Jump to content

Rear caliper recommendations


Chip

Recommended Posts

Looking to replace my rear calipers on a 1996 Regal 3.1. They are just beat at 195K on the clock. Any recommendations on brand? Are the preloaded units from NAPA any good? I am worried about the brake line coming out of the old calipers without trashing the fitting. Hope it doesn't turn into full brake line job too.

 

Any help appreciated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

usually one reman brand is as good as the next in my experience. Personally I've never had an issue getting the brake line banjo bolt to come out no matter how rusty the car was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Banjo bolt is NO problem; you'll want fresh copper washers (they're probably included with the caliper.)

 

First Guess: The brake hoses are shot, too. Rubber cover cracked? Internal problems are invisible, but can cause brake malfunction.

 

The hard part about brake hoses is at the CHASSIS end rather than the caliper end--and a propane torch helps immensely. Heat the flare nut to help separate it from the tubing. It does not need to glow orange; in fact if you get it too hot the brake hose will pop out of the crimp fitting. WATCH the tubing as you loosen the flare nut; DO NOT wind up the tubing because it's still seized to the nut. Add more heat instead, and perhaps work the nut back and forth until the tubing breaks free of the nut.

 

I just replaced all four rear brake hoses on my two Luminas; I had to hold the bracket that anchors the brake hose to the chassis using an adjustable wrench or I'd have bent the shit out of the bracket, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

usually one reman brand is as good as the next in my experience. Personally I've never had an issue getting the brake line banjo bolt to come out no matter how rusty the car was.

 

I had a bleeder and banjo bolt get rusted shut into a caliper. That's on the car I had to replace all of the brake and fuel lines on. Huge pain in the ass. Had to get a new caliper, hose, and banjo bolt. The bleeder bolt broke off inside, and so did the reverse drill bit I tried to use to get it out. The socket I used to remove the banjo bolt stripped it clean.

 

For the record, my rear calipers have 227k miles on them and they're still fine. I just have to replace the sliders periodically because they tend to seize up no matter how much grease I use or what kind.

Edited by xtremerevolution
Link to comment
Share on other sites

mine werent bad when I serviced them. At the time the car had like 80,000 miles and this is probably the first winter its seen regular use. I didnt know this was a problem area. I also wouldnt suspect the calipers for getting worn, but if you do replace them, I second the new crush washers statement

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Replaced the rear calipers with Centrics, rotors with Gren, and pads with Evolution ceramics. Brake performance is like new. The reason I say the calipers were shot is that the boots on the pins were worn, allowing the elements in Western PA to wreak havoc. Despite attempts to clean and lube on the last pad change, the driver side rear caliper was not releasing fully and quickly trashed the pads and rotors and nearly made my fillings fall out of my mouth.

 

No issues with the banjo bolt. Kit came with new copper washers and banjo bolts. Overall, I have been very happy with Centric products.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, if the pins did not have so much pitting and corrosion, I would have probably opted for that. Last time I changed the pads, I should have done that and prevented what eventually happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...