[BikePump]

if you are taking them off any way IMHO its a good idea to replace the seals as preventative maintenance. not expensive and pretty easy to accomplish.

One thing I will recommend if this is the track car is to paint the calipers black. Any other color will turn black quickly anyway so you might as well start there.

[VaSteve]

Why do I have in my mind that rebuilding the calipers (replacing seals) is some project filled with problems?

I habe neve done it but I seem to recall its a pain in the ass and like $250 a caliper if you have someone do it.

[BlackTalon]

Rebuilding is pretty easy, actually.

[BikePump]

I did all of mine last winter when i stripped and painted the calipers. Cost me $175 for all the seals...and the assembly bit was the least amount of time of the whole effort. Happy to lend a hand for you. I will likely do mine again this winter as a part of the preventative maintenance.

[Gunther]

www.wheeldynamics.com does a really nice job of refinishing calipers. They are around $600 for a set of four.

[N0tt0N]

I will be rebuilding two sets as well this winter. I'm thinking of coating them with heat dispersing ceramic on the outside face.

[roundel]

My calipers on the 86 911 were not too hard to rebuild. Infact I had to rebuilt them after every couple of events because the heat generated made the inner seals brittle. The dust seals were usually dust after a weekend or two. I got it down to a pretty easy process with the only difficult part being getting both pistons out. Compressed air with a clamp to hold the easier one was the way I did it. I strongly suggest safety glasses and put the caliper in a plastic bag before injecting the air. The POP is powerful and brake fluid goes everywhere if not contained. I have a set waiting for the love on the bench if you want to come by for a tutorial.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by roundel

My calipers on the 86 911 were not too hard to rebuild. Infact I had to rebuilt them after every couple of events because the heat generated made the inner seals brittle. The dust seals were usually dust after a weekend or two. I got it down to a pretty easy process with the only difficult part being getting both pistons out. Compressed air with a clamp to hold the easier one was the way I did it. I strongly suggest safety glasses and put the caliper in a plastic bag before injecting the air. The POP is powerful and brake fluid goes everywhere if not contained. I have a set waiting for the love on the bench if you want to come by for a tutorial.

Would love one. I have a spare set I can practice on as well.

[Lupin..the..3rd]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

George when you do that don't you need all new seals and what not? Do you split them? I thought that was sort of a no no.

You pull all that stuff off before the hot tank, the piston, the piston seal, the dust boot, etc. Basically, you're rebuilding the caliper. If you haven't done it before, it's really not that tricky. If you're going to the trouble of removing the calipers from the car, it's only a little more work to rebuild them WYIT. If they've seen multiple seasons of track duty, it's probably a good idea.

The 944 S2 has the four piston Brembos, correct? Compressed air to pop the pistons out, a block of wood and some rags to keep them from colliding with each other. No there's no need to split the caliper bodies. After you've finished painting, drop in new seals, use a tube of caliper assembly lube and you can push the pistons back in with your fingers, no special tools required.

[Jazzbass]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

George when you do that don't you need all new seals and what not? Do you split them? I thought that was sort of a no no.

Splitting is a no-no with ATE style calipers that came on all pre-964 911s. This is because the fluid passages from one side to the other are internal, and getting them to seal correctly is a pain and things can go badly if they're not sealed right.

Brembo calipers, like those that should be on your 944, don't have internal fluid passages. They have an external tube that goes between the caliper halves. They can be split and reassembled with ease. However, this is usually unnecessary. Pull the pistons, seals, bleeders, and crossover tube and send out to get cleaned like George says. Reassemble with new seals ($10 each) when they return and you have nice, new-looking rebuild calipers.

Oh, and get them repainted black like they were originally or you'll be "that guy".