5th Gen Calipers

[pjbrownva]

Peace to you too

I have a background in law enforcement and these things always catch my eye, so no insult intended, just making an observation
/
/

Makes sense. Not insulted.

Couple of points about centric.

1)

Centric Parts Doubles Caliper Remanufacturing Operations


Industry, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2014) – Centric Parts, North America’s leading manufacturer and supplier of aftermarket brake components and systems, announced today that it has greatly expanded its brake caliper remanufacturing operations in response to heavy customer demand. The Centric Parts remanufacturing program is the most highly regarded in the industry, with extremely high demand prompting the expansion from 80,000 to 160,000 square feet of floor space at its Carson, California facility. This move coincides with Centric pad assembly and kitting operations moving from Carson into a portion of the recently acquired 100,000 square feet of warehouse and office space at Centric’s City of Industry campus.


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So they have 160,000 square feed of floor space for their caliper remanufacturing operation!!! They are clearly huge.

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Also this...

" and now operates multiple nationwide facilities encompassing over one million square feet of office, warehouse and manufacturing space."

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And then these selected quotes about their remanufacturing process.

"After each caliper core is inspected and identified, it is disassembled. All rubber seals, boots and hardware are discarded. Each reusable component is inspected, cleaned and refinished to ensure maximum life."

...

"All bores are brushed and cleaned to ensure proper fitment and performance of the new boot and seal."

...

"After receiving the green light from our testing equipment all caliper identities are confirmed. Then they are boxed, labeled and shipped"

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I'm not saying that this makes it right to rip-off a company just because they are a large company.

What I AM saying is that I don't think we're ripping them off, or doing anything that hurts them or costs them money.

I really think that they don't care about the difference in core in this case. They are huge, and they are getting back a part that is in high demand (because 4th gen calipers fail frequently) that they can remanufacture and resell.

It's not like you got a Ferrari brake caliper, and then intentionally returned a Pinto caliper to stick it to them financially -- that would be fraud or theft.

Also, based on their process, they will identify the 4th gen calipers as such, rebuild them as such, and resell them as 4th gen calipers.

It's just my opinion that it doesn't hurt them, and they really are or would be unconcerned about difference -- especially because the volume of people upgrading has got to be small when compared to the total volume of 4Runner calipers... so I doubt it really impacts their inventory or business either positively or negatively.

It would be very different if we were returning defective parts that we knew they couldn't remanufacture, and were duping them. It also would be different if we were sending back cores that are worth substantially less than what they were expecting. But that isn't the case here.

Just my $0.04
(since I already gave $0.02 earlier!!!!) :amen:

olice:

:bounce:

op2:

 

[ArthurHawk]

The proper way is to call your supplier and ask them if it's ok to return a slightly different brake calipers and see what they would say. My bets are that they will not take a return on them.

 

[pjbrownva]

[$0.02]

If you had to go to court on it, do you think the judge would rule for you or against in a law suit saying you returned the wrong part?

[/$0.02]

I'm not so sure that there would be a problem.

Absent an indication of "malice aforethought", the act of receiving a core refund is evidence of both acceptance and acquiescence to the differences by Centric or their agent.


After all, Centric does indicate that it inspects all cores, and won't accept them if they are damaged in certain ways (such as scored by a rotor) or missing parts such as brackets or levers that some brakes have.

It could go either way... but I think it's far from cut and dry.

:focus:

I love the 5th gen upgrade. The centric parts with the Akebono ceramic pads & all six stainless steel brake lines are :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: the best!

-Phil

 

[pjbrownva]

The proper way is to call your supplier and ask them if it's ok to return a slightly different brake calipers and see what they would say. My bets are that they will not take a return on them.

I think even that depends.

If you tell them... "hey... I want to buy one part, and return a different part for my core. Is that OK". You'll get a no!

But if you say, "I'm buying these 4Runner brake calipers as an upgrade, because the part has been improved. Can I just send back the old ones on my truck now for the core." You're likely to get a "sure".

