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So it appears that ABS calipers are no longer rebuilt from cores, but are being newly cast out of iriduim . . . or platinum, or some other extremely rare and expensive metal. I called the local NAPA, AutoZone, Advance Auto, and Olympus parts stores and none of them had ABS calipers in stock. I checked the online inventories of Pep Boys and Car Quest, and neither of them had calipers in stock either. Advance Auto went so far as to say the caliper WAS NOT AVAILABLE, that they could not get it. Olympus (a very good local Euro parts source) said they could get the caliper in a few days . . .for $95 plus whatever the core might have been.
What has happened to all the ABS calipers?
A grinding noise prompted me to pull the wheels today and check out the brakes. The right front caliper had seized on the inside, leaving me with a paper-thin pad; the rotor had juuust started to contact the metal backing plate. These were PBR semi-metallics; what, no wear indicator to squeal when the pads were low?
I was able to beat the pistons back in enough to remove the pads, but they lodged there. I used a vice to push the pistons back in all the way (thinking that it would loosen any rust), and am unable to push them back out using 100 lbs of air. I even soldered together an old brake line and a 1/4" air coupler for a tight seal - nada.
These calipers were rebuilts from NAPA, four or five years old. Not bad, considering one of the rear rebuilt calipers seized in 6 months. I am concerned about the future, since these rebuilts only last a few years and they are unlikely to improve with multiple rebuildings.
Any tips for removing solidly stuck caliper pistons? Any ideas for rebuilt calipers that will actually outlast the pads?
On the plus side, I used advice from Bruce/Lucid and blocked the brake pedal a couple inches down; not a drop of brake fluid is escaping the open line, so I know my master cylinder is sound too.
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