My mechanic just told me that the rear calipers were sticking on my Del Sol. He said he'd try "resetting them" to see if that fixed them, but otherwise I'd be in for a $500 replacement of the rear calipers.

How much could I save by replacing the calipers myself? Is it worth it in such a saftey-critical area as brakes? I've replace a timing belt & halfshafts before, so I'm pretty sure I could do it, but I'm not sure I want to. Thoughts?

 

It's very easy to replace the calipers yourself, just make sure you get as little air in the line as possible when you disconnect the brake line from the caliper. I'm not too sure as to how you go about disconnecting the e-brake cables though, so I won't be able to guide you through that.

 

Yeah, I'd tell him thanks, but no thanks..........changing calipers, rotors and pads isn't a big deal - and will not cost anywhere near $500 if you do it yourself.

 

brakes are easy. if you do change the calipers you can get a set of rebuilt OEMs that have been powder coated at autozone for 70 bucks. Bleeding is easy. Just connect a clear hose from the brake bleed nipple and submerge the other end in brake fluid so it won't suck in more air. Pump till the bubbles go away and that's it.

If he's talking about resetting the e-brake. Jack up the rear on both sides. Set the e-brake lever at one click. Remove the center console ashtray. Adjust until you feel slight drag when you spin the wheels by hand. Put the lever back down, spin agian to make sure there's no drag. If he's not talking about the e-brake then I'm not sure what you can reset on calipers.

 

Just heard back, and his "quickfix" worked. From his description, it sounds like he forced the pistons all the way back in and lubricated them. He said he used to do it all the time on old Preludes. Sounds reasonable to me. And he said that they probably won't start sticking again for a while, with the lubrication in there.

 

That makes sense, good that you didn't need to buy new ones.