My new rebuilt 1988 Maxima rear calipers came in from Rockauto yesterday, they are going on the rear of the 240z.

They look great, all new bolts, seals. The first thing I do is start tearing them down, a friend who over at the time asked me what the heck I was doing.  I told him I always tear down rebuilt calipers because quite often there is crap inside or the pistons are too worn.

He slapped a $10 spot on the bench and said "I call BS, they will be perfect inside"

I'm $10 dollars richer.

I'm not saying anything bad about Rockauto, I love them. But I find this sort of thing in probably 75% of the calipers I buy from any auto parts store.

The seals were all new, as were the pistons, they just weren't properly cleaned before re-assembly.

Chris

How did you go about cleaning them up? If I am looking at the picture right the cylinder bore looks pitted.

For this one I used Evaporust, the bore is pitted but it doesn't matter as the piston is supported by the center screw and the seal that sits above the bore surface.

I probably am too anal but just can't stand the thought of brand new seals getting scratched and torn by rust before I even install them on the car.

I agree totally about not wanting unnecessary dirt and rust inside the system. It just shortens the life expectancy.

The folks at RockAuto might appreciate some feedback on this as their reman supplier is doing a crap job and this can eventually come back to them.

Damn, thought rebuilt meant rebuilt.  I just learned something.

 

What kind did you buy? Looks like they carry about five different brands.

My new rebuilt 1988 Maxima rear calipers came in from Rockauto yesterday, they are going on the rear of the 240z.

They look great, all new bolts, seals. The first thing I do is start tearing them down, a friend who over at the time asked me what the heck I was doing.  I told him I always tear down rebuilt calipers because quite often there is crap inside or the pistons are too worn.

He slapped a $10 spot on the bench and said "I call BS, they will be perfect inside"

I'm $10 dollars richer.

I'm not saying anything bad about Rockauto, I love them. But I find this sort of thing in probably 75% of the calipers I buy from any auto parts store.

The seals were all new, as were the pistons, they just weren't properly cleaned before re-assembly.

Chris

 

That's NOT a rebuild, maybe a quick touch up from the outside but that's it..

I have seen better brake calipers from the junk yard and lookt better then that!   It's time to say something about the condition Rockauto sends you parts...

 

I would send them back right away!  Junk! it is...

 

my 2 cents.... ;-)

This is the brand I bought,

NUGEON 2200537R
Rear Right Rebuilt Caliper With Hardware; SOLD EXCHANGE - MAJOR ATTACHMENTS: w/BRACKET & PB MECHANISM - PISTON DIAMETER: 38 - SEDAN - STATION WAGON [Wholesaler Closeout - Private Label Pkg. - 30 Day Warranty] (Only 3 Remaining)

 

This was the only brand that came with the hard to find parking brake flange, so worth it if only for that.

There is no point returning them as the shipping would cost more then the units themselves.

Really, I'm okay with this. As long as the rubber seals, boots, bolts and guides are new, the rest of the muck can be cleaned up.

This is the first set of calipers I have bought from Rockauto in while, usually I buy NAPA but I would guess most remanufactured calipers are coming from the same one or two companies using different names.

I have no doubt that these calipers would work if bolted on to the car, the question is, for how long.

I worked with a guy that started his career (25years ago) in a company that remanufactured brake and clutch parts. He had a weekly run to pickup candidates parts from wreckers. They would clean the outside, remove the bleeder and flush then with slovent. Then test them by stroking the piston. If it moved smoothly and held pressure they would replace any corroded bolts and box it up for "remanufactured" part. He called it flipping parts for a quick buck.

The exchange parts would be tested the same way, but if they failed the test they would discard them because the costs to rebuild was too high. If a certain part was becoming rare they would to a "full" remanufacture on the they could find.

He said if your cr was very rare and hard to find, then chances are it would have ben rebuild the right way.

Its probably why he doesn't trust anybodies workmanship. He is always sceptical.

I wonder if this method is use by the supplier to Rockauto.

PS: I purchased a set of rear cylinders and master cylinder plus the clutch MC and slave. I pulled them apart. They were all new but still have traces of metal from machining.

Point is even new stuff should be dismantled and cleaned to ensure long reliable life of the unit and system in question.

Edited August 19, 20159 yr by EuroDat

I believe this is the case for all re-manufactured hydraulic parts and is something dad tells you about when your 14, at least mine did.  I wouldn't think anything less of Rock Auto or any other parts provider, this is unfortunately an industry accepted standard.  Chris I agree with you 100% on tearing down any rebuilt hydraulic parts.

This is the brand I bought,

NUGEON 2200537R

Rear Right Rebuilt Caliper With Hardware; SOLD EXCHANGE - MAJOR ATTACHMENTS: w/BRACKET & PB MECHANISM - PISTON DIAMETER: 38 - SEDAN - STATION WAGON [Wholesaler Closeout - Private Label Pkg. - 30 Day Warranty] (Only 3 Remaining)

I can see why it's a wholesaler closeout and only has a 30 day warranty. That is terrible quality. The rust in the bores is totally unacceptable. I definitely would advise Rock Auto about this. They need the feedback so they don't purchase more parts from this particular Manufacturer.

 

Makes me wary of buying any of the Wholesaler closeout parts ever again!!!