Napa's front disc brake calipers all seem to be remanufactured? And it looks like a lot of people have had problems with remanufactured brake calipers (not necessarily Napa).

The forparts.com genuine Ford calipers are $215, so are they new?

If they aren't new, should I get a genuine Ford rebuild kit with new pistons, slide pins and seals and rebuild them?

As normal, it looks like I have to do some research before spending money.

Here is a rebuild thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...r-rebuild.html

From fordparts.com is a photo of a 2002 E350 2-piston caliper and a diagram of a 1995 F150/Bronco single piston caliper (which is what I am working on now).

What do you guys (and gals) say?

 

I've been running the Napa ultra premium "loaded" (with pads) caliper kits on my F250's rear brakes for nearly three years now (roughly 55K miles) without a glitch. I've pulled them once in the last year to inspect and check for proper slide pin movement, and everything was just fine. Even wear on the pads from front to back, and the typically slightly more aggressive wear on the inners versus the outers.

 

Same here, but all 4 of them.

 

Tim I know you are one that does his research before buying so I will just touch on a couple of key points. Remans aren't really a problem just make sure you are getting calipers with steel pistons and do NOT use ones with phenolic (plastic) caliper pistons. Also before buying check the bores of your slide pins because if they are rusty I would buy the caliper with mount bracket. Last but not least this would be the time to replace the the rubber hose going to the caliper. Here is a thread I had when I did my front brakes it has some good points in it.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...cked-up-2.html

 

I use calipers from wherever is cheapest, and guess what? They work as designed and last as long as anything else out there. Most places I find calipers WITH brackets and new hardware are only a couple dollars cheaper than without.

 

I rebuilt mine cause it's dirt cheap that way.

Too late for me now, but why the steel?
I replaced two pistons that were sticking with new pistons (one F & R IIRC)
They were the same as what was in there, didnt think to look for a better replacement...

 

Been rebuilding many different calipers at home for years,inexpensive,easy,no special tools needed.But not got around to do one of these trucks yet.

 

I would think steel pistons for durability, but the flip side is that they transmit heat to the fluid more readily which is probably why they went with the phenolic pistons as an option. Used to have an '88 Bronco that I changed calipers every which way to keep the brakes from fading to no avail. I think it may have been the F/R proportioning valve all along but sold it before I got that far.

 

I got mine from Advance Auto with brackets. For the price I don't feel like it's worth my time to rebuild. Just be sure you don't get Chi Neez stuff. Off and back on in record time and off to other things. I always get cheap or mid grade pads, they won't chew up the rotors and are replaced in no time when they're thin.

 

I just did mine last year & got the ford oem rebuilt. Price was comparable to AZ at the time.

 

Moisture in the brake fluid is one of the biggest "killers" of both steel and phenolic pistons. I rebuilt many calipers, back in the early '80's as an auto mechanic, before remans were popular. The plating on the steel pistons would start to peel due to corrosion and the phenolics would swell due to absorption. This is the reason, no matter which you use, is important to flush/replace your brake fluid at least every 2 years. I still prefer the steel, over the phenolic, for the reason stated above. I'm sure the plastic compounds have improved over the years, but I'm still a bit old school when it comes to calipers.
I replaced mine with the NAPA units (steel pistons) with the brackets and hardware kits. My Ford dealer didn't have them in stock, or the rebuild parts, and I needed to get it back together ASAP. My calipers weren't sticking, but I had a torn boot on one piston and start of external piston corrosion. I replaced them as preventative maintenance while also replacing my ball joints.

 

Hmmm... I bought my current 1995 Bronco in 2005 not knowing if the brake system has ever been flushed. I know the brake system on my 2002 7.3L PSD E350 has never been flushed and that the brake system on my wife's 2000 Dodge Dakota 4x4 has never been flushed. So according to Roland, that is 20 + 13 +15 = 48 / 2 = 24 brake system flushes that I have missed. So I just ordered these two things on Amazon:

 

I just got back from Napa where I ordered two new front brake hoses. While there I also looked at their reman. brake calipers. You can definitely see wear on the caliper edges where the pads slide (they have those metal inserts to cover those) so I know I will replace my hoses, but I may rebuild my calipers if they look better than the remans. BTW, the Napa guy said that Napa does not sell the caliper brackets even on their "loaded" calipers. Anyway, I am replacing my hoses and flushing the entire brake system regardless.

 

Went this route last spring as well.....no muss no fuss.....new calipers and brackets all around and new pads all around....was into it for maybe $400 at the most......if that...

 

You are correct about the proportioning valve being the culprit.

As for reman calipers, I've installed 100's from FOMOCO. No issues whatsoever.