I have a need for caliper rebuilds on my 85 300D.

Has anyone here from Ontario had their calipers rebuilt? I have found three shops that do rebuilds:

Midwest Caliper, Scarborough
(Midwest Calipers)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midwest-Calipers/117983921619249

Midland Caliper, Scarborough

Midland Calipers - Scarborough, ON Canada

John Stuart, Stoney Creek
Auto Disc Brake Caliper Rebuilders - John Stuart Power Brake - Canada, GTA, Hamilton, Brakes, Steering, rebuild, remanufacture, water, vacuum, pump

We are in Kingston, so none of these really handy.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

What do they want $$$ to rebuild them?

Last time I looked around, I found front ATEs for $50-60 rebuilt, right off the shelf, locally.

Best price was NAPA, as I recall. (I did not end up buying as I found a cheap Bendix on the shelf somewhere... otherwise was going to convert my fronts to ATE.)

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

They want $60 - $119 to rebuild in Toronto. Napa quoted me $100+ (can't recall actual number, but maybe $130) for a reman, but they had no stock anywhere in Canada. Another supplier had none.

If you still know of a source for the ATE remans for $50-$60, please let me know.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

I will call my local supplier on Monday and ask what she can get. She couriers stuff anywhere.

I talked to NAPA about a year ago and I know when the guy had me on the phone he priced several suppliers (remanufacturers), as there are huge variances in prices between companies.

Was what they quoted the net cost or was it $100+ including the core charge?

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I too am up in Canada. I will look forward to your rebuilt experience. My guess up here is the caliper pistons are probably rusty. Sixty dollars a decent rebuild is attractive up here.

Check the rebuilder to make sure that they replace any piston that is. Do not worry about bleeding. A vacuum at the bleeder will pull any brake fluid down into the new rebuilt caliper. I have great luck with just letting gravity draw it down on some cars. You just open the bleeder and wait. Does not work on all designs but is useful on some. Keep an eye on the master cylinder level.

In our climate besides the brake fluid being hydroscopic. It should all be extracted and changed maybe every two years. On especially really old master cylinders that are still good I dislike pumping the fluid up to bleed. The chance of damage is higher as the normally unused portion of the master cylinder bore that was not being used may have corrosion. .

If you have good luck with the rebuilder I have a batch that will need done as well. The only alternative otherwise that makes economic sense is to source calipers that still appear to have unstuck pistons in them from an auto salvage. These from a vehicle that has not been sitting in the yard very long. Shipping costs from our American friends for a good used pair or rebuilts probably make it prohibitive unfortunately. Good time to locate a new set of rubber brake hoses cheap and have them mailed to you. Mr hunter states that they should be changed out about every seven years or so in service. I believe that if one does not know when they were last changed they could still be the originals on these old buggies. Our colder climate in general may extend this a little as the outside rubber does not deteriorate as quickly. The brake fluid pressure is not carried by the rubber though.

If you drive the car all year in our climate. Take a small length of fuel line that fits snuggly over the bleeder. Coat the bleeder with grease insert the small length of hose over the bleeder. Put a dab of grease also into the open end of the hose. . The next time you have to loosen the bleeder it will not be seized. Otherwise up her you had better have a good source of heat. Not quite as bad in the Ottawa area as here in Nova Scotia but bad enough rustwise.

Zach - The guy at NAPA was not too clear so i dont know about the core charge. I also checked PartsSource. They quoted $149.98 less $40.00 core = $109.98. It say "includes hardware" which is spring and pins. But when they checked, these were not available Napa had no stock in their system either.

Barry - Thanks for the tips and comments.
I will be buying new front hoses, mainly because I cut the present ones to get calipers off!
From what I can see of the pistons, they dont look rusted on the exposed lip. Dust seal is ratty, so this is good opportunity to replace. Rear were new a few years back.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

One side of the two piston caliper is pretty much a fluid/sludge trap. Water can work on the plating internally. You pretty much have to pull the pistons to inspect them. I have often wondered if by changing the brake fluid once a year if the calipers might last the life of the car.

A friend of mine went synthetic brake fluid on a 1939 Chrysler product 25-35 years ago. The car sits idle a lot but no brake cylinder problems yet. I found this quite impressive.

Have you considered rebuilding them yourself? I did mine recently and it was not that hard. There are some good informational videos on YouTube. The rebuild kits are not very expensive. You will need an air compressor to pop out the pistons and a clean place to work. Other than that it is not that difficult.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

Yes, I have considered it and this was discussed in a separate thread. But kits are not cheap. C$42.00 per side locally vs $60 for rebuild in Toronto, if I can get them there.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

there is also Speedy Brake & Clutch, 1786 Mattawa, I think it is Etobicoke,
Tel. 905 270-9105. They are rebuilding the calipers themselves.
Used them a couple of times - no complaints and no fin. interest


QUOTE=Graham;3336221]I have a need for caliper rebuilds on my 85 300D.

