[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [New Search]
On 2 May 2004 at 11:34, Floyd Hagen wrote: > On Sat, May 01, 2004, Jim Adney wrote: > > On 1 May 2004 at 10:37, Floyd Hagen wrote: > > > > > Thanks Jim, but I think I'm set on some new ones. > > > > Keep in mind that the new ones may be new, but they aren't as good as the > > originals. > Why is that? The replacements lack a couple of features that the OE calipers came standard with: the compensating pins inside, and the cutouts in the pistons for the pads. It's hard to be sure how important these are but I like to keep them there. AFAIK, today's replacements are actually type 1 calipers with 40mm pistons. I have a feeling that the correct calipers with 42mm pistons for our cars aren't even made anymore. This give us about 10% less braking force on the front wheels. > One has already been rebuilt once, and it lasted maybe a 100miles > before it seized up, again. It was done a few years ago, been out of > the country and away from my car. They were rebuilt by a guy I'd > consider the local VW guru, which is why I'm thinking that this caliper > is finished. In fact, he rebuilt it for free, because he wasn't sure it > was going to work anyway. It's possible that it's actually in such bad shape that it would not be rebuildable, but in 30 years, the only unrebuildable ones I've found were those with broken off bleed valves, and I've managed to salvage most of those. There's more to a good rebuilding job that just taking them apart, installing new rubber and putting them back together, so I'd bet that the previous rebuild was poorly done. Also, if you really want good longevity from your brake parts, switch to DoT-5 silicone brake fluid. If you're doing major work on brakes, this is a good time to switch. I have a FAQ on this if you're interested. BTW, if you send me a caliper that turns out not to be a good candidate for rebuilding, I'll tell you so, and you'll only be out the shipping. OTOH, I've pretty stacked up right now, so I would not be able to get to your calipers for several weeks. > Thinking about prices too, I imagine that with the cost of the kit, > shipping it back and forth, and your labor, it's going to be pretty > close to the total cost of new ones, pads included, that I've found on > the web. Yes, absolutely. The poor quality, misfit, cheap new calipers are clearly the least expensive option. I charge $45 to rebuild a caliper, and that's a steal. I've considered upping that several times, but I just can't, given how cheap the "replacements" are. -- ******************************* Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, Wisconsin, USA ******************************* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org