Calipers no good after storage

[ZionsWrath]

I put in an AP racing sprint kit about 4 years ago and have the oem calipers on my shelf. I was cleaning the garage and decided to take a peek. The dust boots are junk. Falling apart to the touch.

Is there any special way to store calipers?

Guess I better check my rear calipers since they are stock and prpbably send in my AP kit for a rebuild.

Just posting to show others and get any feedback. My brakes works fine right now.

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I put in an AP racing sprint kit about 4 years ago and have the oem calipers on my shelf. I was cleaning the garage and decided to take a peek. The dust boots are junk. Falling apart to the touch.

Something doesn't seem right here. The rubber shouldn't be deteriorating after such a short period of time. Were they stored near a window (heat or direct sunlight) or are there chemicals stored nearby (subjected to the vapors or direct contact)? Heat, UV light, ozone and variety of chemicals will cause break down in the rubber.

[ZionsWrath]

No, just in an unheated garage but it never gets below freezing. In a box with paper towels. I guess i could have cleaned them off with brake clean and depressed the piston but they were barely a couple years old at the time i didnt think it would matter i guess.

The slide pin boots are good but both calipers look like this. I'll chalk it up to track use. Also the pistons wont retract. Heat cycles seem a brutal thing.

[ls1ac]

Hard to see in the pic, are the boots ripped?
If not clean them up and retract the pistons using a brake tool of a large channel lock. The seals around the pistons get stuck to the walls after sitting.
If the boots are ripped cut them off and check the piston for damage and rebuild as needed.

[wparsons]

How much track use did those calipers see? The boots might've been cracking from heat before going into storage.