Caliper Identification

[AZJeff]

I see listings for front calipers up to the 1989 model year, and another listing on parts sources for 1990 and beyond.

 

what visual clues are there to ID the differences between the two variants of calipers, so I can know which version I need?

[coolwind57]

I was asked the orientation of my calipers for my 89.  Front orientation or rear (this is the position of the caliper in relation with the hub.  Sorry I'm not answering your question, but I remember this question last year when I redid my front brakes.  I'm interested in seeing more responses to your thread.

[Rockfrog]

The pre 90 calipers mount completely differently than the 90+.
The knuckles are totally different as well. The pre-90 have a remoavle caliper bracket, the later are integrated.

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[AZJeff]

3 hours ago, Rockfrog said:

The pre 90 calipers mount completely differently than the 90+.
The knuckles are totally different as well. The pre-90 have a remoavle caliper bracket, the later are integrated.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk
 

PERFECT.  Thanks for the explanation.

[gogmorgo]

Going with production years only isn't the best way to identify. There was some holdover between years, likely as they used up surplus parts. 2wd's especially I think hung onto the older style knuckle/caliper for a few years longer, plus you don't know what's been changed in 30 years.

The easiest way to tell the difference between the callipers themselves is that the older style has one big round-ish window in the back of the caliper, and the newer one has two smaller rectangular windows. Like so:

Note the one is listed as RWD and the other as 4WD. I looked them up for a '93 XJ, and just chose those two specifically because it showed the images conveniently next to each other with the window situation clearly displayed. This was an FYI, no recommendations about part brands or quality should be taken from this post.