66-69 4 piston brake caliper rebuild questions...

[dpbruno]

I have 68 Roadrunner with power disc brakes...one of the calipers is leaking...had them rebuilt 15 years ago and very little time on those brakes. What to do..bought caliper from Cardone, I think it fits ,anyway looks like it will. Haven't mounted yet cause I need to do some machining to it.The (sheet metal)bracket that mounts the brake flexible rubber line is not drilled in the Cardone caliper. so you have to have 2 tapped holes drilled in that caliper to mount that bracket. Thought about not doing the drill and tap but then as the steering turn from side to side it put strain on steel brake line...not good and won't last long. So for all you guys buying Cardone caliper be advised you need to have 2 holes drilled and tapped to mount that bracket. Not a do it yourself project unless you are very, very handy.

 

[Thrashingcows]

My reproduction calipers came in the other day...they are really nice units to be honest and I mic'd and measured everything and they are exactly the same as the OEM units. I even pulled one of the pistons...yup exactly the same as the OEM units in every measurement I took. As mentioned by @dpbruno the two outer bolts are not threaded to hold the OEM brake line bracket. Those bolt heads are also 1/4" shorter then the OEM bolts, so tapping will work but you will have to shim them out at least 1/4" for the bracket to clear the body of the caliper. I decided to go quick and dirty and just ugly tack some nuts to the heads of the bolts...worked out well!

I cleaned and painted them, tossed in some new brake pads and they mounted perfectly on the car with no issues at all.

So with there being no availability on new seal kits or pistons it will actually be cheaper and easier for people to buy these calipers and then swap the parts into their OEM units...if that is the route you wish to go. I'll pick up another set of these calipers maybe next year for the pistons and then finish putting my OEM units back together. I'll just toss them on a shelf for if/when these reproduction units start leaking or have other issues.

 

[dpbruno]

My reproduction calipers came in the other day...they are really nice units to be honest and I mic'd and measured everything and they are exactly the same as the OEM units. I even pulled one of the pistons...yup exactly the same as the OEM units in every measurement I took. As mentioned by @dpbruno the two outer bolts are not threaded to hold the OEM brake line bracket. Those bolt heads are also 1/4" shorter then the OEM bolts, so tapping will work but you will have to shim them out at least 1/4" for the bracket to clear the body of the caliper. I decided to go quick and dirty and just ugly tack some nuts to the heads of the bolts...worked out well!

I cleaned and painted them, tossed in some new brake pads and they mounted perfectly on the car with no issues at all.

So with there being no availability on new seal kits or pistons it will actually be cheaper and easier for people to buy these calipers and then swap the parts into their OEM units...if that is the route you wish to go. I'll pick up another set of these calipers maybe next year for the pistons and then finish putting my OEM units back together. I'll just toss them on a shelf for if/when these reproduction units start leaking or have other issues.

Where did you get the repo's from...and how much ? I am hoping to just bend that bracket a little to clear the casting on the Cardone unit. Hoping not to have to shim it out as you suggested.

 

[Thrashingcows]

Where did you get the repo's from...and how much ? I am hoping to just bend that bracket a little to clear the casting on the Cardone unit. Hoping not to have to shim it out as you suggested.

I bought them through Rockauto...They were about $150 cnd each including the core charge.

And I think if you try and bend the bracet to clear the caliper you are going to mess up the angle the flexible brake line has to come into the bracket, and that line now might hit the caliper. Also the small brake line that runs from that flex line to the caliper will now have to be bent to try and match the new angles, and that flex line is almost to short from the factory and adding that extra new angle will shorten it even more. So I'd suggest just shimming the bracket out to where it should be from the factory...then everything else will line up and function properly.

 

[Dean Prevolos]

Finally got my reseal kits for my brake calipers on my Coronet. Got the calipers off the car and pulled apart and have been cleaning them and noticed that the pistons have some pitting and corrosion where the seals will sit and I feel that this will allow some seepage to happen past the seals.

Pics of pistons...Fresh out of the electrolysis rust removal bath....

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And the caliper bores are in great shape since I had them sleeved in stainless 25 years ago!

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So my question is to anyone who has resealed their calipers and had pistons in similar condition...did you do anything special to ensure a tight seal like add some RTV to the piston groove to help with the imperfections and pitting? Or did you just toss in new seals and assemble...did they weep or leak over time? Or are my pistons too far gone and I should talk to a machine shop about milling me up some new units?

I had mine reconditioned at Calipers Online. Did a nice job. Calipers Online
I had the same type of pitting on mine. I had bought the kit, installed but the pistons fit too tight. So I bit the bullet and sent to Calipers Online. Call Mark @ 810-278-3141. Good luck.

 

[dpbruno]

I bought them through Rockauto...They were about $150 cnd each including the core charge.

And I think if you try and bend the bracet to clear the caliper you are going to mess up the angle the flexible brake line has to come into the bracket, and that line now might hit the caliper. Also the small brake line that runs from that flex line to the caliper will now have to be bent to try and match the new angles, and that flex line is almost to short from the factory and adding that extra new angle will shorten it even more. So I'd suggest just shimming the bracket out to where it should be from the factory...then everything else will line up and function properly.

Thanks for tip.....I will do the shim thing....don't have them back from shop yet but I realized what you are talking about.