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I have been purchasing my calipers from Advance and now switched to Pep Boys. The kit comes with pins and shiny slider inserts, bolts to hold the pins, etc. However there are always 2 copper crush washers included in the plastic parts bag and I have no idea where they go. I can only guess they go under the bolt head so that under strain the pin will self adjust into the cylinder. But that's just a wild guess. In the past I've left them out, but they must be included for a reason.
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A second part to this message/question has to do with conflicting information I am getting from Advance and Pep Boys about the calipers and what is included in the rebuilt package.
For a while I've been buying my calipers at Advance $48.99 plus core $20.00. I obtained several that included the sliding bracket and assumed that constituted a complete assembly. One time the caliper arrived without the sliding bracket in the box and I went back to inquire. Advance ordered another and the bracket was missing. They ordered a third and the bracket was missing. Advance never said anything about the bracket routinely being excluded from the purchase.
Yesterday, I happened to be at Advance and decided to purchase the caliper I needed from Advance. The Caliper was $70.00 not including the core charge, but the parts manager explained that if I brought my receipt from Advance, Pep Boys would match it, which they did the next day when the Caliper arrived from the warehouse. However, when I gave the parts manager my core, she said, You're going to need the sliding bracket and she had the shop remove it for me.
This brought up a series of questions, which she answered by saying that none of the suppliers Pep Boys deals with supply the brackets and that generally this was the standard industry wide. She is very experienced and seemed assured that the no bracket product was routine.
Of course the reason I was replacing my caliper was that one of the pins was frozen and it is one of the most difficult removals I've encountered. Finally I was able to free it up and clean out the cylinder for the new pin. Altogether this took about an hour. So, my question is this. If I am going to go to that trouble, why not just rebuilt the original caliper.
When I raised this question with the parts manager, she said that rebuild kits were no longer available, or at least very hard to find. I happen to have some new pieces I've saved to do a complete rebuild, bolts, sliders, pins. The only thing I am missing is the piston boot. I would certainly be worth it to me to rebuild my own, if it meant saving $50. Besides, even the calipers I've received from Advance that included the sliding brackets have required rebuilding because the cylinders of these "re-manufacturer" calipers are still caked with rust and debris.
Bob Franklin
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