Brake Calipers PITA

[its55]

I installed CARDONE brake calipers from NAPA and, unfortunately, I have an issue.  The outside bleeder screw hits my original steel wheels as they rotate.  This cause the LF bleeder outside screw to strip out its threads and the RF outside screw to bend inward.  Changing to the shortest (2 mm shorter) screws I can find did not solve the problem.  Of course now I'm regretting ever letting the original calipers go instead of re-building them...

 

Question - if anyone has the original steel wheels and have replaced calipers, which brand did you purchase that works?  Looking through the options it appears we have Centric and Nugeon (which seems to be out of stock everywhere at the moment) - or a set of original BMW if I could find them.

 

Appreciate any help.

 

 

[albatcha]

I don't have any info on good calipers, but I ordered Cardone 19-226 and 19-227 calipers last year or the year before, the front calipers for the tii, 3.0si, etc. And I noticed that even though they claimed to be rebuilt they did not have any ATE or any other company markings on them. They just had the 19-226 19-227 cardone specific part numbers cast into them.

 

I was not happy with the quality of the calipers, the two halves didn't line up properly like they were the wrong shape. They were a good enough price that I kept them for the pins and springs and pistons though. If the ones you ordered are similar it may be a problem with Cardone calipers being "rebuilt" but not actually being rebuilt original calipers.

[John76]

I bought Centric 1423404 and 14234003 loaded calipers from RockAuto for my '76.

VERY pleased with the quality, fit, finish, functionality, price ($70 ea. after core), delivery and service from RockAuto.

They are ATE rebuilds. I run original 13" steel wheels and have had no issues during the last 4,100 miles in service.

 

[its55]

2 hours ago, John76 said:

I bought Centric 1423404 and 14234003 loaded calipers from RockAuto for my '76.

VERY pleased with the quality, fit, finish, functionality, price ($70 ea. after core), delivery and service from RockAuto.

They are ATE rebuilds. I run original 13" steel wheels and have had no issues during the last 4,100 miles in service.

 

Excellent, just what i needed to know. Thanks!

[uai]

I think it's just a matter of the bleeder screws if these are rebuilt calipers (and not repops like mentioned in the first post) . It happens quite often that remanufactured Calipers have wrong (too long) bleeders for BMW.
But I think it's part of mountig the calipers / wheels to check clearance.

Here's the ATE page with avaialable bleeder screws

TecDoc

WEB.TECALLIANCE.NET

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TecDoc Catalogue by TecAlliance - one of the world's leading global vehicle and spare parts catalogues for the automotive aftermarket based on the TecDoc standard.

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by uai

[its55]

Removed those crappy new Cardone calipers and returned them to Napa for a full refund.  I have discovered that Turner has Centric calipers in stock although they charge about $40/per caliper more than Rock Auto.  But Rock Auto does not have the driver side caliper in stock and I'd feel better if I buy them both from one place.  Any tips / leads on finding both, or other options, would be appreciated.

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by its55