What is the information on GM Calipers that is worth knowing?
Disc brakes comprise of three prime components, namely, the caliper, rotor and brake pads. As the driver steps on the brake pedal, the pressure goes to the caliper from the master cylinder. Thus, one piston or more squeezes the inner and outer brake pads onto the rotor. The resulting friction slows the car down and generates heat. With the release of the brake pedal, the caliper releases its grip. Thus, the square-cut seals about the pistons retract the pads somewhat. Moreover, the rotor kicks the pads back somewhat. A ventilated rotor draws air through the middle of the disc and discharges it laterally. Thus, disc brakes don’t fade as severely as drum brakes.
Calipers are of two sorts, namely, fixed and floating
About Floating GM Calipers
A case in point of Floating calipers is the one present in third-gen F-bodies. They must be able to move to perform their work well. When the caliper bushings or slides are worn, rusty, or damaged, the caliper doesn’t work well, and the pads wear unevenly. When the inner pad has more wear than the outside one, the caliper won’t slide. A frozen caliper could also make the brakes drag. This has two possible results. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
- One is more considerable wear of the outer pad
- Two is a steering pull to a side from the continuous drag
More information on Floating GM Calipers
A floating GM Brake Caliper is mounted on bushings. Thus, the caliper moves sideways when a person brakes and releases. This caliper usually has one piston on the inboard side and is used as it’s simpler and more economical than fixed calipers and those having several pistons.
An example of a floating caliper brake is the stock GM Brakes present in third-gen Camaros. Other examples are the piston 1LE brakes prevalent in 88-92 “High Performance” brakes and the standard “Non-High Performance” brakes.
A GM Brake Caliper can feature 1, 2, 4 and 6 pistons. All the pistons have a relatively large diameter and short stroke. The reason is to put high pressure on friction pad assemblies with the least brake fluid displacement.
The GM Brake Caliper works in the same way as drum brakes. What happens when the driver brakes? The master cylinder thrusts the brake fluid inside the wheel cylinders and onto the wheel pistons present in the brakes.
Replace or rebuild calipers?
Replacing the rear calipers is better as they are hard to rebuild. However, people on a stringent budget should reflect on rebuilding the front calipers while changing their pads. There is just one reason that people recommend rebuilding calipers. The pistons must be pushed back for replacing the pads. Any corrosion or dirt on the pistons could cause damage to the rubber piston seal present in the caliper.