I'm looking at Rockauto to buy rear caliper repair kit. They have several to choose from. Beck/Arnley's says it's for 38mm piston, Wagner's says it's for 35mm piston. My 96 OBW has 15 inch wheels. What size rear brake pistion do I have, 35mm or 38mm?

A rebuilt from a parts store, or on line source doesn't cost much. Lots easier, and a time saver to just swap one in.

A rebuilt from a parts store, or on line source doesn't cost much. Lots easier, and a time saver to just swap one in.

I've heard that many rebuilt calipers are of much less quality than Subaru's original. What do you folks think?

 

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-brake-caliper-woes/

I haven't ever had any trouble with rebuilt calipers. They come with new seals, pistons, dust boots, and slide pins. Most calipers now come with new brackets as well.

 

They have to get parts to rebuild from somewhere, which is the reason for the core charge. The parts they rebuild are the original calipers that you take back to get your core credit. All of the rebuilt calipers I've put on Subarus still have the Fuji logo on them.

I've had good luck with rebuilt calipers as well.  The one complaint I have is that they tend to quickly develop surface rust so if you have alloys and/or can see the calipers, I would clean then paint them before installing.

 

I went to install a repair kit on my '95 calipers and after I popped the pistons out they were pretty scored (and so was the receiving bore on the caliper) to the point that I wasn't sure it was worth just replacing the seals.  I returned the rebuild kit and bought calipers.

I have bought rebuilt calipers from parts stores for past 20 years, and never had any quality issue. They come with a warranty, so they always seemed like a safe buy to me.

yeah, used or rebuilt,

pick your poison.

 

but if you are buying new,

 

 

My 96 OBW has 15 inch wheels. What size rear brake pistion do I have

 

the rear disc brakes, 95 - 99 lego , GT , outback are all the same.

the pads on my 95 lego L will swap into my 98 outback.

wheel size has nothing to do with it.