Caliper boot torn open

in respect to Eds concern over his front brakes locking up because "My"d"ass"(Midas) told him his caliper boots were ripped and "could" cause it to happen......

Ed, anythings possible. You carried it in for an inspection for just a squeak, which shows you got a little common sense about you, so.......

Consider this..........

your brakes working ok?

you got time to get them checked every 12 months for a "pad wear pattern"?

have they "locked up" yet?

have you heard of a class-action suit concerning it?

have you ever heerd of overzealous diagnostics? (aka...ass covering)

how long you reckon them boots been torn... with no serious ramifications?

how you reckon they got torn? (My"d"ass??)

__ oo L O

you a poor work'n slob....with kids to feed?

you a rich man, with money to burn?

Ed, anything is possible. But I have never, ever, never, ever, even once seen a brake caliper to cause brakes to lockup without giving the some sort of indication that the brakes needed to be inspected, simply by using noise and "feel" as an indicator. And like I said, you seem to have some sense about you. I wouldn't hold it too hard against the folks down at the ole "My"d"ass".......they all been brainwashed by professionalism, training seminars, hard sell corporate suites, and .... boneass incentive based pay plans. Most techs mean well.......they jest too damned scared, fer der own reasons, to do well. I guess I could have jest said that if you didn't have anyother probs....to jest git em checked out when you notice one. But.... I like to type......

"Need for Service Quetionaire" provided by,

Scribs Abell ~~loves it when the cussimer says "fix it".... even after being told..."it'll last a while longer, see you next year, unless you notice a problem first".......~~

Midas

(my"d"ass) wouldn't let em fix a lawnmower..... decent work.....but too expensive .

Scrib Abel ~~supports supporting the independents...... before they ain't no good ones left...~~

I would say the chances of both front calipers having torn boots is about the same as being struck by lightening.

I would think you would see brake fluid leaking from the torn boot onto the inner side of your tires, but I can't be sure, I have never had a torn piston boot on a caliper.

Boot keeps the crap and water out, has nothing to do with the sealing of the piston other than it protects the cylinder from damage that could lead to a leak. So their right it could seize, most likely won't but its their license that¹s on the line.

When they said "boot", I assumed they were talking about a rubber boot that covers part of the calipers, but when I said that, the Midas person explained it like the boot was actually the piston. I haven't seen any brake fluid leaking and I haven't had any problems with the brakes other than occasional squeaking, so my assumption is that I don't need to worry about this. I might crawl under there and see if there is a rubber boot that's broken, that would be easy to replace.

By the way, I went to buy some rear brake shoes today because they are worn down, and there's two sizes available, 2 1/2" and 3". Any way to tell which ones I have without actually having to remove them?

Ed B.

tell them to stick those torn boots somewhere....go to a better shop..never a nation wide shop.......if a locally owned shop did that to their customers, they would be out of business in a year......ask around and find a shop that relies on returning customers.

The boot does not act as a seal for hydraulic fluid. It is a dust seal to keep abrasive material from getting between the cylinder bore and the piston. Obviously, if you get dirt infiltration at this point, it could eventually cause scoring of the machined surfaces. As a result, that could then lead to leakage of hydraulic fluid. Subsequently, it could lead to binding of the brakes.

Just as cheap to replace the calipers with rebuilt calipers, that¹s what I did on my truck. 20.00 each! Might as well and be done with it.

I'd say he's at a good shop and he's getting good advice. Its one thing for a person to risk such a thing on there own. But for a business to let this slid would be unacceptable! The only thing I'd do differently is replace the whole calipers with rebuilds for $20.00 each. If the boots are worn chances are the seals are not far behind either.

You should know better than suggesting such a thing especially when it comes to the front breaks.

Breaks = brakes I Need some sleep. lol

......

Re: Caliper boot torn open Group: alt.trucks.ford Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2003, 4:37am (CDT+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (Ed=A0B.)

