caliper piston boot?

[ak]

ok, so i was working on swapping out my pads and I noticed that half of the boot on the left piston on my front right caliper is gone. I checked the left caliper and although it's not gone, the caliper boot is damaged there as well. It seems that the pad spring inside the caliper nicks the boot and tears it when the piston comes out a lot.(my pads were wooorn.) So my question is,

1. Will I see catastrophic failure with the boot half gone? I'm guessing that without the boot, dust will go in and may damage the seal.

2. Should I attempt an DYI rebuild? From the thread in the past, it seems that it is extremely difficult job...

This blows. Maybe it's time for BBK?!

thanks in advance...

-ak

 

[Briank]

Running it as it is not great but not a real big deal. With brakes you should always be proactive, failures are a real bad thing.

I looked at one of the Acura parts sites and it looks like you can just buy the boots and seals separately. I would just buy seals and boots for the ones that are damaged and replace them. I belive you will have to remove the piston to change the boot so you may as well install a new seal while you have it apart.

 

[ak]

Can anyone tell me how difficult it was to rebuild theirs?

Also, has anyone had any issue with the pin inside the caliper touching the boot, resulting in the boot tearing? It turns out I had damage on both side calipers as well as the NA1 calipers that I let someone use.

 

[gobble]

I've done it several times. Its a pain to get the pistons through the new boots, but it can be done. Check out www.danoland.com He has a nice DIY write up.

 

[ak]

I've done it several times. Its a pain to get the pistons through the new boots, but it can be done. Check out www.danoland.com He has a nice DIY write up.

The manual says to use grease the seal with silicone. Isn't this bad to have silicone mixed with brake fluid in the caliper?

Also, I looked at the dano site but can't figure out what the cup is about...

 

[MJK]

Can anyone tell me how difficult it was to rebuild theirs?

Also, has anyone had any issue with the pin inside the caliper touching the boot, resulting in the boot tearing? It turns out I had damage on both side calipers as well as the NA1 calipers that I let someone use.

I bought and rebuilt a set, and really did not find it that difficult. Including stripping them down to bare metal, painting, baking, installing new lines, speedbleeders, rotors, etc I still did it 2 'after work' days.

I will say to make sure you get PLENTY of fluid (2.5 cans of ATE for me). Getting the last little bubbles out of the calipers is a PITA.

As a shameless plug, I have a complete set for sale if you want them.

 

[NSXTech]

How hard it is really depends on your skill level. If you're a slightly skilled diy'er, I'd pass on the job if I were you. If you're fairly clever about these things (read: intuitive), then you'll probabally be okay. If you don't have good manual dexterity, I would pass on the job.

There are a few silicone lubes you can use, but you MUST use silicone on these and all o ring seals not normally exposed to engine oil i.e. brake o rings, a/c o rings etc. Dow Corning's DC111 is available at most industrial or bearing or plumbing supply joints. Some of the mass merchandisers carry a product called Super Lube Pure Silicone grease. It is in a silver tube for about half the price of the DC stuff. This stuff is great for many things. Its thick and pasty and stays in place forever. Doesn't melt (normal heat) or wash out.

Also, ATE and Delco (to name a few) sell "brake paste" which is available at some parts stores and is the same stuff. Don't let the parts guy confuse this with backing plate grease used on brake drum aps, it is TOTALLY different and NOT suitable for o rings

HTH,
MB

 

[ak]

Grease?

OK, so I got the rebuild kit. They do make both 91-96 and 97+ rebuild kit now. I bought both because I need to rebuild both NA1 and NA2 calipers. NA1 kit for some reason is slightly more expensive(+$5 or so). So there are three type of grease in the kit, one is clear, another is pinkish and other one being orange. The pink one says it's for piston boot, the orange one says for pins so I'm guessing it's for the caliper pin. So my question is, the clear/whitish one for greasing the seal? I"ll post the part number if anyone is interested. It came out to $104 shipped from Goodson Acura(always great service ) for 2 front NA2 and 1 front NA1 kit.

-ak

 

[NSXTech]

Yes, the clear-ish grease is the silicone grease I referred to in my previous post. It is for the piston and piston seal. It is usable for most rubber applications and has remarkable staying power. It can even be used in the presance of water. It is what plumbing manufacturers use on faucet stems

MB

 

[ak]

Thanks for the clarification, Mark.

-ak

 

[ak]

OK, I finished rebuilding 3 calipers. All of them had the bigger piston boot torn, so I replaced them. I didn't bother replacing the smaller one as they were not damaged and I go by the rule "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!". All in all, it wasn't that difficult. Once I got the hang of putting the piston through the boot, it was not bad. Got each done in less than 1 hr. Thanks to everyone who commented Now back to the track baby!

-ak

 

[Honcho]

Bumping this thread back up from the dead. I am going to overhaul my brakes this winter since they do not appear to ever have been done for 22 years! My passenger front caliper is sticking a little as well. Unfortunately, Honda has discontinued the 91-96 Rear kit as well as the individual rear seals and boots that make up the kit. I managed to source an aftermarket kit that provides all the rubber, but no grease. My question is what aftermarket grease will match up with the Honda kit?

Piston Boot = Pink Grease = ??????

Piston Seal and Piston Lube = White Grease = ?????

Caliper Pin = Orange Grease = ??????

I have Dow Corning 4 silicone grease and Honda Hi-Temp Urea. Will these work for any of the above? Per Mark's post it seems the DC-4 would work in place of the white grease, as it is a high-quality silicone lube. But, what about the piston boot and caliper pins? What should I use? There has to be an aftermarket substitute that would work.

 

[nsxtasy]

Honda has discontinued the 91-96 Rear kit as well as the individual rear seals and boots that make up the kit.

Are you sure about that? I looked at one of the mail order dealer parts sites and the individual seals and boots are still listed. They usually only list them if they are still available.

 

[dlynes]

doing brakes is easy but I've never attempted to do a caliper rebuild.

I just recently had my local dealer do it.

I would recommend it...

It was $30 for the kit then whatever the labor cost.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Honda has not discontinued these parts. I just checked with my sources. Both front and rear boots/seals are available, although maybe backordered, can be gotten easily. In this case all rear parts are in stock, one front seal is BO'ed.

In the later years (1997+) you cannot buy individual boots/seals, but rather a "KIT" per caliper that comes with boot(s)/seal(s) and the grease packets.

I use a little clean brake fluid for the seals, and install the boots dry, never had an issue. The boots are a little tricky, since you need to stretch the boot and slide the piston in all kind of at the same time, fun fun.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[Honcho]

Larry that is good news- my online catalog said no longer available. The pin boots also appear to be missing, but a little bird told me they are the same part as a 93 Legend.