Caliper recommendation?

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So I seem to have a dragging brake on my '99 Camry. I had redone pads&rotors a few months ago, so pads are good; I found a dry caliper pin so I lubed it up. No change. Leads me to think the piston may be shot or maybe it's a collapsed flex line. Since it's 20 years old and all original, I'm thinking, might as well shotgun it: just replace both flex lines and both calipers (both sides) and be done with it. BUT: what caliper? I liked the Raybestos calipers I've used on other vehicles but all I see at rock are ACDelco etc remans. Link

FWIW when I did a brake fluid flush two years ago the fluid was rather green... and I'm guessing it will be green. Again.

As an alternative, should I spring for a caliper repair kit and go from there? Link [VIN starts with a J so it's a made in Japan model FWIW.] I could try that, although I'm not sure how to plug up the brake lines while I have it pulled apart--will a golf tee fit in there? I did try to turn the bleeders a year ago and they were stuck in place, so I'm hesitant to go this route.

Do I need flare wrenches for this, or can I get by with regular wrenches? I know I don't need them for the banjo bolts but I've never touched the other end of a brake line.
 
There are some gadgets they will block off brake line. I would not use a golf tee. Paint or wood will scrape off.

I feel ACDelco is good quality as are Warner, Raybestos and others. Just not any brand with the word "value" or "budget" in its name.

Be prepared for the flex line to steel line connector to snap. Start now with PB Blaster.

In order to rebuild the caliper you need a brake hone for a caliper. If the piston is rusty after wiping it off, do not sand or wire brush, just replace. The plating is gone if its rusted or pitted.
 
Car is from AZ and has only see a few NH winters, so it should break loose without too much problem. Should being a high hope... That said, there is temptation to just take this to a shop instead, as chasing steel lines around is past my expertise at the moment.

I figured if I went the rebuild path I would just buy two new pistons and all new parts and replace all wear items. I have zero desire to take it apart and then wait a week for parts to show up. Do need to get a brake hone, but that's what HF is for, right?
 
I'd probably just parts shotgun it or take it to a trusted shop that wont parts shotgun it on your money.
 
If indeed you snap any steel lines, replace with copper-nickel.

The issue with calipers from RA is the postage to send the core back. In one case he postage was more than the core charge.

Have you looked at Amazon for calipers? I typically check our RA and Amazon before ordering.

Brake hone on Amazon for $12. None at HF.

"I did try to turn the bleeders a year ago and they were stuck in place, so I'm hesitant to go this route." If the bleeder was stuck then the flex to steel connector may be stuck.

You need to get the bleeder open with a 6 point wrench. If it snaps then new caliper.

I would use flare wrenches on the brake lines. They hold a little better than open end.
 
I figure the brake line to the caliper will come loose more easily, bigger bolt, able to get more leverage. Have not had an issue in the past on these bolts. Now the hydraulic to steel line connection, that one scares me.

Good idea on checking Amazon, I hadn't thought of that--I often cross shop but hadn't gotten that far.

Starting to talk myself out of this one, I don't have metric flare wrenches and I don't know how much work I'm going to get myself into. I could stand to have a second opinion on what else is worn out on the car, as this year could get expensive (struts? tie rods? windshield? does need tires and an alignment and an oil pan gasket, and the trans does slip sometimes at WOT when it shifts).
 
I had a similar problem on my car. My rear brakes were weak and I needed to get a safety inspection. I flushed gross, green what I assume to be FF brake fluid and bled, had a shop change the booster and master cylinder and they were still weak. It passed safety somehow though.

I eventually rebuilt all four of my brake calipers, it's really easy and the rebuilt kit was like $5. The brake hone was like $13 at Princess Auto (Canadian HF). The only thing I don't like is those Carlson rebuild kits are only partial: they include the hydraulic seals and dust boot but no pin bushings. If I were to rebuild a brake caliper again I would want new pin bushings. The hardest part is getting the dust boot on without tearing it. I put a small hole in one of my dust boots, patched it with RTV and it actually held up when I inspected it a year later.

I believe I used the needle nose vise grips with heater hose on the jaws trick to pinch the line. I've read that this can damage the brake line, but I have seen professionals on YouTube using this method. In your case, it will not matter because you are replacing the flex hoses anyway. You might be able to get by without flare wrenches on a non-rusty car, but you are seriously screwed if you twist or strip it. I would suggest getting a decent set of flare wrenches, any USA brand is probably good enough but Snap Ons are the go-to. Although, I think you can get partial SK flare wrench sets for pretty cheap. I would skip the PB and go straight to 50/50 acetone/atf with lots of time to soak.

