Is this anything I can do to unstuck,dragging front brake calipers.This car sat for 1 year.The fluid was flush out with new.

I've had decent luck with working the offending piston back and forth in its bore. After cleaning out all of the rusty gunk out the pads/caliper, reninstall the pads and work the pedal to push the pistons out (Helps to have a pair of extremely worn pads for this.) Push them back in and repeat as many times as can stand. I use the extra large Channel-Lock pliers for puching in pistons.

That may lossen them up enough to avoid having to remove/replace the capliper which in my book is to be avoided at all costs, darn brake line connections...

Good luck,
Will

If you are lucky, its just an issue of the pads "sticking" on the caliper body or pad pins due to rust. To address this, take out the pads, use a small wire brush to clean up the calipers and install new pads, pins, and keeper springs. On the other hand, if you can't push the pads/pistons back, then you have a stuck piston or two.

If the pistons are stuck, you might be able to get them out, clean them off with polishing compound and install a rebuild kit (seals and piston boots). Other option is to get remanufactured calipers, NOTE: Change both sides if you want even and safe braking.

jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

I can push the pistons back,looks like Iam going to buy the re manufactured calipers,rebuilding these can be a pain?

Well, if you can push the pistons back I'd say Jorrell has your problem figured as rust binding the pad in its ways. I'm a bit further into salt land than Jorrell and know the rust can be thick and deep on that caliper iron. It takes me a bit (a lot) of filing, scraping, and brushing to make my calipers worthy of new pads every time. Still some are not even useful as cores.

If you're still outofworkjoe the time factor is what makes do-it-yourself rebuilding offset by the cost of reman calipers. It is mostly a cleaning job, and time consuming to say the least. Cleanliness is the key to success.

Here are some pics of what you might expect to find if you take yours apart. This is by no means a rebuilding tutorial, just an inside view to see what makes them tick. Not for dialup. http://cleanflametrap.com/calipers/ You will notice within the first couple photos this Girling is for the old non-vented rotors, so I have no intention of rebuilding it.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist.

Art,

Do the seals that go between the caliper halves come in the caliper seal kit? I know, sounds like a silly question. I have a couple of Girling caliper rebuild kits, but can't get to where I put them right now. Can't remember if those seals are part of the kit. I know that the ATE caliper sets (for BMWs) do not include the case half seals. Manuals all say never split the case, seals are made of unobtainium, etc.

Charles
Houston, TX

Hi Charles,

Do the seals that go between the caliper halves come in the caliper seal kit?

Not a silly question in my view. They don't. That is one of the reasons I took those photos and measurements of the washers, in case I thought I could try a rebuild with calipers split.

I've thought hard about the warnings against it, but am more inclined to think the warnings are related to bolt stretch or clamping torque requirements than any special material for the seals. I think maybe Trev has done it. It is soooo much easier to do a good job cleaning if you can split them. Judging by how the big remanufacturers only get some of these right, I can't believe there is more than liability insurance preventing complete kits from being sold.

But as I warned in the other post in this thread, my pictures are NOT a how-to for caliper rebuild. Just a peek inside to see the seal dimensions and the fluid passage drillings, so you have a better idea of what is happening when you're trying to get those bubbles out.

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Art Benstein near Baltimore

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

Art,

Thanks. My memory was that they didn't come with the kit. And I think you are correct about the bolts. Biggest concern I have heard is that if you split the case, you may not get "perfect" realignment of the ports and if you don't have new "special" bolts you won't get the proper clamping forces on the halves. That said it can't be that hard...or maybe it is seeing there was a high rate of improperly assembled rebuilds being reported a few years ago. Mis-matched halves if I recall.

Charles
Houston, TX

One of the more useful photos shows the indent for holding the rubber washer is made on only one half. Comparing the washer's inner diameter, even squashed that extra 15 thou, with the drilling, tells me alignment of the fluid path is not the concern. Also, the bolts match their clearance holes very well.

I am still unconvinced there is anything more to it than the cost of product liability protection. The mismatched halves problem is just the "half" of it. We have to deal with drill chatter marks in the flare seats, shallow sandblasted threads, and poorly fitting dust boots in those reman calipers we buy. Everyone needs a close inspection before you bolt it up. Bring a crescent wrench for the bleeder screw - it is like a box of chocolates, as Forrest said.

The economics of remanufacture doesn't leave any room for quality, it seems, in low-dollar items like calipers. They gamble with us that "lifetime warranty" will convince us the quality is there, and the cars these generally go into are just being nursed along for another 5 or 10K. Very competitive.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Those who race through life finish first. (Darrel Hunsbedt)

Nope Ill just go to autozone,thats an lot of work.

In many cases you can easily take a large Screw driver and just scrape the areas where the Pads ride in the Caliper. Much much easier than replacing calipers.
Wire wheel the Pins and reassemble.

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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony's%20cars.htm

I would agree. A little scraping and wirebrushing is probably good enough to get you going again.

Art's excellent pictorial is the way to go if you have the time and want to make sure that you (probably) never have to touch the calipers again for 100k miles or more. But just to get you back on the road can probably be accomplished with much less effort.

Charles
Houston, TX

Another possibility is that the rubber brake line has swollen (internally) due to age and is acting like a check valve. It will allow brake fluid to pass to the caliper under pressure when braking. But fluid cannot flow back past the constriction when you let off the pedal. Had this happen to my '69 BMW many, many years ago. Never see it discussed in the manuals. Only place I have ever read about it is in a Wagner Lockheed brake manual dated 1963 that I inherited from my Dad. Good luck

Charles
Houston, TX

Right you are Charles. I forgot about that too. It has not yet happened to me, that I know of.

If I suspected it, I think it would be because it was tough to lever the piston back into the caliper, but not just tough for the first few millimeters - tough all the way.

After determining this, I'd slide the old pad back in and use the pedal to push the piston back out. Then, I'd try levering it back in once more, cracking the bleeder valve as I went. If opening the bleeder let it loose all of the sudden, I'd indict the flex hoses.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Be thankful for problems. If they were less difficult, someone with less ability might have your job.

The last time I ran into the failed flex hose was on a 57 T-Bird, the outer sheath of the hose was so bloated and brittle that reuse was out of the question!

Going through my memory cob webs, I also recall a double Bendix brake booster on a 62 T-Bird that would let you drive for five minutes until the brakes locked down... note, that was all four DRUM brakes! Booster replacement was required. I doubt this is the issue, but antique nostalgia of American Iron will eventually be of value on our bricks!

jorrell
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92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!