QuestionQUESTION: hello Robert I have 3 leaking calipers. what should I have done and how much should I pay? thank you
ANSWER: Hello Angelo,
Leaking calipers are a relatively common occurance with your vintage of Corvette. The leaks come from the actuating pistons. Most people I know have sleeves inserted into the piston bores to solve the problem.
There are a number of reputable companies nationwide who do this, just look in the Corvette section of Hemmings Motor News magazine. Additionally, there are several great Corvette clubs nationwide that are likely to have a chapter in your area. Contact one of them and you'll find advice, expertise and assitance in getting your 'vette fixed without being ripped off. DON'T trust it to some yahoo garage that thinks they know Corvettes! It's a special car that needs specialized attention.
Best of luck,
Bob
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: thank you for your response. roughly how much should I spend on the repair?
AnswerHello Angelo,
This is tough question as there are a number of options depending how bad your calipers are.
For example:
A) If your leak is just due to deteriorated internals, they can be rebuilt for around $150 or so. (calipers only, I'll explain more later)
B) However, if the calipers have wear ridges in the bores, common if your car has any kind of mileage on it, you will need to either replace or rebore what you've got. Your choice here is how original you wasnt to keep the car. For example, in the Corvette world, original is always best. So, if your car has it's original calipers, they can be replaced or rebuilt but never thrown away. For a fine original car, not having all the original parts affects value, downward. I told you in my previous message that you're in a totally new world with the Corvette; this is what I meant.
If you buy new, good quality calipers will be about $100/wheel. If you resleeve, charges are by the number of piston bores you resleeve.(there are 4 in each caliper) Charges per bore vary ranging up to $80/bore for a concours restoration level job, but averaging about half that for driver qualuity resleeving.
For any of the preceding options, you should also check the disc and brake pads as part of each option. Discs can be ridged or out of round/have excessive runout which can involve replacement/remachining for discs and replacememnt of pads. Welcome to the wonderful world of contingent parts replacement.
Check out the following link for more info. and pictures about Corvette brake resleaving. Other good sources of information are Corvetteforum.com and C3Corvetteforum.com in addition to the references I gave you previously.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-general/2714947-question-on-calipers.html
Good luck!
Bob