Has anyone here from Ontario had their calipers rebuilt? I have found three shops that do rebuilds:

Midwest Caliper, Scarborough
(Midwest Calipers)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midwest-Calipers/117983921619249

Midland Caliper, Scarborough

Midland Calipers - Scarborough, ON Canada

John Stuart, Stoney Creek
Auto Disc Brake Caliper Rebuilders - John Stuart Power Brake - Canada, GTA, Hamilton, Brakes, Steering, rebuild, remanufacture, water, vacuum, pump

We are in Kingston, so none of these really handy.[/QUOTE]

You can buy brand new calipers out of the USA very affordably, check ********/fcp/********az places etc. No point rebuilding rusty old calipers when brand new is usually available. Shipping is expensive.
Another place to try Autolectra in Montreal 1-800-361-1671 they usually have old calipers in stock (reman). I was never happy with remanufactured calipers, the cores are always rusty around the hardware pin holes and the material is too thin now after all these years. Doing it yourself is not easy, getting the rubber boots on the piston with the proper metal shims/cover is really hard, I know. You cannot easily find pistons either, just rubber kit.
So if your own personal cores are nice and clean then go for it, if a rusty mess then think about new ones (it is brakes, it is worth it). Be sure you know exactly what caliper you have before ordering.

The new calipers from USA from the source you quoted are about US$200 each plus $80 shipping by USPS to Canada, plus customs clearance, taxes etc. ~US$500. Local auto parts stores could supply them for about C$250 each (fronts) which is cheaper than buying from US vendors. One (Benson) thought he could get remans for $150 (incl shipping). None of the others could offer remans at all (NAPA, PartsSource, Fisher, Independent) even although they listed them at lower prices (still well over C$100)

Today, I drove to Toronto and dropped off my calipers at Midland Calipers. 2 hours later they were rebuilt with proper seals, bleeder and heat shields installed. $60 each! (Plus $40 of diesel to get there and back and $6.00 lunch at Timmies!)

Pic of one shiny rebuilt caliper

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

That price of 60.00 Canadian may be around fifty and a few dollars American. Sounds pretty good pricewise.

Another oddity is I purchase new brake rotors made in Hamilton, Canada for less than Chinese rotors in the USA. Generally though we pay more for most things unfortunately. I never checked to see if they have Mercedes rotors though. The rotors are cheap and include free delivery in Canada. The total cost for the rotor is far less than I could mail it back to them if it were the wrong one. The firm I buy from is really reliable as well.

Shipping in Canada is atrocious now. We send money in some form or gift certificates to people now that are far away for birthdays and Christmas. Parcel postage is probably three times the American price and increasing in our national postal service.

I may use this place. How big are they? Did they mention anything about them when you picked them up?

Midland Calipers seems to be a one man operation (plus helper kid). They have a unit about 25x40 in one of those industrial buildings that must have 40 similar spaces.

Midwest Calipers is in similar type building and within shouting distance of Midland because the building Midland are in runs between Midland and Midwest Rds. I went to Midwest too just to check them out. There was no one in front that I could talk to and no way to get into shop. There was activity in the shop. They seemed busier. I left without seeing anyone! They quoted me $75/caliper by email. On RedFladDeals, it seems others have been satisfied with them. They do neat powder coating for those that like that sort of thing.

Midwest has a glitzy web page, Midland does not seem to be on internet. Both shops are anything but glitzy

Shipping calipers is expensive. UPS would have been ~$40 plus plus each way (weight is 25lbs for two). That is why I drove up.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Small shops have to stay busy to survive or rob people. Also if they do crap work they are not around long. Sounds like you may have found a good one.

I have this nasty habit of trying to evaluate who I am dealing with when buying. I tend to look for certain things. Usually ask a few questions and make a decision. Something like tire kicking but I do it all really fast so they lose no time.

When we were in business we always acted in a responsible and ethical fashion. I saw our customers as friends.

I just wanted to be treated the same way when I used others services etc. A little like paranoia I suppose but the alternative is never very pleasant. Odd thing about my attitude was we were always busy and made money.

Too many people today have no awareness that they have been ripped off. Too many people that do this to others think they are smart.

I just dislike people and firms that abuse or overcharge their customers. To avoid them over the years where just habits I developed. I am also at the same time cognizant that everybody has to make a living.