When they said "boot", I assumed they were talking about a rubber boot that covers part of the calipers, but when I said that, the Midas person explained it like the boot was actually the piston.

I haven't seen any brake fluid leaking and I haven't had any problems with the brakes other than occasional squeaking, so my assumption is that I don't need to worry about this. I might crawl under there and see if there is a rubber boot that's broken, that would be easy to replace.

By the way, I went to buy some rear brake shoes today because they are worn down, and there's two sizes available, 2 1/2" and 3". Any way to tell which ones I have without actually having to remove them?

Ed B.

------------------------------------

Ed, the shoe size is stamped on the outer face of the brake drum. Wheel off to get at the number. You can also measure across the actual surface of the shoe to get the width.

Suggestion? buy both sets and return the ones you don't use. Don't be fulled by axle weight ratings, tow packages, or other guess work solutions to the size of the shoes.......it's a toss of the coin at the parts store in those cases. Yank a wheel off, or buy both sizes and return the one you don't use.

A caliper boot is just a simple rubber bladder encasement for the caliper piston. It's purpose is to keep the piston surface free of moister and debris. A "lip seal" is installed in a groove on the outer-most , inner edge, of the caliper bore to keep the fluid in. The atmospheric side of the seal will act like a windshield wiper and keep the surface of the caliper piston clean for a long while after the "dust boot" is torn. A dust boot can be torn for years with no serious ramifications. But calipers are cheap enough now-a-days, so make your own final decision.

Want to know a good way to check for a leaking caliper?

And the easiest?

s c r o l l

down

YOU TEAR THE BOOT TO SEE IF ANY FLUID COMES OUT.

hehehehehehehehe

get the picture?

Scrib's Abell (are you?) .

You can buy new or used calipers, rebuild them, whatever. But I recomend the ceramic over the semi-metalic. had no squeaks since I changed over.

CDR

Re: Caliper boot torn open

Group: alt.trucks.ford Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2003, 4:37am (CDT+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (Ed B.)

When they said "boot", I assumed they were talking about a rubber boot that covers part of the calipers, but when I said that, the Midas person explained it like the boot was actually the piston.

I haven't seen any brake fluid leaking and I haven't had any problems with the brakes other than occasional squeaking, so my assumption is that I don't need to worry about this. I might crawl under there and see if there is a rubber boot that's broken, that would be easy to replace.

By the way, I went to buy some rear brake shoes today because they are worn down, and there's two sizes available, 2 1/2" and 3". Any way to tell which ones I have without actually having to remove them?

Ed B.

------------------------------------

Ed, the shoe size is stamped on the outer face of the brake drum. Wheel off to get at the number. You can also measure across the actual surface of the shoe to get the width.

Suggestion? buy both sets and return the ones you don't use. Don't be fulled by axle weight ratings, tow packages, or other guess work solutions to the size of the shoes.......it's a toss of the coin at the parts store in those cases. Yank a wheel off, or buy both sizes and return the one you don't use.

A caliper boot is just a simple rubber bladder encasement for the caliper piston. It's purpose is to keep the piston surface free of moister and debris. A "lip seal" is installed in a groove on the outer-most , inner edge, of the caliper bore to keep the fluid in. The atmospheric side of the seal will act like a windshield wiper and keep the surface of the caliper piston clean for a long while after the "dust boot" is torn. A dust boot can be torn for years with no serious ramifications. But calipers are cheap enough now-a-days, so make your own final decision.

Want to know a good way to check for a leaking caliper?

And the easiest?

s c r o l l

down

YOU TEAR THE BOOT TO SEE IF ANY FLUID COMES OUT.

hehehehehehehehe

get the picture?

Scrib's Abell (are you?) .

Ceramic and semi-metallic calipers? I think you must be referring to brake pads and shoes instead.

Thanks for all the advice.

I see Autozone has new calipers for $39.99, so I'll probably go that route and replace them.

Ed

They should cost less than that. Don't forget that they are charging you a core charge that will be refunded when you return the old calipers.