Do I need to replace the caliper?

[felizcortez]

I'm doing the front brakes on my 2000 corolla. The boots surrounding the main piston of the calipers have a hole worn in them. The hole isn't very large, but i believe this is a dust shield?? Not 100% sure. Do i need to replace the whole caliper?

Thanks.

[landphil]

If there is a hole in the boot/bellows on the piston, it's only a matter of time until the caliper seizes up on you. A reman. caliper would be your best bet, it is possible to put new seals in a caliper (if you can find a kit), but it's a little tricky to do, and I suspect you are a novice based on asking this question. Not to put you down by any means, just trying to help you not bite off more than you can / want to chew, and since brakes are somewhat related to safety, swapping in a reman caliper and bleeding it would be much more straightforward.

[felizcortez]

I came to that same conclusion after posting this. While I think I could rebuild them if I really wanted to based on the pricing of new ones it really isn't worth it. And I agree it is a safety issue so I'd rather spend the money and have piece of mind. I went to AutoZone and purchased two remanufactured calipers and will install them tomorrow. After returning the cores, it ends up being less than $40 per side.

I needed a new caliper slide too because one was rusted in there pretty good. Took me 45 mins to remove it after I could just start wiggling it in the bracket with a pair of vice grips and spraying it with penetrating oil. This stuck slide explains the uneven pad wear on the passenger side.

[felizcortez]

I hooked up the two new calipers and bled the brakes this morning. I replaced the brake shoes two days ago as well so this was really a totally new brake job on the corolla. Stops like a charm