One caliper leaking...Should I replace all four???

[leeboy66]

My front left caliper on my 1977 is leaking pretty badly. My mechanic said he could probably replace just the left one or the front pair. Since my entire brake system is almost 30 years old, I was wondering if I should just replace the entire system with stainless steel calipers and brake lines. And if so, where is the best place to purchase the system. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

[zachh]

If your caliper is leaking pretty bably, I would get it fixed pretty quick. If your looking for a little more performance, I would replace all 4. If you dont want to replace all 4, than I would just get an OEM new or remanufactured. I would try www.ecklers.com and www.midamericamotorworks.com for your parts you want.
zachh
mine: 79 L82

 

[DDLS3]

It really depends on how much you want to spend and how often you drive your corvette. I replaced 1 front cliper on my 81 and replaced the other 2 years later. If you don't drive your car a lot, and don't race or autocross I'd replace the one caliper.

 

[The73vetteman]

i went the 2 and 2 route a couple of years back. In hindsight i should have done all 4 at once. When one seal goes the rest arent far behind.

Get then from VBandP. 10% discout for CAC members!

 

[Tom Bryant]

I had a left front start to leak on the '81 3 years ago. I replaced both fronts and so far the rears are just fine. I got mine from the local AC Delco jobber. They were stainless sleeved and the work was top notch. The price was competitive and cheaper than some plus I just dropped off the cores and picked up the new ones avoiding the shipping charges and I had them instantly.

Tom

 

[Tepot]

I have one front caliper that started to leak as well. Should I change this ASAP or can it wait a little while? I've just put over 1500$ or repairs this month and wanted to wait a bit. But can I wait or not?

 

[JonM]

I have one front caliper that started to leak as well. Should I change this ASAP or can it wait a little while? I've just put over 1500$ or repairs this month and wanted to wait a bit. But can I wait or not?

Without sugar coating it...NO...unless you don't drive it...Its your last defense you have before hitting something.

 

[GTR1999]

First if you can do mechanical work you can do this job yourself and save a LOT of money. Most of the calipers out there are sourced from Lone Star so using a catalog vendor really comes down to finding the best price for the same part. I use and have used Muskegon brakes for many years. They sell a complete package that is very good, ask for Justin if you call.

For calipers you have a choice of standard lip seal or after market O ring calipers. I've always used the std seals and corrected the problems that vette brakes have- namely rotor runout and bearing endplay.If you replace the calipers with runout over .005 then you're going to have pedal fade from air in the lines. The endplay also affects this.

In your case I would get the car in the air and look over the system. If you're going to keep the car then fix the brakes 100%. The calipers,if still stock cast iron bores, should be replaced. The rubber hoses front and rear too. The steel lines are not fun to replace, espcially the front to rear and the SS lines have to be fit to the car too- forget about "bolt on" parts most are not. Mic up the rotors and check the runout, do they still have the rivets in them? If so that's a good sign that some moron hasn't got in there yet to wreck something or to turn the rotors on a brake lathe. You don't want to resurface them as they will not be concentric with the spindle and hubs afterwards. If they are not scored then you can deglaze them with a 100 grit D/A grinder. If they are warped or badley scored then buy new ones. New rotors will have runout too so you have to correct this no matter what if you want the best job done.

If you follow this advice you'll have a great braking system, better then new in most cases. If you store the car for time then bleed the brakes when you take it out of storage every year.

IMO you don't need SS hose, O rings, slotted rotors,etc just a solid system to the tightest spec's they really do work good.

 

[zachh]

I have one front caliper that started to leak as well. Should I change this ASAP or can it wait a little while? I've just put over 1500$ or repairs this month and wanted to wait a bit. But can I wait or not?

Replace it ASAP. When it leaks fluid, there is a very slight possibility that the fluid you leaked could end up on your paint, ruining the finish. Also, whatever fluid that has leaked out has been replaced by air, which slowly ruins your stopping power. If its been leaking for a while, when you get it fixed, youll fell a difference.
zachh
79 l82

 

[Tepot]

Replace it ASAP. When it leaks fluid, there is a very slight possibility that the fluid you leaked could end up on your paint, ruining the finish. Also, whatever fluid that has leaked out has been replaced by air, which slowly ruins your stopping power. If its been leaking for a while, when you get it fixed, youll fell a difference.
zachh
79 l82

Well I went for a drive yesterday. And my braking power is going away. When I got back home. I've checked again and notice that now I have 3 Calipers leaking. My guess is that the 4th one won't take long to leak too.

I will replace all 4 of them and do the job myself this week. I cannot take the risk to drive it like it is now.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I don't know if this has been said before but also replace your rubber brake hoses while you have the calipers off. OEM replacements are fine. They get the job done.

 

[Jack]

I don't know if this has been said before but also replace your rubber brake hoses while you have the calipers off. OEM replacements are fine. They get the job done.

Agree 100% ... all 4 hoses around $40 locally.

 

[leeboy66]

I'm concerned about flushing and bleeding my brake system after installing the new calipers. Is this a hard thing to do? Do I have to remove my master cylinder in order to do it right? I noticed some rusty stuff in the bottom of each reservoir.

 

[Tepot]

Well. I don't know how come my car was still able to stop. I had no more brakes to work with. ahah

I've finally worked on my breaks last night and found out that I only got 2 calipers leaking. the 2 fronts actually. The 2 in the back have stainless sleeves and are in really good shape. All 4 wheels had pratically no brake pads left on them. and the 2 front calipers were done for.

so I was pretty luck that I could still brake a bit. LOL.

So I've replaced all brake pad on each wheel. then for the front calipers I've purchased 2 caliper kits to restore my calipers in front. I was able to get them for 35$ each kit.

so cost me 35$ to repair each caliper. should last long enouph for the summer maybe next year to. So it will give me some time to save enouph money to buy 2 calipers with stainless sleeves for the front.

But for now the caliper kits worked really good and it was cost effective.