Aftermarket brake calipers without dust seals

[RichP]

Just out of curiousity, if a brake caliper lacks dirt seals, what is the net effect of running them on the street. I understand that road grit gets into things to some degree, and must wear some part away, but what specifically would wear out quickly, require rebuilding, etc?

[themadhatter]

depending on the type of caliper, I would keep an eye on the pistons and guides (if so equipped).

if I recall correctly, no street caliper should be without dust seals unless you're a nut job for rebuilding and inspecting calipers every other week.

-Ron

[SR20Fastback]

Indeed, the brake fluid would become very contaminated, the pistons would probably be very scored, etc. I don't think thats a smart idea. You may as well let your children play with loaded pistols (okay not that bad, but you know).

[Geo31]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!.........

Seals are a good idea. But your brakes are unlikely to destroy themselves. Lots of peolpe are running racing brakes (no seals) every day. Race cars use them in the harshest environments.

I'm not saying you won't run into problems, but with care and inspection when changing pads, you should be just fine.

[vodomagoo]

willwood for the most part dont have seals and ive seen a hell of alot of them fine on the street. when changing your pads you can check it out and to rebuild them its very easy just pop a new piston in

[Lscman]

I don't think anyone has properly addressed the street vs track issues here:

Dust boots serve absolutely no purpose until the piston is pushed back into it's bore during pad replacement. As pads wear, fresh piston is exposed and the dirty, exposed portion of the piston does not affect the caliper seal or fluid. A race caliper gets freshened up and possibly rebuilt several times each season. It does not see weathering or high corrosion under race use, so the dust is easily wiped or scraped off as the piston(s) are returned to their bore when installing fresh pads.

On the street, the highly corrosive dust that has accumulated and aged on the piston has turned into a solid, rusty crust coating after seeing humidity and rain for months or years. Trying to return the scaly piston into it's bore can result in sealing o-ring leaks. Maintenance intervals and pad wear rates on street setups is usually very different. This is why street setups use dust boots.

Dust boots make changing or removing pistons more difficult.

Dust boots smolder and/or ignite into useless blobs of rubber at elevated track use temps (over 750 degrees F).

Conclusion:

If you use race calipers with no dust boots on the street, you'd better remove and thoroughly clean the pistons with a toothbrush before pushing them back in their bores. Race calipers are not designed to have their pistons sticking out of the bores for two years between pad changes & corrosion from being exposed for extended interval & driven thru all weather. The corrosion and crust buildup that forms on the exposed pistons from street use WILL be a problem....unless you're street racing and going thru pads every month. In this case, the frequent wiping will keep the pistons fairly clean.

Rebuilding a wilwood caliper typically involves popping the pistons out with compressed air & dropping a $3 viton seal into the groove. This should be done once a year or so. A good mechanic can do this whole job in about 15 minutes, so it should be done every couple times you change pads. The pistons should not need changed more than once every 10 years or so.