For stuck bleeders good old Trav taught me a trick: soak them with penetrant, get a socket that is just a bit bigger than the bleeder and use it to pound on the area of the caliper that the bleeder threads into. Then, put some tension on the caliper with a box end wrench and whack the top of the bleeder with a hammer while putting tension on it. The bleeders are pretty soft so the top will deform a little, but if they are stuck it might be a good idea to replace them anyway.

Originally Posted by supton
Starting to talk myself out of this one, I don't have metric flare wrenches and I don't know how much work I'm going to get myself into. I could stand to have a second opinion on what else is worn out on the car, as this year could get expensive (struts? tie rods? windshield? does need tires and an alignment and an oil pan gasket, and the trans does slip sometimes at WOT when it shifts).
Fix the brakes, do a D&F or fluid exchange and see how the trans responds. If the trans improves, struts and tie rods are not hard at all to DIY and twenty year old cars are allowed to leak oil. I assume it has 16" or under tires, those sizes are cheap at the scrapyard. You can get your car tip-top for $1000 or less if you do the work yourself and take it in for an alignment when you change the suspension parts and tires.
 
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Pins seem to be good, so I don't plan to touch those. Brakes work superb though. New Raybestos pads and rotors, wouldn't say it stops on a dime but excellent bite and all around happy. Well, there is a bit of deposit buildup, a bit of "warp" is starting to get felt, but brakes good and strong.

I suppose it has been a while since I did a trans flush. I did one at 140,000 miles (new to me) and then a second one like 30k later; maybe it could stand to be done again. That or perhaps I shouldn't drive like I'm 18. 203,000 miles / 324,000km, it's not exactly young anymore.

14" tires. It's starting to get warm again, so I could order a set of RT43's and mount them myself, then get them balanced--it's been too cold to do that (plus the location I do the work in still has 6" of snow). I have been avoiding "cheap" tires as I've been doing 27,000miles/year / 43,000km/year in this car. I did the struts at 140k also, but I have zero idea on to check 'em, for some reason I am unable to "feel" what a dead strut feels like.
 
Originally Posted by supton
I did the struts at 140k also, but I have zero idea on to check 'em, for some reason I am unable to "feel" what a dead strut feels like.
If you used decent quality struts then they should be OK unless they are leaking or something, it might just be 200k mile springs.

If it's crashing over bumps and just harsh in general I'd be looking at the springs. I had a car that I rebuilt the entire suspension on but did not replace the springs and I was disappointed on how it felt after. I got another car shortly after and switched all the new suspension components over and also replaced the springs. It felt like a brand new car.
 
Monroe quickstruts, so new springs and hardware all around. Well, 2 years ago that is.

On a previous car I couldn't tell that the struts were bad, but once off the car they clearly were. Maybe there was one patch of road where I could, but vast majority of time I couldn't. Anyhow. Shop said they were bad, so they got swapped. I don't recall feeling much of a difference afterwards.

I've had some high speed shake in the front end of this car. Could be tires, could be a strut not doing its job. Could be something else. Sometimes there's an odd thunk or noise. In the end, I get the impression that Monroe's aren't long lived, so it's entirely possible that they could be done for. Along with something else.

This was to be my cheap car, so other than tires, I've been budget minded--hence Monroe's. Edit: Crashing over bumps. Well, it is pothole season, so it's going to be hard to tell the difference!
 
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If Raybestos makes their Element3 all-new non-reman calipers for your Camry, that would be the way to go. Otherwise, Napa Eclipse
 
IMO, Cardone is hit or miss - I've had OK luck with them. I've heard good things from Trav about the new Raybestos ones, use one of those and see if the OEM one can be salvaged.
 
Originally Posted by Donald


In order to rebuild the caliper you need a brake hone for a caliper. If the piston is rusty after wiping it off, do not sand or wire brush, just replace. The plating is gone if its rusted or pitted.


You do not need a hone for a caliper. The bore surface quality is not critical since it's not the sealing surface...the piston is. A wire brush on a drill or sandblasting to remove any rust is fine.
 
Got back to this job today. Got the piston pushed out a bit and confirmed that it's a bad caliper (doesn't come out easily). Bought a kit from Autozone with the seal, with hopes of getting the piston out. Went to remove the bleeder and broke that off flush; without thinking about it (didn't read up on it first!) I promptly broke an extactor bit off in that.

So much for that plan. Don't think this qualifies as a core now so I might just get a Duralast and call it a day.
 
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