quote Originally posted by JazzMan: If there's any way for me to get one of these boots for evaluation before committing to purchasing my full quantity I'd be grateful. If they'll work for me I'll want to purchase a total of 24 boots. Thanks! JazzMan

I might be able to work that out. I have to figure it out with the supplier I'm working with as it were, as I don't want to send out one of the boots I need for my calipers!

hehe, nice picture! it conveyes the necessary info. anyone who ever popped the boots off, even oem, knows it is a master trick to get it all re-assembled. the stock boots do the same, you often have to work them all the way around to get them in, as they acutally form a seal to the inside of the caliper. took e 45 minutes to get mine back on 1 caliper till I figured out the trick, which is more a do it til you get it and is apparent thing, I couldn;t at this point tell you how I did it, but I do recall a feeler guage, and needle were involved.....

How many i need for a complete 88 GT

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: hehe, nice picture! it conveyes the necessary info. anyone who ever popped the boots off, even oem, knows it is a master trick to get it all re-assembled. the stock boots do the same, you often have to work them all the way around to get them in, as they acutally form a seal to the inside of the caliper. took e 45 minutes to get mine back on 1 caliper till I figured out the trick, which is more a do it til you get it and is apparent thing, I couldn;t at this point tell you how I did it, but I do recall a feeler guage, and needle were involved.....

The bushings and boots aren't difficult to reinstall. Clean the boots with soap and water only (don't use brake parts cleaner on the rubber parts). Be careful; the boots are literally irreplaceable.

After the bushings, boots and calipers are clean & dry, lube them with Sil-Glyde (best) or a true synthetic caliper lubricant (not grease). Reinstall the boots and bushings as follows:

1. Put a boot in one side of the caliper (it’’s held in place by a groove in the caliper).
   
   
2. Slide a bushing in from the opposite side of the caliper and slide it through the boot, past the notch where the boot normally rests (hold the boot to keep it from being pushed out by the bushing).
   
   
3. Continue siding the bushing until the opposite end is inside the caliper and past the notch where the other boot fits and then install the second boot on the caliper.
   
   
4. Slowly push the bushing back into the caliper while holding the second boot to keep it from being forced out by the bushing.
   
   
5. You should now be able to get the boots seated in the bushing grooves on both sides of the caliper.
   

steps 2 and 4 are the ones that take 20 minutes each. most of the oem boots are swelled and do not fit back like new.
so when you do stpe 2, the boot pops out of the caliper groove, so you then have to redo it and carefully work the slide over the boot, which then catches on the above pictured groove and again pops out.
of the 16 boots, only 4 fit cleanly into the groove, spread out over the 4 corners and 2 of them were buldged up almost 1/8".
the state of the majority of theboots has always been a niggle in the back of my mind, so I'd really like to get some new ones on
where the worst ones are all clustered. in the rear.

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: steps 2 and 4 are the ones that take 20 minutes each. most of the oem boots are swelled and do not fit back like new. so when you do stpe 2, the boot pops out of the caliper groove, so you then have to redo it and carefully work the slide over the boot, which then catches on the above pictured groove and again pops out. of the 16 boots, only 4 fit cleanly into the groove, spread out over the 4 corners and 2 of them were buldged up almost 1/8". the state of the majority of theboots has always been a niggle in the back of my mind, so I'd really like to get some new ones on where the worst ones are all clustered. in the rear.

I can install the first boot on each slider even using these alternative boots in about 30 seconds. It's the second boot that is a problem, as it is slightly smaller diameter than the OEM '88 boots and thus is more difficult to get the slider/piston to go through it after you've set it inside the caliper body. This is the reason for the slight mod and use of the plastic cap/domed "tool" I illustrated...

The boots will swell if exposed to solvents, petroleum or grease. Sil-Glyde contains castor oil which makes the rubber very slippery and flexible without causing it to swell.

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: If there's any way for me to get one of these boots for evaluation before committing to purchasing my full quantity I'd be grateful. If they'll work for me I'll want to purchase a total of 24 boots.

If JazzMan can do another of his 'How To' threads, I'd go for the whole 4 wheel magilla ! I'm thinking a lot of folks would as well. He'd probably quadruple your sales.

quote Originally posted by DtheC: If JazzMan can do another of his 'How To' threads, I'd go for the whole 4 wheel magilla ! I'm thinking a lot of folks would as well. He'd probably quadruple your sales.

I will do a how to once I get it all worked out, but I'd welcome help if somebody wanted to do it as well!

[This message has been edited by FieroFanatic13 (edited 03-14-2008).]

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: steps 2 and 4 are the ones that take 20 minutes each. most of the oem boots are swelled and do not fit back like new. so when you do stpe 2, the boot pops out of the caliper groove, so you then have to redo it and carefully work the slide over the boot, which then catches on the above pictured groove and again pops out. of the 16 boots, only 4 fit cleanly into the groove, spread out over the 4 corners and 2 of them were buldged up almost 1/8". the state of the majority of theboots has always been a niggle in the back of my mind, so I'd really like to get some new ones on where the worst ones are all clustered. in the rear.

quote Originally posted by FieroFanatic13: I'm not sure why the comment above regarding solvents etc. was made? I haven't mentioned a word about the grease or solvents, etc. during this discussion??

Maybe he just want peoples to know .

The swelling comment was made as just an observation as to why used boots are sometimes impossible to re-install. I accidentally killed a set of boots a few years back using what I thought was a safe grease. Now I buy Sylglide in the 4 oz tube from Napa, goes a long way.

JazzMan

I want a set of these when/if they become available. I found two bad boots on one of my calipers today. I am quite willing to work with non-perfect boots, heck the stock boots can be a pita to install themselves.

Bumperoo

HOLD THE PHONES!

MAJOR development on this issue over this past weekend- My "supplier" has located a cache of ACTUAL '88 Fiero Caliper Boots! It looks like he'd have to buy a large number of them- over 1600- in a bulk purchase, and he is unwilling to do so unless he believes he can sell them all.

Doing the math, 1600 boots =

-100 FULL BOOT SETS to do an entire car (4 boots per caliper, so 16 boots to a car)
-200 SINGLE AXLE BOOT SETS to do one axle, front or rear, on a single car (4 boots per caliper, so 8 boots per axle)
-400 SINGLE CALIPER BOOT SETS (4 boots per caliper)


Is there enough interest in these to sell 100 FULL SETS total, and what kind of price would they have to come in under to do so? They are ACTUAL '88 Fiero Caliper Boots, so they will be pricier than the alternative ones we've been playing with for sure.


PRICE??

Right now, it sounds like we'd be looking at a price of APPROXIMATELY $35 per set of EIGHT BOOTS, enough to do one axle on the car (two calipers).

That's WAY LESS than the slider kit we have to buy to get the real boots that has only two boots and a slider, isn't it? At $35 for EIGHT BOOTS, that works out to $70 to do the whole car, all four calipers. I might be able to work out a lower price for those who buy a full set for a car as opposed to just a single caliper for instance. He might do that.

Is $35 too much for 8 boots?


I need thoughts on this and fairly quickly!

This is not an alternative but actual correct part, so I will post this in the Mall to increase traffic as I need responses asap. So PLEASE GO THERE TO POST RESPONSES ON THE ACTUAL CALIPER BOOTS INTEREST:

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/041564.html

-Gary

[This message has been edited by FieroFanatic13 (edited 03-17-2008).]