You mean you don't rebuild your brake calipers?
 

For my money, and my sanity, I want my brake calipers rebuilt on any car over 15 years of age! Unfortunately while trying to order Girling Rear Kits I found out that very few people do this anymore! Most people don't rebuild them, they replace them with other used one's or new one's....
Have you ever opened up a 15 year old set of calipers? Did you see the muck and corrosion and dried up rubber on them and the fact they are good candidates for seizure?
Rebuild kits cost less than 20 to $30.00. Maybe tonite I will post a FAQ on rebuilding my ATE's but its so easy to rebuild them, its not funny or necessary. Just use compressed air to blow them out and Premium Brake Fluid to rebuild them!

great website! ive always enjoyed the savings realized by overhauling my brake calipers.im just finding it difficult now to find all the seals,boots and heat shims.especially for the fronts.i find that using 2000 grit wet sandpaper on the bores and pistons with liberal application of brake fluid usually cleans them up.after that blow out with compressed air and reassemble with brake lube

I've rebuilt 123 calipers a few times with no trouble at all. I can't imagine why anyone would rather replace them.

As I recall I got the rebuild kits from a store that handles Beck Arnley products.

Good luck,

I've struggled with the heat shields on the Bendix. Did you have the Bendix? If so, did you have the special tool to press on the heat shield?

The ATE's were not difficult in any way.

Last master cylinder I rebuilt was on my old 1970 Triumph GT6+....I had one developed issues on my saturn , and my truck but I just replaced them....

When the savings is significant and it's pretty easy, rebuilding them is a good option, as long as they are not already corroded inside. Yet, with my Chevy truck, $13 for rebuilt calipers was so cheap I just did it. It wasn't worth taking them apart. Add pads, rear shoes and cylinders, all 3 hoses and metal line (the brakes were a terrible mess when I bought it), I still spent less than $100.

Where is a good source for rebuild kits for MBs?

need to to a Land Cruiser as well... any links?

thanks

Rebuild kits for MB can be found at Fastlane (up top).

Parts can be found at any shop that distributes Worldpac parts. I got a rebuild kit for my 123 rear calipers for less than $10.

It's been a long time since I did any but I think I've done both. I remember that the heat shields on one set was difficult to deal with. I don't remember exactly what I did.

Sorry,

My reality is a little different. While I learned to rebuild master cylinders, brake cylinders and calipers a long time ago in shop class thats the last place I bothered with it. When I have a vehicle go down for service I usually need it up and running the next day or in the very near future. My time is also quite limited due to work and other commitments. If I was to opt for rebuilding a component like this there is always the chance that once I disassemble it it will be too corroded to be useable or I will have the incorrect parts. Now I am stuck either calling around looking for parts or waiting for either the time or a shipment. It is far easier to simply purchase a rebuilt unit. The rebuilt unit can be visually compared to the old unit to verify correctness. The rebuilt usually carries a warranty. It is usually faster to simply swap on a rebuilt part. I understand that the rebuilts can fail and I'm sure there are people with anecdotes of crappy remanufacturing but mostly the stuff is just fine. Last time I bought 123 front calipers I paid $79/ea for a loaded unit from local Import Indy parts. Paying $20 for a rebuild kit and then spending 3-4 times as long performing the repair doesn't make any sense for me. My time is worth more to me and I can make that money easier from working at my job. I understand that part of this is to simply enjoy working on a vehicle but that is not my point. I throw the rebuilt part on, bleed it and move on. RT

I recently tore into the rear calipres on my 87 300D. I guess the PO hadn't changed the brake fluid since oh maybe 10 years or so. There was much rust and pitting. In fact I couldn't even get them apart with air pressure. In fact I tried prying one of the plungers out with a crow bar and broke it.

I ended up just buying rebuilt ones from Fastlane. Not really faster (or cheaper) since I had to wait for them, but easy.

I've always sort of liked rebuilding them myself though. It's that old job finished thing I guess.

It's a good lesson to learn supporting the change of brake fluid in these cars.

To me, brake fluid change is the key to long brake caliper life. I change mine yearly, and I can't remember the last time I needed a calipre. I've been driving MB cars for 30 years now, and I think I might have replaced three, total, and that was because the POs had neglected fluid changes.

Joe B.