Situation is this:

Over the week end I replaced the two front disk rotors and put in new pads (all oem parts).

Upon inspection of the drivers side caliper I noticed the piston had extended so far out that it had pulled a portion of the dust boot out of the caliper.

As far as I can determine, the only way to get the dust boot back in is by poppping the piston out . At that point- it would seem that I may as well overhaul the caliper completely ( new seal and dust boot).

My question is this: With 56,000 miles oon the caliper would I be better off ordering a remanufactured caliper from carparts.com for $58 ?

I guess my concern is that the dust boot has likely been detached for some time now and it is possible that dirt and stuff has gotton into the piston bore. So the least risk/hassle approach may be to just replace the caliper.

Or should I just continue to drive the car until the caliper starts leaking (probably not a prudent choice).

Any thoughts here?

Nathan-

I see the dust boots out of position on about 20% of the cars when I replace front brakes. With a little patience and some of the silicone brake grease you SHOULD be using on the pad-to-caliper sliding contact points, you can work the boot back into place. First clean everything up- no dirt or pad residue/dust on the piston, wipe off the lip on the boot with a clean, dry shop rag, spread some grease on the boot, push the piston back into the caliper, and using a 90 degree scribe (the smooth bend) work the boot into the groove in the caliper. Have the piston pushed into the caliper far enough to use the groove in the piston as additional clearance for the lip to slide by the piston and into the caliper groove. If you get it into the correct position with enough grease (a little dab'l do ya) you should be able to spin the boot in the caliper. Press the piston ALL the way in to seat the boot, and as a final test, press the brake pedal 5-7 times and see if the boot stays in or pops out. I've done this countless times, but am not always successful the first attempt. (or second or third, sometimes) The cars I have reinstalled the boot on don't seem to be any the worse for wear, and it does keep water and dirt out of that delicate seal area. Good luck, and save your money until the caliper develops a fluid leak.

Dave the Volvo Tech

'99 V70R AWD, '93 854 GLT, '82 242 DL

If I were you I would disassemble the caliper and inspect it and the piston for damage/corrosion. I would then make the decision, as to overhaul or replace the caliper, based upon the condition of the piston and caliper bore. I'm willing to bet that you will find no damage to the caliper or components and then your next decision will be an economic one (which is cheaper overhaul kit or rebuilt caliper). To extract the piston from the caliper bore you could remove the pads from the caliper in question and replace them with some cardboard and then slowly press the brake pedal (with the engine off) until the piston has extended far enough to finish extracting with your bare hands. Or you could, as I have done in the past, rig a bicycle pump to pressurize the caliper until the piston come out. If you decide to overhaul the caliper remember the kit contains the parts to do both calipers, do them both at the same time!