Milest

I have found out after bleeding that my right rear caliper is not working. I still get air out at the end of the pedal travel. All other calipers bled fine. Additionally, I can get the other three wheels to lock up, but not the right rear.

My question is what can be done to rebuild or should I replace the entire caliper?

Thank you

jerryp58

As far as getting the air out, you might try to raise the back of the car for a day or so and see if the air rises up to the caliper, or some people here tap the line and the caliper with a rubber hammer (gently :smash: ).

Are they the original calipers?

If you decide to replace it, I've heard that you should replace pairs (front or rear).

Rockn-Roll

Rebuilding the calipers really requires a bench mounted vise, new seals, carb cleaner, and warm sunny weather. I went down to Kragen/Chucks/Checker and picked up a rebuilt caliper for like $115.

Shutdown1

Quote:
"Are they the original calipers?

If you decide to replace it, I've heard that you should replace pairs (front or rear)."

Not necessary to replace both calipers, only the bad one. You should replace the brake shoes on both sides though.
Putting on a new caliper is not a big job. Remove bolts, disconnect brake line, use a big C-clamp to spread pistons apart, install new brake shoes, bleed. I have never rebuilt my own calipers, but I would think time and money wise,I would just buy already re-built ones. You might want to look at your brake line itself all the way to the master cylinder before you go replacing the caliper on the wheel. Hope this helps and happy holidays to all forum members.


'74 Turbocharged 350 "Molested to Perfection," class of '71


[Modified by Shutdown1, 12:12 AM 12/23/2001]

SharkAttack

I have rebuilt 68-82 calipers several times, and it's a good short term solution. If you plan to keep the car and want to do it right, buy stainless sleeved calipers with a lifetime warranty. Either way, good luck.

ZD75blue

rocknroll glad to see your back... hows merlins project coming along, no new updates... thought yah might know

ZD

Tom454

Milest-

There is nothing magical about the inside of a Vette caliper- they are a very simple design.

Possibility: Trapped air in the caliper... no leaks. You just need to re-bleed. I use a leather hammer occasionally to help release trapped air. This is almost never necessary. Leather is stiffer than rubber and imparts a better jolt to loosen the bubbles. If you are using a vacuum pump, set it aside for now and try gravity bleeding. It is slow, but it allows trapped air to move slowly out of the caliper. A vacuum pump can suck fluid right past trapped air. Begin the gravity bleed by loosening the bleeder, and pumpimg the pedal a few times to get the fluid moving. Then let it gravity bleed until you get a "juice glass" of clear fluid out of it. Tapping the caliper a few times during the bleed might be a good idea. You can also use a regular hammer to tap the caliper, but this will mess up any finish, and just "tap" it... don't hit it too hard. Remember to keep the master cylinder topped off during this process.

Possibility- Collapsed brake hose. They can look new on the outside, but be deteriorated and collapsed on the inside. If your hoses are old, this is a definite possibility.

Possibility: Severe Rotor runout. It only takes a few laps around the block on a warped rotor to cause the caliper to suck air. Runout is checked with a dial gage.


Possibility: (not likely)
Check for a fluid leak between the caliper halves- sometimes the little o-rings between the halves do not seal. Besides faulty o-rings, there are two causes: the cross bolt is not properly torqued, or the surface between the halves needs to be "milled" to produce a flat, even surface. Re-torque the caliper cross bolts. If the caliper still leaks between the halves, disassemble it and sand the mating surfaces on a piece of glass with 220 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper (use water) to obtain a smooth finish. I have fixed many leaky calipers this way.

ScubaJKD

If bleeding does not fix your problem. My vote is to replace rather than rebuild. Go with SS calipers from Vette Brakes. I bought mine on special for like $68 each if I remember correctly. I would replace the pair, and for an extra 50 bucks go ahead and add SS brake lines. :seeya