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Hey all,
I just replaced the rotors and pads on my front wheels ('79), but the wheel hubs were gettin warm and draggin. I figured the calipers were sticking. I got the dust seal/o-ring rebuild kit. I am now in the process of rebuilding the calipers. They were both full of rust and gunk. After cleaning them, I saw that there was some pitting on the inside of the caliper bores. Not a heck of a lot, but some. After cleaning them up good, the bore slides nice in and out but I am a little worried that the pits may cause the calipers to stick again. Anyone had experience with this??? Should it be OK? I would hate to have to get new calipers after spending all this time cleaning the old ones. I also got the caliper grease to smear around in there. thanks!

I had one dragging on my truck. It was a rebuilt caliper I got at a national chain. When I disassembled it, it had rust?pitting in the bore. I cleaned and reassembled it and reinstalled it as I was trying to make a race that day. So far I haven't had any problems and it's been at least 2 years. I can't say for certain that it will work for you, but it did work for me.

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Can you clean up the bore with a small hone?

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thanks for the posts. I cleaned it as well as I could with a wire brush and some fine grit andpaper. The pits are deep enough that if I honed it out, the bore would have too much space for the piston. I will give the truck a spin when I get it all together and report back on if it worked. Your comments are encouraging mytmouz, thanks!

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I always had problems with the outer lip of the bore getting rusty and causing it to stick. The part inside of the seal usually isn't too bad. Just getting the outer lip of metal cleaned up has been enough to fix the few I've taken apart. I have never had one that I took apart and cleaned continue to stick though, and that includes one that the piston and caliper were both rather pitted. Just getting the junk out and that metal lip clean fixes most problems. If you are careful with the boot you can even fix them up without needing to use the kit.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

Well how did it work?

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

thanks everyone. I got them both cleaned up real well so there is no rust. The shallow pits were below the square o-ring (towards the inside of bore rather than the outer lip you had the pitting 800xl). I bled the whole system and that was good because there had been rust in the fluid. I have driven her around the block a few times and the brakes feel good. I haven't had time yet to jack her back up and see if the wheels are sticking or go for a long drive to see if the hubs heat up yet. Me and the missus are going up north in a different vehicle for the holidays, so it may be a couple weeks before I really get to field test Dottie. It was all I could do to get her put back together before we leave! I will report back then. Happy Holidays all!

Glad it worked for you and thanks for the update.

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FIAA!

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Dottie if your brake fluid looked rusty you need to flush your brake system out with fresh fluid as it has moisture in it. Just bleed and add fluid until its clean and your brakes will work better and last longer.( no rust pitting)

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

well, I back from my travels and I flushed the brake system and she seems to be working better than before I rebuilt the calipers. The front brakes don't feel like they are seizing anymore, but the center wheel hubs still get warm after driving for 30 minutes or so. not superhot, but fairly warm. Is this normal or should they be cold?

OK, so I just got back from the DMV where Dottie failed the inspection because of the brakes. The front brakes were not braking evenly in relation to each other (they said they need to be within 30%.) These are the brakes that I just replaced the rotors, pads, and rebuilt the calipers myself. The system is flushed and there is brand new fluid in it. The only things that I can think of that are causing this are:

1. the rotors are uneven. They are brand new but were not from the same manufacturer (they are correct for the 79 LUV though.)

2. the pads did not wear evenly. I worked on the driver side caliper first nd replaced those pads and then a couple weeks later did the passenger side. could this be enough to make the brakes that uneven? I assume replacing them with new pads would fix this?

3. The caliper(s) are still sticking a little. I used fine grit sandpaper to clean the rust off the piston on the passenger side caliper and later found out that this was a bad idea (possibly ruined the plating)

Both brakes worked at inspection which makes me think the calipers are functioning. One of them was perfect (drivers side). The passenger side one started braking late (according to the computer assesment).

So what do you all suggest I do next? my thought was to replace the pads. If that don't work, replace the passenger side caliper. Thanks!

I'm thinking that there's air still in the system or the caliper itself is binding. The caliper needs to float on the mount. If one of them needs extra pressure to slide on the mount, this would keep the brakes from working evenly.
Being that the passenger side brake isn't up to spec makes me think that it has air in the system still. There's more brake line to bleed so it takes more work to get rid of the air.
For some strange reason, the passenger side brake on vehicles seems to have more than it share of problems. It's most likely because that side of the vehicle has a tendency to deal with more roadside crap.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

On a lot of vehicles, the rubber brake line to the caliper deteriorates on the inside and causes the brake to stick.

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What mytmouz mentioned was a problem on my LUV. One of the rubber brake lines had collapsed internally and was giving less pressure than the other side of the system.

FYI for all out there, the track junkies out here have a tech inspection requirement for all cars hitting the track that the brake fluid gets flushed every year. (Road course types. Heavy brake use, Pacific Raceway has some nice elevation changes...) Not that a street car needs it that often, but brake fluid has a tendency to suck moisture out of the air. Might want to bleed the system every couple or three years if you want to avoid further pitting in the wheel cylinders and master. Especially since these are getting harder and harder to come by...

Dottie check your caliper mounts as they could be binding.As for the brake fluid ,people pore some fluid in a small lid to the brim sometime then slowly add water you will be amazed at how much water you can put in before it will overflow.

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

thanks you guys, I think it may be the brake caliper mount binding. I hadn't realized how important it was to have those spic and span. The thick angled galvanized spacer/shims that go between the caliper and the mount were pretty corroded and had lost their plating. I cleaned them up pretty well, but they were still a bit rusty and rough. I put a bunch of the caliper grease on them, but at this point, I will take them out and clean them better to see if that helps. Do they sell replace shims (what is their official name to ask for at the parts store?)? Also, I left the shims off that go between the piston and the brake pad. Are those important? I read on another post that people had left them off with no problem (I also smeared grease between the piston and brake pad, but not a lot).

I also will swap out that rubber brake line. And at this point I have learned my lesson and will bleed the brakes every year (as well as after these repairs) Thanks again!

OK! after failing the inspection beacuse of my brakes, I have spent the last month fixing the back ones and I believe they are fine now. Now I am going to work on the front ones. I already bled the entire system again and have been driving around for a few days. After about 20 minutes of driving, when I brake, she pulls hard to the left. I am planning on replacing the flexible brake line on the passenger side and trying to polish the shims that allow the caliper to float (or not float as the case may be now).

Am I correct in thinking that if she pulls hard to the left, than the right side front brake is likely the culprit? Or is it the left front brake that is likely the problem? Thanks!

I'd replace both since they are rlatively inexpensive, cause you'll probably end up doing it anyway shortly, just my .02.

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FIAA!

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Hey all!
Well, I have run out of ideas here. I have replaced just about everything having to do with my front brakes and yet still when I brake, it pulls hard to the left. This includes 2 new (rebuilt) calipers (I took off the ones that I had refurbished), both flexible brake hoses, new rotors and pads and even a new brake hardware kit (anti rattle springs, shiny thin shims that go on the calipers, fresh cotter pins.). I was told that it may be the shocks so I went and replaced those too! That was a good idea as the others were shot, but still it pulls hard to the left when I brake. It seems to start doing it after about five minutes of stop and go traffic (starts out braking fine for the first few minutes.) Any other ideas???? I am about to do the unthinkable and bring it to a professional!!!