Leaking Front Caliper

[Jeff P.]

I would like to rebuild this myself. All kits I have looked at say for "stainless sleeved only" Do I have to send it out to be sleeved ? I want it repaired not restored. Thanks for your help. Jeff

[Mike M.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

stainless sleeves are the ultimate cure for leaking calipers. i use stainless sttel brakes in clarence , NY. haven't used them for years so not sure they still operate. good luck,mike

[Patrick H.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

I would like to rebuild this myself. All kits I have looked at say for "stainless sleeved only" Do I have to send it out to be sleeved ? I want it repaired not restored. Thanks for your help. Jeff

Jeff,

Have your calipers ever been replaced or sleeved? While not impossible, the odds of a 41 year old car still having its original calipers are small, very small. Unless you are the original owner, I would first confirm the casting numbers of the units (post them here) to see if they are correct for your car. Also tell us what color they are painted.

If by chance they are original, then they are probably pitted inside and will have to be sleeved. Replacing the seals will be nothing but a very short term stop-gap measure.

Many places (Vette Brakes, etc) will restore yours and send them back to you, which may be worth it if in fact they are original. I've done this a couple of times. If they are later castings (which is easily possible if a prior owner replaced them) then you can buy brand new correctly numbered already-sleeved units from Lonestar. I've also done this for a car I just finished working on.

Let us know more about your calipers and we can help from there.

Patrick

[Jeff P.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

Thank You Mike and Patric. I'll get the numbers today.Boy, they sure look original.

[Michael W.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

The numbers won't help one way or the other. Any caliper can be modified to accept an S/S sleeve. It will need to be removed and disassembled for positive verification.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

The numbers won't help one way or the other. Any caliper can be modified to accept an S/S sleeve. It will need to be removed and disassembled for positive verification.

Casting numbers changed late 72/early 73 model year. If someone had them replaced at the Chevy dealer, there is a good chance they'll be later castings. I've seen this on several cars, thus the reason I think that the casting numbers will help.

Also, if they're painted silver then it's a no-brainer.

Patrick

[Michael W.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

I'm simply saying that the casting number will not confirm/deny the existence of SS sleeves. Yes, the numbers might prove to be correct for that particular car but that doesn't help get the caliper fixed.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

I'm simply saying that the casting number will not confirm/deny the existence of SS sleeves. Yes, the numbers might prove to be correct for that particular car but that doesn't help get the caliper fixed.

True. My point is that if they're the wrong ones he has no need to worry about their "rightness" and whether they can be rebuilt or not. Even if they're SS sleeved, if they're leaking and the wrong casting numbers I'd get rid of them.

[Jim T.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

I would like to rebuild this myself. All kits I have looked at say for "stainless sleeved only" Do I have to send it out to be sleeved ? I want it repaired not restored. Thanks for your help. Jeff

I just repaired both front calipers on my 68. I installed stainless steel calipers about 25-26 years ago. Both of the calipers were leaking my silicone brake fluid. Had NOS AC Delco rebuild parts on my spare parts shelf to install new piston seals and dust boot for one caliper and puchased parts locally for the other caliper.
Nothing special about parts used to rebuild my stainless steel sleeved calipers.

Since I had to remove the calipers, I also removed the brake disc and cleaned the wheel bearings, packed them with new grease, and installed new grease seals.

[Jeff P.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

Thanks again for all the responces. All four calipers have a coating of rust but I can see parts of black.
The right front leaking caliper has a number of 5452270
Left Front 5473796
Right Rear 5473806
Left Rear 5478806
Any help in identifying these would be a great help. Jeff

[Jeff P.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

In looking up some numbers on Google,it seems my only original one is the leaker. These are only the inner numbers ,but I believe the right front inner is the only original so far. I'll be taking off all wheels this weekend to remove and correct. Thank you,Jeff

[Patrick H.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

In looking up some numbers on Google,it seems my only original one is the leaker. These are only the inner numbers ,but I believe the right front inner is the only original so far. I'll be taking off all wheels this weekend to remove and correct. Thank you,Jeff

You don't need to Google - use the Search feature right here, and doing that I found the same thing.

Let us know if it has been sleeved or not.

Patrick

[Joe L.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

In looking up some numbers on Google,it seems my only original one is the leaker. These are only the inner numbers ,but I believe the right front inner is the only original so far. I'll be taking off all wheels this weekend to remove and correct. Thank you,Jeff

Jeff------



Yes, of the 4 numbers you posted only the 5452270 could be original to the car. That's not to say that it actually is original to the car. It might just be by "accident" that it was supplied as part of a rebuilt caliper assembly. You'll know more when you get the numbers from the outside calipers. Sometimes, you can even see these numbers through the slots in the wheels.

The 547-series calipers are, by far, the most common ones out there in core stocks. That's because they were used in PRODUCTION and SERVICE for a much longer period of time than any others.

[Jeff P.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

Well I took the leaker off. The outside has a number of 5452273 . The manual states there is a date code stamped on the bottom. A saw a stamping of 12 / 97 , including the slash. Any input ? thank You, Jeff

[Joe L.]

Re: Leaking Front Caliper

Well I took the leaker off. The outside has a number of 5452273 . The manual states there is a date code stamped on the bottom. A saw a stamping of 12 / 97 , including the slash. Any input ? thank You, Jeff

Jeff------



5452273 is a caliper half casting number originally used for your car. Whether this is actually the original casting installed on your car is another matter. It's pretty much moot, though.

The stamped date code is likely when the caliper was sleeved and rebuilt. There were usually no date codes stamped on original calipers and certainly none with a date code of 12/97. You will likely find that this caliper has been sleeved. So, you will likely only need new pistons and seals to repair it.