replacing right front brake caliper

[yzc717]

Basically, the guy told me my piston is broken, need to replace it. So I am considering buying a new caliper, which one should I buy, the loaded one or just caliper like this one? I not sure if this include everything I need to replace it. I just gonna buy parts and have the guy install it for me.

Do I need to buy additional brake hardware kit like Brake Caliper Bolt/Pin? Or I can use the existing bolt/pin from the caliper I am going to replace?


edited:
thanks again for all u guys suggestion. I will go to the shop tomorrow and ask what actually happened. He told me that the piston wouldn't go back to the original place after the pedal was pressed. So the pads are just constant in contact with the rotor. He said so kind of pump is broken in the caliper. I don't know anything about car. It doesn't make any sense to me. The pair of pads in the caliper are new.

Is there any reliable place I can buy parts other than advance auto part? Is it OK that the driver side caliper is stock and passenger side is a third party part?

Thanks.

[rusty9]

the regular one should be fine. i dont think ive ever bought a loaded caliper. you never know what crap pads are in them. and i would spend the extra few bucks for the hardware kit. do it right the first time =)

[BMR]

It depends.

The "loaded" caliper just means it comes with new brake pads installed. Are your old brake pads nearly shot? If they are, you might want to buy the unloaded caliper and also a full set of pads, not just the one side.

As for replacing other parts... are you wanting to put just enough $$ into it to get it rolling again? Then no, replacing other stuff isn't *required*. Not unless you have reasons to believe there are other problems with your brakes. Were they pulsing?... pulling to one side?... making scraping noises?

If the guy working on your car said all that's wrong is a stuck piston in the caliper, and he's looked at everything else on your brakes, then getting that unloaded caliper should be all you need. That's a big *if*.

[ajkalian]

The diagnosis sounds fishy to me. There isn't anything to break in a piston. It is just a cylindrical piece of steel open on one end, closed on the other. They rarely break. If yours was "broke" there would be brake fluid gushing everywhere, and you would have no brake fluid anywhere in the system, nor would you have any brakes. The pedal would just go to the floor. I doubt it is stuck either. It is lubricated constantly with brake fluid, and it is under pressure constantly. If it were "stuck" you wouldn't be able to stop, and the car would pull violently to the opposite side of the car where the disk brake was working properly.

The piston could be scored, rusted caused by moisture in the brake fluid over time, and that might cause brake fluid to weep from the caliper. If there are no obvious leaks around the area where the brake caliper is then there is probably nothing wrong with the piston. The only way to know for sure, is to take it apart. It's not hard at all. There is only one moving part in the caliper, and that is the piston. There is a rubber O-ring inside the caliper, but that's it. You can re-use the sliding pins, just clean them up, and the hole they slide in.

Sound to me like your mechanic just needs some income, and wants to get it from your pocket. Have him show you exactly where, and explain exactly what the problem is. If he can't show you the leak, and explain how the piston "broke" but you can still stop, then go find another mechanic. Or better yet, just remove the caliper, and take it apart yourself and see what the problem is. You can get a rebuild kit from Toyota that has all the parts you need. Here's a pic of the rebuild kit for the back calipers. The front one is pretty much the same.




Keep us posted on what happens.


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[yzc717]

If I just buy the regular caliper, will the piston included?

[fenixus]

yeah, "regular" caliper contains all you need minus the brake pads, but you can re-use yours if they are in good shape.

fill the caliper with fluid before you attach the hose to it, then after bolting it back to bracket, make sure you bleed it until no bubbles come out.

[yzc717]

Originally Posted by fenixus

yeah, "regular" caliper contains all you need minus the brake pads, but you can re-use yours if they are in good shape.

fill the caliper with fluid before you attach the hose to it, then after bolting it back to bracket, make sure you bleed it until no bubbles come out.

Thank you. So now tomorrow I can just set out to buy a caliper.

[fenixus]

what brand will it be? Duralast from Autozone you linked (it was for a diff car I think)?

I am not sure if I would trust it ... Also I heard some cheap remanufactured calipers come without the rust protective layer, so they pick rust in no time all over the body...

hard to find Cardone A1 remanufactured calipers these days, Autozone used to have them, but no more at least for my cars. NAPA should sell better remanuf brands than Autozone. Don't know any opinions about Advance Auto Parts Fenco remanuf brand.

As suggested above, I would also replace the slide pins (anchor pins), any brand like Duralast or Raybestos will do, they cost around $8 per corner. Grease the new ones well with Permatex Ceramic Extreme and it will be good.

[yzc717]

anyone has good suggestion where to buy? preferred if it has a physical retail shop.
its 93 camry LE with 5S-FE engine.