welby Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I've had a wheel vibration at 65-70 mph or so for a few months and also a severe shudder under braking that would seem to come and go randomly. Well yesterday every time I hit the brakes it was so bad that it felt like the entire front end was going to collapse (It was almost as bad as when my Jeep TJ on 36's got the infamous "death wobble"). It was bad enough that I decided to rip everything apart up front to see what was going on. Found on my driver's side that the upper caliper piston is frozen solid and I can't get it to bust loose. My question is, what's involved in rebuilding the calipers? Are kits readily available at parts stores or is it mainly a dealer only thing? NAPA online has the whole caliper assemblies for $108, but I'd really like to get this fixed cheaper than that, if possible. I haven't checked the local store to see if they even have them in stock yet, either... Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlsb Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Based on my experience, nobody sells a rebuild kit and NAPA (or anyone else) does NOT carry LGT calipers, they just think they do. Forced to buy new calipers at dealer. "Belief does not make truth. Evidence makes truth. And belief does not make evidence." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welby Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Based on my experience, nobody sells a rebuild kit and NAPA (or anyone else) does NOT carry LGT calipers, they just think they do. Forced to buy new calipers at dealer. Yeah, I just called NAPA and they don't have them. He said he could order one The local Subaru dealer can also order (again ---> ) a "seal" kit for me for $25 or so. $25 for measly little seals, good grief.... I think I'm just gonna rip it apart and be as careful as possible not to damage anything. Clean it up real well and put it back together as is. I'm thinking I can throw the caliper in a vice and pop the stuck one loose in there, then I should be able to use air to push them out. I'll scotchbrite the pistons and bores, then coat everything with a thin coat of brake fluid before putting it back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Advance Auto has a compatible caliper rebuild kit for our cars. The one local here would have to special order the kit but it would take 2 days to get it. If you are going through the trouble to take the calipers apart, you might as well rebuild them with new seals and dust boots. I will probably do this too. On NASIOC there are a couple threads that detail the rebuild process. Cliff notes are take your time and work in a clean area when assembling the caliper again. how to: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1696416 Even after the rebuild, try rebedding your brake pads. Sounds like deposits might be a factor too, especially if you are on stock pads. The stockers are notorious for this -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinlsb Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Yeah, I just called NAPA and they don't have them. He said he could order one The local Subaru dealer can also order (again ---> ) a "seal" kit for me for $25 or so. $25 for measly little seals, good grief.... I think I'm just gonna rip it apart and be as careful as possible not to damage anything. Clean it up real well and put it back together as is. I'm thinking I can throw the caliper in a vice and pop the stuck one loose in there, then I should be able to use air to push them out. I'll scotchbrite the pistons and bores, then coat everything with a thin coat of brake fluid before putting it back together. Yeah, they said the same thing to me. Three days later, the ordered one came in, and it didn't fit either. "Belief does not make truth. Evidence makes truth. And belief does not make evidence." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osei Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 try www.allforeignautoarts.com .they have used parts for very good prices. Have gotten good service from them and they send the brackets with them. 3 years ago I purchased 05 rears at $30 each. I think they are in the Pittsburgh area, so delivery would be quick. O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welby Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thanks for the comments, guys. I did wind up ripping it apart on Friday night and got everything cleaned up. The bad thing is, the piston that was seized up is fairly pitted, but I got it back to as good of shape as it'll ever be in again and put everything back together. It was surprisingly simple, there's not much to those things. The hardest part was getting the dust seals seated properly, but it wasn't too bad. I wish I could just buy a single caliper piston somewhere. Not sure how long my repair will last since the piston's kind of pitted up, but everything's good again and it cost me nothing more than some brake cleaner, fluid and 2 brake line washers. So no more wobble at 65 mph and no shudder on braking. As a bonus, the car got faster. Guess that'll happen when you're not trying to accelerate against the brakes, huh, lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain59 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 exact same diagnostic as the original poster. I've had a close look at the caliper a couple of days ago, and I found the same cause : driver side lower piston is frozen because one of the dust seal is dead (seal ref a3 in the pic here bellow) that's on a 2005 2.5i outback euro spec (2 piston front caliper) I'm ordering the seal kit for rebuilding the caliper, part n# 26297 i'll keep you posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain59 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Some news on my frozen caliper : my mechanic had a hard time pulling out the frozen piston, which turns out to be so rusted that I need to order a new one. And can you believe it, there appears to be none available in Europe, at least in the subaru dealership network. So here we go for an order from Japan : 3 weeks delay Well, good news is : I've been commuting on my moutain bike since march, so I'm no longer addicted to my car Man, you need a lot of patience to enjoy sub driving down here... edit for the record, piston part n° is 26236pa010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain59 Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 well, my mechanic finaly got it al together. it was not easy to pop out the corroded piston, but he managed to rebuild the whole thing proprely. 'story ends up with more delay than expected but much cheaper than a new calliper. Vibration is not quite gone : still a bit of it under hard braking. Next step will be to either resurface the rotors or get new ones, along with new pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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