Getting about 1 year out of Cardone calipers

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dlundblad

dlundblad

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Just as the title says. These were from AAP, but I believe all the local parts stores use them.

The passenger side seized up on me yesterday when I had my Jeep out on the highway. Last year, it was the opposite side and Fall 2016 it was this very same caliper with a seal leak from 1 of the 2 pistons. All other components are new. The fluid is less than a year old.

Top tier pads and rotors just aren't worth the extra cost when you have sub par calipers trying to kill them. I just feel like I am locked in as I have the lifetime warranty, they have my core etc. Since they were originally purchased online and discounted, they end up wanting me to pay the difference between the current (yes, they've gone up as I have the original receipts to prove it.) normal price and what I originally paid when I do a warranty exchange. This typically involves a manager override and me having to come back if one isn't there.

Rant off guys. The only saving grace is she's no longer my DD. Going to regrease the slide pins today and see if that fixes the issue.
 
I gave up on AA for calipers even if I need them today its better to wait. I don't know if they have a special deal for a super low price or what but they are some serious junk.
I needed a pair for the front of a Camero and they handed me one that was so corroded it was almost through on top.

Your best option would have been to rebuild the originals as these have been honed you can forget that with these, the monkeys just hone away until all pits are gone on rotten cores that should have been tossed in the bin.

IMO bite the bullet and get these from Quirk, new OE with pads. Don't ever use them as a core again. LOL

OE Caliper
 
Cardone Ultra or Napa Eclipse calipers are much better. They are coated to stop the rust.

Another good choice might be the Powerstop red coated calipers. They might be the only non-Cardone reman you can get.

And regardless of the actual caliper quality, no store should charge you the price difference between today's price and the original price you paid. That's just being cheap.
 
I have Cardone CV joints in the Santa Fe. No issues to report. On my KIA, the rear passenger caliper was sticking and messed up the pads and rotors at 36K. Dealer installed a new caliper under warranty.

I should clarify. When i heard the scraping I thought it was odd that my pads were worn at 36K. I went to NAPA and got new pads and rotors. When i realized it was the caliper i took it to the dealer. I told them to use the rotors and pads i bought. They supplied the new caliper. All labor was done under warranty. Both sides.
 
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I like the ATE calipers on my 528e s. Take them them apart, clean out the crud, wire brush around the top.Lube he seal with Sil-Glide and push them back in. All set until the next time. Road salt does it.
 
I replaced a front caliper with one of the Cardone Ultra models almost exactly 2 years ago on my Element. Still working fine. I had ended with the Ultras because I had read here on the forums that the lower models weren't always the best.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Thanks.
BTW, that wasn't a rant. That was an informative, "documented" case study.

You're tops in my book.


I greatly appreciate the complement.

*On a side note, thankfully FCP Euro carries Volvo calipers, pads, rotors etc.
 
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Maybe if I'm out in the junk yard one of these days I can pull some rust free calipers and ship them to you? Don't know the next time I'll be out there though.
 
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
I replaced a front caliper with one of the Cardone Ultra models almost exactly 2 years ago on my Element. Still working fine. I had ended with the Ultras because I had read here on the forums that the lower models weren't always the best.


I think that's the crux of it. You get what you pay for. The thing is, if the pay less option verges on unsafe in a amount of time not commonly expected of a safety critical item, that's an issue.

In a way, more consumer choice is good. Does the rust (on mine) necessarily hurt if the seal is good? Not really... But does the seal on OP's??? Now we have a real issue.

I suspect that pulling every last penny out of the price on some of these things, to get people in the door... And potentially, purposely designing them for quick failure to get them in the door more than once, is a real issue with safety items. This isnt even an alternator that could just leave you stranded or unable to start your car next time. This is a big deal.

If parts like this are cheapened too far, then consumer choice is dangerous to the population at large. And isnt a good thing.

If you have to buy an Ultra-level item to assure performance and safety for the long run, then the low end potentially shouldnt even exist.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I reported on this a long while back.

Have a look/read:

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3355147#Post3355147

You get what you pay for, and AAP and anyone else is not interested in giving you quality items, just getting you back through the door, where youll buy more consumables.




AFAIK all reman calipers will do that because they sand or bead blast the cores they get back so any factory paint or plating is gone and they will rust easily. I don't have a problem with them shipping bare calipers out because some people don't want to pay for any powdercoating because they want to paint it themselves.

For the people who do want reman calipers that don't rust like that, almost every single reman line offers some variant of "weatherproof" which is either some kind of plating or powdercoating.

I bought weatherproof reman Cardone calipers and it's been almost a year and the powdercoating still looks great and they work fine. I would have no hesitation using the same brand again. I would never consider a non-weather proof reman though.

I will also mention that mileage varies greatly. In my case I had to have the Cardone reman replaced a few times before I got one I was happy with. The first one had a bunch of stuff installed wrong, guide pin boot was pinched, stuff like that. I even got one from them where they accidentally used two of the same guide pins! Their "inspection" process is [censored] as far as I'm concerned and leaves a lot to be desired. While annoying I wasn't that [censored] because I caught these problems on initial inspection before I installed them.

I think if someone buys a weatherproof reman and inspects it well before installation things should work out fine and they will save themselves a lot of aggravation.
 
Does the Ultra quality vary from the lower tiered line aside from the coating?

I don't think think rust is my issue here.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I gave up on AA for calipers even if I need them today its better to wait. I don't know if they have a special deal for a super low price or what but they are some serious junk.
I needed a pair for the front of a Camero and they handed me one that was so corroded it was almost through on top.

Your best option would have been to rebuild the originals as these have been honed you can forget that with these, the monkeys just hone away until all pits are gone on rotten cores that should have been tossed in the bin.

IMO bite the bullet and get these from Quirk, new OE with pads. Don't ever use them as a core again. LOL

OE Caliper


I ended up buying a set. Assuming they are indeed the Akebono and not the Teves, that was a screaming deal even compared to Quirk’s site. Should come with Mopar pads too.

Thanks again.
 
Yeah, when I saw that it had screaming deal written all over it. Even if its ATE its great, nothing wrong with ATE brakes.
I bought a VW parts from them cheaper than I could buy them aftermarket, NOS so they blow them out.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Yeah, when I saw that it had screaming deal written all over it. Even if its ATE its great, nothing wrong with ATE brakes.
I bought a VW parts from them cheaper than I could buy them aftermarket, NOS so they blow them out.


The Teves on these were known for rotor warping. I believe it was years 99-02ish. Something about getting too hot from being too small.

My Akebono ProActs wouldn't fit either! Different pad design.
laugh.gif
 
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