1981 300SD. The back right caliper has been squealing just a bit and now I believe it is sticking; the right bundt wheel feels a good bit hotter than the left after a bit of driving.

Should I replace or rebuild the caliper? It is original. I know because I am original owner.

It simply depends on your experience and patience and the value of your time.

Rebuilding them is a PITA due to the very tight piston to cylinder clearances and the difficulty of getting the dust boots back on. You'll struggle with one for a couple of hours the first time you do it.

A rebuilt caliper is done at a factory on an assembly line and you get a decent product at a reasonable price..........typically $80.00 or so. I haven't looked lately.

I will tell you that it's quite a challenge to get the pistons out. Once the first one escapes, you've got a giant hole to plug to enable you to force the second one out. If one of them is frozen, you've really got some problems and need to use the vehicle's hydraulic system to remove it because an air compressor won't cut it.

Personally, I wouldn't do it anymore.

I will take your lead.

Thx.

I have had good results replacing caliper seals and boots. However, there is no way to determine whether a particular caliper is a good candidate until you disassemble it for examination. Significant pitting and/or corrosion would be disqualifying. But, if the issue is just old, tired seals, there is little reason that a bit of cleaning and new rubber would not fix things up.

I have not found the job to be at all difficult. And the ATE repair kits come with excellent instructions.

X2

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Food for thought; thanks guys.

X3

Can be pot luck with the old calipers - I've even rebuilt calipers to find that whilst they were fluid tight they were not air tight => its a bloody nightmare trying to bleed a non air tight system I can tell you!!!

But that ATE assembly paste is soooooo nice...

__________________
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!

Don't overlook the hose to that caliper. Occasionally a piece of rubber will fold over internally and make for a sort of one way valve, holding pressure on the caliper.

__________________
2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Forgotten. How do I tell whether I have Bendix or ATE calipers? Used to know.

Right on the caliper face you'll see the "ATE" logo. It's unmistakable. Otherwise it's Bendix.

Brian - thx; should have looked first.