The Bendix 4 piston ordeal

[69R/Tcharger]

I have a 69 charger with the dreaded leaking Bendix 4 piston calipers. Unfortunately I paid to have these rebuilt and finally got them back on the car 3 years later and they are still leaking from the pistons. I can’t justify rebuilding these again so curious what everyone else is doing for alternatives? Keeping in mind I’m in Canada, parts can be tough to come by, is there any Options to mount up to my existing spindles etc? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

 

[hemi71x]

Well, my opinion would be to convert your car with disc brakes from the 73-76 A body line of cars.
Or even the Aspen, Volare, cars.
Don't know how easy it is to source donor cars, up there in your part of the world, for needed parts, but those cars aren't that difficult to find.
If you had to pay for shipping, something like that, it's going to cost some hugh dollars, especially into Canada, if you can't find something, in your country.

 

[Photon440]

Well, last year the offshore Cardone replacements were $100 but they seem to have dried up now.

Cardone Reman® - Unloaded Front Brake Caliper

Dodge Charger Base / R/T Front Disc Brakes with Bendix Original Calipers 1968, Unloaded Front Brake Caliper by Cardone Reman®. Trust only an expert when choosing replacement parts for your vehicle! Cardone parts combine premium quality and reliability for dependable performance.

www.carid.com

 

[R413]

Are those cardone 4 piston calipers any good?? I need a pair and know where a pair are unused.

 

[hemi71x]

Are those cardone 4 piston calipers any good?? I need a pair and know where a pair are unused.

Those Cardone's are as good as your going to get, in this day and age.
If you know where are pair of them are, i think you'd better get them, while you can.

 

[hemi71x]

I have a 69 charger with the dreaded leaking Bendix 4 piston calipers. Unfortunately I paid to have these rebuilt and finally got them back on the car 3 years later and they are still leaking from the pistons. I can’t justify rebuilding these again so curious what everyone else is doing for alternatives? Keeping in mind I’m in Canada, parts can be tough to come by, is there any Options to mount up to my existing spindles etc? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

What exactly do you mean by "rebuilt"?
Did you get the caliper bores sleeved?
If you didn't and the bores are pitted, the piston seals aren't going to seal up, and they will be leakers.
Sad to say, but it's just the way it is, with the seal, on the piston itself.

 

[RemCharger]

If they're still iron and not terrible you can do a high speed crocus cloth flapper hone. Maybe try mobileparts for seals

 

[69R/Tcharger]

Well, last year the offshore Cardone replacements were $100 but they seem to have dried up now.

http://[URL]https://www.carid.com/1...-468169425.html?parentsubmodel[]=SUBMODEL|R/T

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I have searched high and low on the internet and have not been able to find any of the cardone units available.

 

[69R/Tcharger]

What exactly do you mean by "rebuilt"?
Did you get the caliper bores sleeved?
If you didn't and the bores are pitted, the piston seals aren't going to seal up, and they will be leakers.
Sad to say, but it's just the way it is, with the seal, on the piston itself.

Unfortunately I didn’t do them myself and had them done before I had a great understanding of this particular brake system. They appear to have been sandblasted, dis assembled and cleaned up with new seals. But at a quick glance I do not think they were honed or had pistons changed. Likely the pistons or the cylinder are pitted or both…

 

[69R/Tcharger]

Are those cardone 4 piston calipers any good?? I need a pair and know where a pair are unused.

Happen to know where 2 pairs are I’m desperate lol

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Take them apart before you go spend $. Get a micrometer and some inside telescoping gages and measure the pistons and bores, not sure what the specs are but they should be pretty close (.001-.002 clearance maybe), check the pistons and bores for pitting. One question what type of fluid are you using? The newer fluids tend to leak with the old brake systems.

 

[R413]

What are the newer fluids?
what are the old fluids?

 

[hemi71x]

Take them apart before you go spend $. Get a micrometer and some inside telescoping gages and measure the pistons and bores, not sure what the specs are but they should be pretty close (.001-.002 clearance maybe), check the pistons and bores for pitting. One question what type of fluid are you using? The newer fluids tend to leak with the old brake systems.

Ya, what do you mean by "older fluids" and "newer fluids" anyway?
I never heard of that before, and i used to wrench on cars and trucks professionally, to earn my living as a mechanic.
Are you thinking in regards to silicone fluid, or something like that?

 

[hemi71x]

Remanufactured front disc brakes caliper for 1966-69 Plymouth Belvedere - GTX - RoadRunner - Satellite and Dodge Charger - Coronet - SuperBee

Wow, holy S*#T, look at the price for Bendix calipers on this site.
They appear to be available.
They better to be sleeved in the caliper bores at that price.

 

[Dave6T4]

This is my 31st. year of running 4-piston Bendix disc brakes on my 1967 R/T. I have never had a minute's trouble or leaks in 68,000 miles. I have extra rebuild kit and pads for them, but have not yet needed them.

 

[eldubb440]

I bought a rebuilt set about 20 years ago...... been dry in the box, hope they work when the time comes

back in the day, I sent a pair of 4 piston AMC calipers out, I think they got sleeved with stainless, they were never an issue

 

[440 4 speed]

Autoline in Winnipeg rebuilds them I believe. You have to get a parts place to send them in. Here I use WSSL which is a private seller.
Many years ago someone in Ontario was rebuilding and sleeving them.
Previous owner of our car had them rebuilt in 1984, were done in California, 800.00 Can.

 

[63330]

Check with John Stuart in Stoney Creek he rebuilds them .

 

[copper67sat]

I tried rebuilding mine when I restored my car in the early 90's because I was switching from DOT 3 to DOT 5 and had been told to replace all the rubber seals due to incompatible fluids. They worked fine until I took them apart. Maybe should have left them alone, but I found that the bores were pitted so they probably wouldn't have lasted. I cleaned them up as best I could, but they leaked afterward. Core exchanged them for fully rebuilt units with stainless sleeves, all new seals and powder coated. I think I got them from Master Power Brakes. Not sure if they still do them and they weren't cheap at the time - about $300 for the pair IIRC.
Been working fine for 30+ years though so I'm glad I did them.

 

[steve340]

I looked for replacement seal kits and came to the conclusion they were no longer available - at least from the bigger parts vendors.
There is probably someone out there with the kits but finding them is the issue.