Brembo Caliper Piston Corrosion

**skeletonizer** · 07-02-2008, 04:12 PM

2006 300c SRT8
I recieved my EBC Yellow Stuff pads yesterday and thought it would be a nice hour project to change them today before I went into work.
Not so much! :SM002:
I started on the right front and noticed that the dust boots did not go back into the caliper like they should. I got to poking around and noticed that thier appeared to be plating coming off the pistons and a lot off corrosion.
Here is what I found:

This is not the worst one, it is typical of the four. I have not torn into the other corners yet but I assume they will be the same... at least on the front.
I am posting this up prior to researching options on getting this fixed. If anyone has suggestions I would appreciate it. Please don't tell me to take it to the dealer as that is not an option.
I am hoping that I can get pistons, seals and dust boots for a reasonable amount from somewhere.
I will also flush the system as some of the plating or corrosion may have contaminated it.
Has anyone else experienced this and what was the outcome?

**Super T** · 07-02-2008, 04:14 PM

Oh that's reassuring... haven't had to touch mine yet :-/ I would contact one of our vendors that carries Brembo and see if they can get a rebuild kit and pistons?

**skeletonizer** · 07-02-2008, 04:54 PM

I am seeing seals and dust boots but not pistons.

**Super T** · 07-02-2008, 04:55 PM

Humph... now ya got me paranoid! Ask Nathan to call whoever he knows at Brembo. He was going to talk to them about the fact that the factory Red on his calipers was peeling, too.

**Redfox0099** · 07-02-2008, 05:10 PM

...send me some pics and what you need to order at nathan@redfox-racing.com

Mostly I deal with the aftermarket Brembos and last time I asked a question I was told it needed to be handled by a dealer as OEM is not my contacts part of the company but I can try.

**skeletonizer** · 07-02-2008, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Redfox0099

...send me some pics and what you need to order at nathan@redfox-racing.com

Mostly I deal with the aftermarket Brembos and last time I asked a question I was told it needed to be handled by a dealer as OEM is not my contacts part of the company but I can try.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Unfortunately I had to go into work. I will get back with you soon.

**Todd TCE** · 07-03-2008, 11:14 AM

I remain shocked at the condition of those pistons. Of course I hear the cries of "you can't run non booted pistons" from the Wilwood detractors but I have to say; for those who do so I seldom see anything like that. And this is in a booted street caliper!

I think part of the problem here is that you're dealing with a steel piston. I'm more than a little surprised at the clear chipping of the edge regardless of the material. Seem very excessive wear for such a newer car. Now if you've been running some high-zoot track pad at the local track and burned up the seals you'll have to take some of the blame. If you DO that however I'd suggest you look into some custom made stainless steel parts. While beefier than need be to accommodate the boot they'd hold up better to the conditions and heat too.

Good luck with the repairs regardless. And be sure to post the info on how and were you get this fixed or parts for it. I suspect you won't be the last one.

**skeletonizer** · 07-03-2008, 01:05 PM

I just changed out the rears. They showed none of the corrosion or flaking of plating. The pistons are of the cup disign not solid. Not sure if they are oven of the same material.

**skeletonizer** · 07-03-2008, 01:37 PM

Just got off the phone with sales at Zeckhausen. No go on the pistons there.

**skeletonizer** · 07-03-2008, 05:18 PM

Just got off the phone with sales at Zeckhausen. No go on the pistons there.

They put me in touch with Brake Warehouse. They have reconned front calipers for $150 each. Pistons and seals come to damn near that.
They are going to call me back as soon as they check to see if they have the silver ones.

Both DZ and Brake Warehouse are super cool and easy to deal with.

**skeletonizer** · 07-05-2008, 04:30 PM

Upainted brembos coming for $120 each.

So...
When I go to paint these things where do I find a brembo stencil or decals? I want them to appear stock.

**MattRobertson** · 07-05-2008, 04:52 PM

Like I said in a PM, I tried to get some info from a Brembo reseller I was sharing an exhibit floor with. He didn't have any specific feedback other than to say this Brembo line and the stuff sold on web sites is nothing in quality like the motor sport line they sell to race teams, which is what he dealt with. He had some gear there and based on what I saw their race reputation is deserved. But thats not what they sell us po' street folk.

