Rear Caliper boot tear- see pic.

Doing rear pads, rear discs, and emergency brake shoes on the 85 and came across this tear/wear in my caliper. Caliper itself works fine. This is on the 'outside' - opposite of the side the fluid comes in.

Does it need to be replaced immediately?

Thanks
dd

Attached Thumbnails

 

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Your call; I do not think anyone knows how long you could drive like that before it causes another problem.
I think you already know Rust and Dirt will eventually cause the Caliper Piston to stick; and, maybe the Caliper to leak.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

How hard is it to rebuild a non-stuck caliper myself?

Its an original unit and all the seals are brittle.

I have had bad luck with purchasing rebuilt calipers, they make me nervous.

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Not hard. Just do not disassemble the caliper halves.

I have done that with every Car that I own that has had disc Brakes.

I cannot remember ever having any problem with them after they were done.

Installing the Piston, Seal and Boot far harder than unbolting the Caliper Halves.

There is an issue that the cutouts on the Face of the Caliper Pisto have to be oriented correctly; but, that has nothing to do with splitting the Calipers.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

The MB FSM strongly cautions against the practice. 'Nuff said.

Rebuild for an otherwise good caliper is straightforward. A compressor/pump is useful for popping out the pistons after the caliper is pulled.

There's a bit of fussiness involved to get the outer seals, like your torn one, situated. It's like trying to stretch the too-small rubber band around the groove.

In Boston, assuming standard wet roads, etc. I'd recommend sooner rather than later. You "might" be able to just replace the outer boot, but I think the procedure for getting the folds and the seals the right way round calls for putting the outer boot on the piston first, then inserting the piston, then snapping the boot onto the caliper. I'm going from memory and could be wrong. If correct, that technique seats the inner seal from the boot to the piston correctly without too much finagling. The other way may also be possible, just with more finessing the boot into the ring.

Here is my pictorial of a caliper reseal.

Resealing w123/126 calipers



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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I'd look into rebuilding but because of your area be prepared to buy a replacement caliper.

Condition is crucial: Pitting / scoring / corrosion are probably a sign it is time to give up and buy a replacement.

Even so I encourage you to have a look - you never know you might catch the deterioration just in time.


(Sorry to be all doom and gloom but it is often the way in climates like yours and mine)

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Most of the calipers I've had to replace seized up because the outer boot let moisture in and the outer half inch of the piston bore rusted.

Unfortunately, once the boot is broken, rust can get started in that crucial area even if the boot is replaced. At that point it's a crapshoot. You might get by with replacing just the boot, maybe not.

I've always wanted to try this experiment: lay the caliper so the piston is face up, pry the boot off and pour a small amount of a rust converter like Oxy-Solv into the space between the piston and bore and let it work overnight. It sure would be easier than removing the piston and cleaning up the rust by hand.

You might - just might - kill the rust that way but there is no way you'll clean it out. You'll be leaving junk in there that would most likely score or damage the piston and caliper surfaces accelerating the demise of the caliper.

A bit of fun for a Sunday - sure - but don't fit it to a car.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!