My vehicle is stuck in someone else's driveway an hour's drive from me and needs to get back on the road!

The left front caliper on my '87 Montero is toast; the piston hangs and no longer moves freely. (Old and rusty.) I went to my local auto parts chain (O'Reillys, for those who care) and ordered one. They had one left in the warehouse, I got it, but the trouble is it's the wrong part!

Through some digging I found that there's a difference in part numbers for Monteros made before May '87 and after; the parts are differentiated as '83-'87, and '87-90. My Montero was made in December '86, so I need a caliper for '83-'87.

I've checked with every parts house in the area, both chains and independents, and no one can get the part. They all tell me it is unavailable.

I've started looking online with much the same result; even Mitsubishiparts.com doesn't have them. I have, however, found several companies which I've never heard of which claim to have them (such as Partsgeek.com), but the pictures don't remotely match the part I have.

Can anyone point me to a source that is likely to either have the full caliper, OR at least a rebuild kit?

 

smash/grind/unbolt the original. Soak in diesel for a week, bake at 350 degrees for a day. Take it apart and clean it. Put it back on. Drive on.

 

Don't soak it in diesel, soak it in 50/50 water/molasses. I PROMISE.

Google it. It's better than diesel because it's not a non-polar solvent and it won't eat up seals.

Also go to Autozone or equivalent and get a caliper rebuild kit.

 

Thanks everyone - I managed to get a rebuilt from Rock Auto, but still have the cores to rebuild. Given how hard these things are to find, I'm going to rebuild both sides and hang on to them!