Brake caliper dust boots & caliper grease or anti-squeal

[Decolliber]

Am I correct in thinking that brake caliper dust boots can be replaced without removing the cylinder from the caliper? I rebuilt my rear Porsche calipers some years ago, and think this is the case, since I recall removing the dust boots prior to removing the cylinder from the caliper, so I assume the dust boot could just be replaced by itself without any further dis-assembly.

I made the mistake of putting some of that gooey red CRC anti-squeal on the backs of my BMW pads, installed them before it had dried, and the red paste probably stuck to the dust boots, and so will destroy them when I next change the pads.

I am also a bit confused over what substances can or cannot come into contact with caliper dust boots. My BMW Bentley manual says to keep caliper grease away from the dust boots, since it will cause the boot to swell and deteriorate, but that may be because the OEM BMW caliper grease or anti-squeal is silicone based (?). But both Sil-Glide and CRC (aka Sta-Lube) synthetic brake caliper grease say they are rubber and plastic friendly so I assume that means they are not going to damage dust boots. The reason I ask is that if you put any of this kind of stuff on the backs of pads, it will almost inevitably come into contact with the dust boot because you have to push the cylinder back into the caliper before bringing the caliper back down over the disk rotor.

[djpateman]

Generally you can just replace the dust boots without a problem.
Rubber friendly products should not be a problem.

[KTL]

If you're using OE Porsche pads, you don't need anti-squeal paste or caliper lubricant paste on the back of the pads. The pads are equipped with anti-squeal plates on the pad backing plate.

You sure can remove the dust boots without removing the piston. Think about it- you install the boot AFTER installing the piston. In the case of your '88 Porsche calipers, the boot simply slips over the end of the piston and is held to the cailper body by a spring clip (front caliper) or toothed ring inside the boot (rear caliper).

I wouldn't bother using the caliper lubricant paste on the boots. I really don't see the point. Just use it on the pistons and the o-ring seals. Plus, if you do any track driving with your car, the boots on the iron calipers are pretty much fried after one event.

[Flieger]

Lubricant pastes are more for the BMW style sliding calipers. Porsche brakes are better. (I have a BMW as a practical car as well)