I have a 79sa that is getting all new suspension and brakes from an 84fb. I bought new rebuilt calipers from NAPA, and noticed that the new right side caliper has a smaller piston in it. I was wondering if this would affect my braking at all?

If I compare the old calipers that were on the 84 to the new calipers, the only difference is that one piston, everything else is the same. Even the hole where the piston sits is the same size on all four calipers. It looks like the caliper with the smaller piston has a bigger seal in it to fill the hole.

Will this affect my braking? Will the car brake evenly? I think it would be fine, the pressure behind the piston should still be the same, but I just wanted to check before I install them.

Thanks,
sa7

 

Could you post a picture of what you are talking about? I am having a hard time understanding what you are saying.

 

I`ll post a picture tonight when I get home. But basically, the problem is that the diameter of the piston in the calipers are of different size.

 

Here are the pictures:

1- The first one shows the new caliper with the larger piston, which is the same as the two old calipers.
2- The second shows the caliper with the smaller piston
3- The third is the two side by side

The bigger piston has a diameter of 1 3/4", and the smaller one is 1 1/2".

 

The actual diameters of those cylinders are the same. I recognize the cyclinder on the right, My front brakes. The one on the right is thicker walled, if you remove the dustboot you should see that the cylinder is actually the same outside diameter and that the smaller inner diameter is due to how they designed the dustboot seal.

You shouldn't have any change in braking performance.

 

Perfect, that's what I needed to know. Now I can keep reassembling the brakes.
Thanks DemonSpawn