Front Brake Caliper Leaking

Over the past few days I have been seeing fluid or grease on my front passenger side wheel. Upon inspection, I found the caliper is leaking from one of the outboard pistons.


I was on Rockauto.com pricing calipers. While researching, I saw they sell a repair kit which is essentially o rings. As you can see in the picture the lower o ring looks like it is not seated properly. Has anyone ever rebuilt a caliper? Seems it would be more cost effective than purchasing a new caliper. I have replaced many a caliper in my day but I have never rebuilt one.

Since the truck is stopping fine and it is not pulling in either direction when I apply the brakes, a rebuild may be in order.

 

I know stoptech rebuilds Factory calipers. They’ll sent you rebuilt ones and then you send yours back for core. Other than that cheap way would be a rebuild.

I don’t see this being a job you would have to do to both sides but I would always be wondering when it was going to fail. That’s weird that would happen. Was there an emergency braking situation recently?

I’d also hate to rebuild them and realize there’s an underlying problem that’s popping the o ring out. It may be cost effective to just replace them. Depends on what you got more of...time or money.

 

Let me also say that they look very rusted! Depending on how extensive the rust is may be a determining factor on replacing them. I see why the o ring popped now.

 

Thanks for the replies @Tundyfundy . No emergency braking since I have had the Tundra. When I test drove the truck in July, the brake pedal was soft and the fronts were grinding. Dealer agreed to replace whatever needed to be replaced. When I returned after the fix, the dealer said new front rotors, calipers and pads were installed.

I did not ask the dealer to remove the wheels but I could see both front calipers and rotors looked new. So i took the truck home. After only two months I noticed the calipers were showing surface rust but the brakes were still working properly. I guess they found the cheapest parts possible.

I wound up replacing the rotor. I guess I have more money than time, and peace of mind was important too. Like you said, is there an underlying issue? The rust was not helping matters either. I am contemplating replacing the other front caliper because it has surface rust too.

 

You might not like the color but the rebuilt ones are powder coated red. That will keep the rust out. Maybe coat some new stock calipers? I’m sure the factory put stock calipers so you can expect them to rust again if you don’t coat them. There’s a thread on here somewhere about coating them. I’m going to go that route when the stock pads wear out. 71,000 miles on them so far! Good luck!

 

They sell a kit on Amazon. It’s all 4 corners calipers, rebuilt and coated. 4 drilled slotted rotors, and 4corners brake pads for around 850.00. I’m not sure if they’ll break up the kit for you but maybe worth a try to see. Now that I think about it, your rear calipers probably look like this too.

 

If they were just installed in July, the calipers may be under warranty. You may want to give the dealer a call.

 

It's not hard rebuilding calipers on one condition, and that is if the piston and bore are OK. Most of the time they are not, and rusty and beyond repair. Sometimes you can buy a new piston, but the bore has to be ok or salvageable.

 

The dealer was not a Toyota dealer and the work was performed prior to me buying the truck. No extended warranty was provided.

 

That is why I decided to replace rather than rebuild. I did not want to get the caliper apart and find something else wrong.

 

And, there is the truth! ^^^^

Rebuilding calipers that have lasted only two months is likely a waste of time and money. They were likely rebuilt when they should have been scrapped as not rebuildable.

 

Yea, for what it's worth, just buy a new one.

 

Doesn't have to be a Toyota dealer. Parts come with warranties. If you were looking at the truck and they did the work in order to sell it to you, then I would think you would be able to at minimum only pay labor if taking it in. Otherwise you could show it to them and they could refund you the purchase price of the new caliper you put on.

 

It is worth a phone call. A friend of mine just bought a Silverado at a used car place and started having transmission problems about 6 months later. He called them and they said they have a mechanic on staff so bring it by. If it was something that they could fix them would fix it for free if he bought the parts. They ended up taking it to a transmission shop. Ended up costing him about $250. They had to drop the pan and change a solenoid and fix something else with the stability system. My buddy was happy to pay it.

Not saying that the lot will do anything but it is worth an ask.

 

https://www.autoanything.com/brakes/power-stop-performance-brake-calipers

 

Damn those be sexy