I say, if you think it's wrong, then don't do it, and keep your old cores.

I have a very strong sense of right and wrong, and I just don't think this is wrong.

Now :tape2: -- at least for me on this topic... lest I be accused of becoming a TROLL!!! :focus: :biggrin2:

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

Short answer about Centric. They are a HUGE manufacturer... who also rebuild. Many "brand name" rotors in the aftermarket ARE actually rebranded Centric. In my honest opinion having been a former vendor on another platform, they are as good as if not better than many OEMs. As to their calipers? Never looked into it. All my customer's cars came with Brembos. So in truth, that is where my faith comes from.

 

[ArthurHawk]

I'm not so sure that there would be a problem.

Absent an indication of "malice aforethought", the act of receiving a core refund is evidence of both acceptance and acquiescence to the differences by Centric or their agent.


After all, Centric does indicate that it inspects all cores, and won't accept them if they are damaged in certain ways (such as scored by a rotor) or missing parts such as brackets or levers that some brakes have.

It could go either way... but I think it's far from cut and dry.

:focus:

I love the 5th gen upgrade. The centric parts with the Akebono ceramic pads & all six stainless steel brake lines are :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: the best!

-Phil

Good to hear you are liking the Akebono brake pads, I ordered my self centric calipers, centric rotors and Alebono brake pads. I ran them on a few different vehicles with amazing results.

 

[Rannd]

If anything.. Centric would want 4th gen calipers to re-sell than 5th gen. Since the 4th gen calipers are known to have issues... normal people who aren't like us won't know 5th gen calipers will fit and they will continue selling tons of 4th gen calipers.

Just my thoughts, haha.

 

[T101]

normal people who aren't like us

HAHAHAHAHA, you got that right

 

[rjb75]

I've worked in the OEM and aftermarket automotive, RV and heavy duty truck parts industries for over 20 years. Aftermarket remanufacturers typically don't care if they get the exact core back, they want one that fits in the same product/vehicle category. OEMs on the other hand want the exact same part back on just about everything with the exception of HD truck brake shoes. There's so many brake shoes in the marketplace that it just doesn't matter to most companies if they get the exact same shoe in return.

The one thing common in all segments of the industry is that there are specific criteria of what is considered acceptable damage to a core. If said core is damaged beyond those requirements it is deemed unacceptable for a refund.

I can pretty much guarantee that Centric doesn't give a rat's ass whether you return a 4th gen or 5th gen core when you purchase a 5th gen reman caliper, as long as it can be rebuilt to be resold.

 

[ccvortex]

...I can pretty much guarantee that Centric doesn't give a rat's ass whether you return a 4th gen or 5th gen core when you purchase a 5th gen reman caliper, as long as it can be rebuilt to be resold.

Right, but won't some hapless guy down the line who paid for 5th gen parts end up getting 4th gen parts instead?

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

I'm not condoning the practice, but it's not like the calipers are individually hand cleaned and rebuilt and put right back in the box.

 

[njsanna]

So anyways...back to the mod itself.
I did my rears today with 5th gen calipers. Napa Eclipse with the mount. Turned and re-used my original rotors. OEM Pads from local dealer.
Didn't have to modify anything.



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[Silver4RunnerIS300]

I feel there is nothing unethical about turning in 4th gen calipers as a core for 5th gen calipers. 4th gen calipers probably have a quicker turn around rate anyways so in all actuality the remanufacturer probably benefits. 4th gen are older and there should be a higher demand for them with all the sticking calipers and all.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[pjbrownva]

Right, but won't some hapless guy down the line who paid for 5th gen parts end up getting 4th gen parts instead?

Nope. Centric states that the first step that they do in remanufacturing is inspect and identify the part. Then they state that the last steps are to re-identify the part, box it and label it for resale.

They identify the part TWICE. Once before they remanufacture it, and then again in the last step as a double check before they box it and label it for resale.

