumes. try it-its the best.

 

You can get rebuild kits from autozone for $3 (the o-ring and the dust boot), through experience i've found that autozone has the cheapest and the best quality rebuild kits. The bushing and pin kit is about $6, but you actually dont really need to replace these. Usually you can just lightly sand them and they're fine (no pun intended).

If you've never rebuilt them before...it can be pretty frustrating. The hardest part is getting the dust shield pressed into it's groove.

You absolutly have to have an air compressor, there's no other way to get the piston out. You just but a piece of scrap wood in the caliper brake pad area (so the piston wont shoot out and hit the metal caliper) then you stick a blow gun in the brake fluid hole and shoot the piston out. Then pry out the old dust boot.

You may or may not need a brake cylinder hone. If there's rust inside the bore then you clean it up. If the piston has rust on it, just use a soft wire wheel to clean it off.

Re-assembling the sucker is the tricky part. The way i like to do it is press the piston back in with a c-clamp, lube everything up with brake fluid first. Then try pressing the dust boot in. I throw the boot in the fridge for a little while, to freeze the metal ring in it so it shrinks slightly. Then...pressing it in is the real hard part. I use a pair of oil filter pliers, and a brass punch and hammer to get it in. You'll probably destroy 2 or 3 dust boots before you figure out how to do it. After the boot is on, i get the air gun and blow the piston out SLIGHTLY, then make sure the dust boot is in the groove on the piston and press the piston back in.

Then i paint mine with por-15 silver, do a complete brake service and put everything back together.

 

Be very very carefull with EZ-OFF on Aluminium. It eats it!!!
Don't believe me, go spray a bunch on some aluminium foil, and than crush into a ball. It creates a crap load of heat, as it desolves the foil.


Ron

 

I can vouch for that.
I rebuilt my old rear 4th gen PBR'sa few months ago.
Hardest part was getting the spring back on.

 

Oh yea, 30-35PSI MAX when pushing the pistons out!!!

I learned the hard way , and found out what a shotgun sounds like at point blank range and my garage. CA-BOOM

Ron