I need advice, take a look at this...

[DavidT]

Supposedly, I had new (rear) calipers put on a few months ago, due to a sticking caliper, causing the rotor to get fiery hot.
Does this look new? What about the tear in the boot... what is that?
He charged me $60 for each caliper. Unless I don't know what a caliper looks like, I still have a Ford part (stamped on it). The mechanic supposedly got them from Advanced Auto. My problem is this, I can occasionally hear the rotor against the pad. Kinda like a wallowing sound... almost as if the rotor is extremely warped. Well I took the wheel off, and the rotor does not feel REAL free to spin. It WILL spin, but not as free as I would expect.
The mechanic DID turn the rotors (supposedly).
Do I have a valid argument to go back to him? I paid $260 all in all. My only hesitation is this... I seem to have a sticking e brake cable... but the lever on the caliper is currently in the fully released position.
Any advice?

 

[wuzzzer]

Seems to me that when the brake caliper is replaced, the large metal piece (real technical term, I know) that's stamped 'Ford' is kept, but what they actually replace is the part under it, right under what looks like the half-moon shaped part in the bracket.

 

[LaTechSHO]

the first thing you need to realize is that you did not purchase NEW calipers..... you purchased REBUILT calipers..... basically this means that the old housings were cleaned and you had new seals and internals put into the caliper so it will be in NEW WORKING ORDER.... as for the boots... if you didn't pay for a rear hardware kit or rear slide pin kit... then you didn't pay for them..... and truthfully.... for 260... calipers, pads, and labor isn't that bad....

doesn't mean your problem is solved.... but a few things you ought to know...

Louis

 

[DavidT]

Thanks!

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Just my $.02, but by looking at the appearance of that caliper, I'd tend to doubt it was really a rebuilt installed a few months ago. If I'm not mistaken, Advance Auto only sells the A1 Cardone reman calipers, and the paint they put on them usually looks good for a year or two.

If he did truly get them at Advance, the caliper should be covered under the lifetime warranty.

If you're not sure, go to Advance and ask to see a rebuilt caliper and compare the appearance.

 

[olympic]

I bought rebuilt calipers from Ford and they came unpainted. The bleeder screw doesn't look rusty so I'm guessing the caliper was replaced.

 

[Bob Gervais]

As mentioned before, if they were rebuilt calipers, they reused the housing and that's why the "Ford" logo is on there. As far as it being hard to turn, if the Ebrake is disengaged fully, then I would lean towards a defective caliper. The pistons can sometimes get hung up in the bore, causing more pad pressure on the rotor than normal. Are both sides hard to turn, or just that one? I've also seen bad brake hoses act like a check valve and not let fluid return back into them when releasing the brake, causing excessive pressure on the pad. Since you had this problem before, I'd have the rubber brake hoses replaced just to eliminate the possibility.

 

[Jason DelSavio]

I recently replaced the ENTIRE rear brake assembly on my 91 SHO due to frozen caliper brackets. Remember there are two parts to the caliper assembly on these brakes, the caliper (part with the FORD logo), and the caliper bracket, (the outter cast metal ring) the torn boot you see is a result of frozen caliper bracket slider bolts. Once these freeze up the rear brakes are non-operational. To check them remove the the small bolt on the top of the caliper (behind the torn boot) you should then be able to lift the caliper slightly. See if the slider bolt (part with the torn boot) will slide in and out, if it does your fine, if not the entire thing should be replaced.

I know this sounds crazy, but AUTOZONE carries a rear brake replacement kit for SHO's that includes the caliper, bracket and new pads. The kit contains replacements for BOTH sides and it is only $70. (core charge of $90). They claim it was originally for the POLICE SHO package but it is exactly the same as regular SHO. It took me about three hours to do the complete job, and all has been great since.
Any questions or for pics e-mail [email protected]
Jason

 

[shojuan]

Rebuilt calipers should be clean. If I installed rebuilt calipers a couple months ago then by now they would still look practically brand spankin' new. Granted I'm in California, I know not what evils your weather can do given a few months time. Only an ******* would replace your calipers and reuse your existing, obviously heavily worn pin bolts and boots. In my climate, it takes a decade to tear brake pin boots on a non-offroad vehicle.

Now if the bastard rebuilt them himself then that could explain the dirt. A lazy ass would just clean the area surrounding the piston, pull the piston and replace the seals and piston dust boot without touching anything else. Rebuilt from a store? I don't think so.

Rick

 

[shojuan]

wuzzzer:
Seems to me that when the brake caliper is replaced, the large metal piece (real technical term, I know) that's stamped 'Ford' is kept, but what they actually replace is the part under it, right under what looks like the half-moon shaped part in the bracket.

Maybe I'm reading you wrong Mark. The part stamped "Ford" is the caliper. Did you mean, "yeah, they keep the ford caliper housing and replace the seals and dust boot, polishing the bore with crocus cloth and replacing the piston if it's damaged, reusing if it's not"?

Rick

 

[shojuan]

lb-sho:
as for the boots... if you didn't pay for a rear hardware kit or rear slide pin kit... then you didn't pay for them..... and truthfully.... for 260... calipers, pads, and labor isn't that bad....

It would take a real ******* to do a professional brake job and not suggest replacing the rear hardware kit or rear slide pin kit if he saw them in a condition that suggests they will rip and bind soon. On our cars with their given age I can't imagine looking at the rear brake pin boots and feeling that a brake overhaul could overlook replacing those parts unless they have already been replaced within the last several years.

It should have been obvious the boots were on their way out and the guy should have said something.

Rick

 

[shojuan]

Greg, how long has the forum software had a "naughty language censor" feature?

Rick

 

[THE Shobra]

Hey your sticking caliper was most likely that rusted e-brake cable you mentioned. I learned the same thing myself this summer at 104K miles. Mine I replaced the one to the rear brake. You should replace all the brake cables in question then see if you have the "sticky caliper" I bet it will disapear.

 

[DougLee25]

I think everyone is forgetting the possibility that a collapsed brake hose will cause the caliper to hang up. Take the brake hose off the end of the caliper and have someone step on the brake. If fluid comes squirting out, then the hose isn't collapsed. If it doesn't well, replace both of them and make sure to bleed the system before you put it back together.

P.S. Make sure you get that dust cap replaced on the axle. Premature failure of that bearing is likely if you don't.

Doug

<small>[ November 21, 2002, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: DougLee25 ]</small>

 

[RStalveyARFF]

I will concur that your problem is the rear caliper slider pins freezing up. This will be most obvious if you noticed that the pads are uneven.