**skeletonizer** · 07-08-2008, 03:49 PM

The purpose of this post is to consolidate all the pics and text into one coherent narrative to post in the next SRT chat session. This issue has potential to be widespread in the not too distant future. It could be a warranty issue for someone who has not washed their hands of the Chrysler service network. Please provide feedback and suggestions and I will edit the post as needed. Thanks for the help in advance.
Everything below the line will be cut and pasted to the next SRT chat session.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me start by thanking you guys for an awesome machine! It is worth every penny. It has operated nearly flawlessly as a daily driver rain, snow, and shine.
Early in July I attempted to change the brake pads on my 2006 (build date 03/06) Chrysler SRT8. The pad change was initiated due to the fact that the rear pads were nearing the "squeeler" pad wear indicator. They still stopped the car like always but it was time for a swap.
Upon removing the right front pads I noted the plating had come off the face of the caliper pistons. (pic below taken much later after calipers were removed)

The car is a year round daily driver in Northern Michigan and has approximately 36,000 miles on it. The pads are original and the rotors were replaced per TSB# 05-006-06. The below pics shows the wear on the front pads at the time of the discovery.

It was noted that the pistons on the inboard side of the caliper would not return to the bottomed out position. The dust boots were rolled back and it was noted that the plating on the pistons had been compromised all the way down to the pressure seal. One of the pistons was removed for further inspection. (pictured below: The top pic is of the piston upon removal, the bottom is after brushing the loose plating away to show the extent of the plating failure.)

The plating on the outboard pistons did not appear to be as bad. The driver side showed signs of the plating on the face failing (see pic below) but it did not fall off during dis-assembly. Uneven resistance was noted on the inboard pistons of the driver side when placing them into the bottomed out position.

The dealer had no caliper parts available other than dust boots. They were more than willing to sell me calipers to the tune of $400 each. I have since fixed the problem for considerably less than the cost of just one new caliper.
On a side note the rear pads showed a bevel or taper to the wear. (see pic below)

What is the purpose of the shim on the rear pad and it's unusual shape? (pic below) Would not the fact that the piston is bisected by the edge of the square holes cause binding of the piston in the bores? Just curious?

No doubt you are impressed with my brevity.

Have you noted other failures of this nature?
Is the caliper still an "unserviceable" part as the 2006 Service manual indicates?
Are their plans to offer caliper parts in the future?
Have materials or design changes to the SRT8 calipers been made since the production cycle began?
If another experienced this problem and was willing to let a dealer tech work on the car would it be a warranty item?
Would custom stainless steel pistons work in the caliper without other alterations? (I know, but I have to try. :D)

**EricG** · 07-09-2008, 07:51 PM

Tony!!! You are not alone bro

I apologize for the bad photos in advance:
I went in to to have my pads changed and told them to check the caliper pistons. Here's what we found on the driver/front:

In my case, the passenger/front was not as bad - maybe just starting to show signs of corrosion but it was evident on most pistons.

We just re-assembled the fronts with no additional disassembly because the pads were maybe only half worn and they could not be fully serviced/fixed right now and they seem to work fine for the time being so I wanted to leave as is.

My rears seemed to be okay to maybe slightly showing signs of corrosion or all looking good. They were almost all the way worn down so we replaced the pads on both sides. Mine did not wear at an angle, I asked the guy at the shop what he though and he said they might wear at an angle if the pistons were sticking. Something to think about because a lot of people report that tapered or angled wear.

I could not get as many and as good of photos as I would have liked, but this may be more common than we think. Cannot wait until the next chat session to see what the SRT engineers have to say about it. Lord knows an actual Chrysler dealer would probably be worthless about this. I have 22,900 miles on the car.

Edit: Couple thoughts, the rears which both showed minimal to no signs of corrosion had a metal plate between the pads and the caliper pistons. The fronts did not. My mechanic said he sees brakes all the time like our rears and the pistons in them were like all those he has seen on other Brembo equipped cars, he had not seen any like our fronts before - and that backs up your research Tony that our fronts are unique to our cars. They certainly seem to corrode WAY worse than the rears.

Eric