Ok, someone just posted a story about a failing rebuilt brake caliper.
I can't stand this anymore.  I bought two rebuild kits for the 
calipers on my '71 a few months back from RMMW.  Probably paid too 
much but what the heck.  I rebuilt the first one and then the other 
one a day later.  In between the two I realized that a nice brass 
brush cleaned things up nicely.  Hence, the second one was cleaner and
a better rebuild.  So, I decided to take the first on apart again and 
clean it up better.

This is where it gets ugly.  Not having any compressed air handy I was
levering the piston out with two screw drivers.  This worked fine 
twice.  It did not on the third time.  I busted a small chunk out of 
the piston.  If you have seen on you know what I was prying on.  So, I
cussed and cried and looked at things.  I surmised that the pressure 
was behind the rubber ring that sits in the grove in the bore of the 
cylinder and that the piece I broke off of the piston (about 1cm) held
the other rubber part there to keep the fluid leaking out.  So, I 
figured this piece wasn't under high pressure so I shouldn't have a 
problem.

I put everything back together and crept out onto an crowded roadway 
and did several hard stops.  Everything seems great.  I have about 
1,000 miles on it since with no problems.  No leaks or irregular 
braking.  So, am I right or just a dumb ass?  I am thinking I should 
work harder on getting those calipers off of that '72 I have my eye on
and rebuild those, with the aid of compressed air, unless I really was
right in my assumption that this is ok.  Which leads to another 
question.  Where can I get a quality rebuild kit for less than the $20
RMMW gets?  Thanks, Jim
-- 
James A. Brill Jr.         \\  //
jbrill@unlinfo.unl.edu   \\ \\// //      If you're not outraged
University of Nebraska    \\//\\//     you're not paying attention.
free-lance homo sapien     \/  \/