The Sheriff

Well poop. That wasn't supposed to happen... While changing the oil on the van yesterday. Was perfectly fine out just 5 minutes before hand...

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You try finding a location down here with kids that isn't.... Not where I want to be but this place is loaded with kids. Kids that play outside. Kids that play with toy guns, play cops and robbers, climb trees and all that. So yeah I gave up a hermits life style so my kid can grow up with friends his own age.
 
The second rotor is done and on. All the safety things I wanted to take care of are done.

Took an initial spin and all went well. Stopped straight and nicely I might add. biggest surprise for me was the pedal was in the same spot each and every time I touched the brakes. More over it felt like it brakes more like my minivan now. Most important wasn't any secondary brake press necessary to activate the brakes so no more knock back. That alone for me is a win.

BUTTTTT I didn't get up to fast mostly about 60mph so time will tell. I plan to take it on a trip to help my inlaws neighbor with a '40 Ford that he's having issues with. It should be a solid road test outside of my normal test trips. It'll be the farthest trip it will have been on in 20 years.
 
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Any one with first hand knowledge if brake fluid is flammable? NO? We're gunna find out.

Went out to the garage and have a nice puddle under the passenger side of the car near the wheel. Odd I says quietly to myself.. I dip my finger in it and smell, hmmm brake fluid. Jack it up rip the wheel off, huh rotors wet all the way around. Break out the flashlight, I don't see any leaks from the line, or bleeder, no obvious leaks where the two halves of the caliper meet. Un bolt the caliper and take the pads out. Humpf the outer pad is wet, really odd. Disconnect the line and pit it up on the bench and start inspecting.

I'll be damned if this isn't the second Cardone caliper that leaks from the same exact piston location. One did it with the factory rotor and now this one with the new rotor. This one has about 100 miles on it. And I only screwed with the drivers side last week to put the new rotor on. Though in all honesty I did re bleed the system after having the drivers side off.

The boot on the piston has the same issue as the last it's not seated.

So in an effort to not go down the Anthony Bourdain route I've located an abandoned sub division down the road a piece. There I plan to test the thermal capabilities of DOT3 against gasoline induced fire and heat. I suspect the high temperature of the the engine compartment will force the fluid out of the leaking piston before we can see the effects of flame.
 
Well this is second caliper that has the same issue. Right now I am not a fan. But these last times out no hard braking. Everything felt so good I didn't think I needed to try and break it.
 
Well this is second caliper that has the same issue. Right now I am not a fan. But these last times out no hard braking. Everything felt so good I didn't think I needed to try and break it.

You might try and obtain a couple of rebuild kits for your calipers, and rebuild them yourself. I don't think it is very difficult. It may be the Cardone rebuilt calipers had been on the shelf for a very long time, and the seals, etc. are dried out.
 
Any one with first hand knowledge if brake fluid is flammable? NO? We're gunna find out.

Went out to the garage and have a nice puddle under the passenger side of the car near the wheel. Odd I says quietly to myself.. I dip my finger in it and smell, hmmm brake fluid. Jack it up rip the wheel off, huh rotors wet all the way around. Break out the flashlight, I don't see any leaks from the line, or bleeder, no obvious leaks where the two halves of the caliper meet. Un bolt the caliper and take the pads out. Humpf the outer pad is wet, really odd. Disconnect the line and pit it up on the bench and start inspecting.

I'll be damned if this isn't the second Cardone caliper that leaks from the same exact piston location. One did it with the factory rotor and now this one with the new rotor. This one has about 100 miles on it. And I only screwed with the drivers side last week to put the new rotor on. Though in all honesty I did re bleed the system after having the drivers side off.

The boot on the piston has the same issue as the last it's not seated.

So in an effort to not go down the Anthony Bourdain route I've located an abandoned sub division down the road a piece. There I plan to test the thermal capabilities of DOT3 against gasoline induced fire and heat. I suspect the high temperature of the the engine compartment will force the fluid out of the leaking piston before we can see the effects of flame.
It's like you or the car has a cloud following you. :wtf:

And YES, brake fluid is flammable... just mix in the gas and it might even auto-ignite...:lol:
You might try and obtain a couple of rebuild kits for your calipers, and rebuild them yourself. I don't think it is very difficult. It may be the Cardone rebuilt calipers had been on the shelf for a very long time, and the seals, etc. are dried out.
That's not actually such a bad idea... but rebuilding the new rebuilds would piss me off.
 
That's not actually such a bad idea... but rebuilding the new rebuilds would piss me off.

Yeah but is a NOS rebuild kit or a Centric rebuild kit going to work on the Cardone re..., re.., re I can't even say remanufactured in this case, pistons and bore?

I'm half tempted to take it apart just to see if it's missing a seal. Or maybe it tore. Or....
 
shitty rebuild job by Sao Fhang. They cleaned up the transfer port with a die grinder after the bore job. They didn't stay near the transfer port, the bore is all gouged up with marks from the bit. I assume that's where the fluid is coming from leaking past the piston seal. The dust boot/seal is also bent to crap so that's probably why it isn't being contained.

Manufacturer won't send just the dust boot/seal they want the whole unit.
From my measurements the closest boot is a 1997 Corvette. But it's no guarantee given the bore is knackered. I'd use an original piston and seal off the old calipers just to see but when they over-bored the caliper they also took out the lip that the retaining clip uses to hold the boot in.

Don't buy Cardone calipers.
 
shitty rebuild job by Sao Fhang. They cleaned up the transfer port with a die grinder after the bore job. They didn't stay near the transfer port, the bore is all gouged up with marks from the bit. I assume that's where the fluid is coming from leaking past the piston seal. The dust boot/seal is also bent to crap so that's probably why it isn't being contained.

Manufacturer won't send just the dust boot/seal they want the whole unit.
From my measurements the closest boot is a 1997 Corvette. But it's no guarantee given the bore is knackered. I'd use an original piston and seal off the old calipers just to see but when they over-bored the caliper they also took out the lip that the retaining clip uses to hold the boot in.

Don't buy Cardone calipers.
Does your Monaco have the factory 4 piston calipers? Since it is so hard to find good ones now, maybe the time to change to the newer sliding calipers.
 
Yeah factory disc car.

took the originals apart in hopes of potentially rebuilding them. One piston in each side are frozen. Attempted to plug the holes and use air pressure to push them out. Ran the pressure up to 80PSI before I ran out of cajones. I didn't need a missile shooting across the garage.
The bores of the ones I did manage to get out are rusted pretty bad.
 
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