It would be a big screw up on their part if they misidentified the part twice.
Bottom line is Centric will recognize our cores as 4th gen cores, label them as 4th gen, and resell them as 4th gen.

No buyers are harmed in this process, nor is the vendor or remanufacturer! :clap2: :clap2:

Don't take my word on this. Take Centric's word!


"After each caliper core is inspected and identified, it is disassembled. All rubber seals, boots and hardware are discarded. Each reusable component is inspected, cleaned and refinished to ensure maximum life."

...

"After receiving the green light from our testing equipment all caliper identities are confirmed. Then they are boxed, labeled and shipped"

 

[20154R]

Is anyone having issues w/ their rear brakes? I bought Centric 127.44175L and Centric 127.44175R for my rears.

When I back up, I hear a "clicking" noise; when I go forward, no noise.

When we mounted the wheels back on, we had to make sure they were on perfectly, otherwise my rim would hit a caliper. It doesn't seem like they're perfectly round/centered.

Now, I'm not 100% sure if this is a rotor issue, a caliper issue, or a rim being out of round.

I might go ahead and order rotors for the 4th gen - which are these apparently - 128.44128L/128.44128R.

 

[84ability]

Is anyone having issues w/ their rear brakes? I bought Centric 127.44175L and Centric 127.44175R for my rears.

When I back up, I hear a "clicking" noise; when I go forward, no noise.

When we mounted the wheels back on, we had to make sure they were on perfectly, otherwise my rim would hit a caliper. It doesn't seem like they're perfectly round/centered.

Now, I'm not 100% sure if this is a rotor issue, a caliper issue, or a rim being out of round.

I might go ahead and order rotors for the 4th gen - which are these apparently - 128.44128L/128.44128R.

I have been dealing with this a lot lately. It's the e brake shoes/pads clunking. I needed to adjust the starnut on each side. At first I contracted the pads a lot thinking they were too far out but then the clunk followed to the other side. Turns out, too far in and they will clunk a lot, they need to be expanded to have some spring tension it seems. Or just try setting your e-brake and releasing it to get the shoes centered.

 

[pjbrownva]

Is anyone having issues w/ their rear brakes? I bought Centric 127.44175L and Centric 127.44175R for my rears.

When I back up, I hear a "clicking" noise; when I go forward, no noise.

When we mounted the wheels back on, we had to make sure they were on perfectly, otherwise my rim would hit a caliper. It doesn't seem like they're perfectly round/centered.

Now, I'm not 100% sure if this is a rotor issue, a caliper issue, or a rim being out of round.

I might go ahead and order rotors for the 4th gen - which are these apparently - 128.44128L/128.44128R.

It's definitely the parking brake that needs adjustment.
If you weren't careful, you could have bent a pin related to the parking brake.
That's all I know, but if it's bent, you may need to replace parts. That's all I know.

Also, do you have 17" or 18" rims? The upgrade probably doesn't work on 16" rims.

 

[20154R]

It's definitely the parking brake that needs adjustment.
If you weren't careful, you could have bent a pin related to the parking brake.
That's all I know, but if it's bent, you may need to replace parts. That's all I know.

Also, do you have 17" or 18" rims? The upgrade probably doesn't work on 16" rims.

I have 17's. I think we might have bent a retaining pin since we beat the shit out of the old rotor to get it off - didn't see the memo about the parking brake until after.

Is there a hardware kit to buy to replace it?

 

[ArthurHawk]

I have 17's. I think we might have bent a retaining pin since we beat the shit out of the old rotor to get it off - didn't see the memo about the parking brake until after.

Is there a hardware kit to buy to replace it?

That's one way to get it off, I learned a long time ago if it requires a lot of force I must be doing something wrong. Why is everyone using their parking brake when lifting the vehicle? Is everyone doing it on a non leveled driveway?

 

[ArthurHawk]

We are slowly getting there, after 3 long hours and by back hurting. Used the G2 caliper paint


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