Brake Caliper Overhaul

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storm99

storm99

Spreading Joy & Harmony
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Brexited. Living on an island.
Yes, search done :p, even bustersbus guides!

I'm going to try and clean and lubricate the front brakes on my 90. Had a struggle getting it home as it was pulling strongly to the right with reduced speed and a bad 'hot hot hot' smell.

Any tips appreciated.
 
Remove the pads and then take a toothbrush and some brake fluid and clean up the exposed part of the pistons. Once you are happy they area clean all the way round and don't have any rust on them, push them all the way back into the caliper.

Then put the pad back in and push the brake pedal repeatedly till it goes hard again, take out the other pad and repeat.

Do the other caliper - job done.

You may find you have a very stuck piston, sometimes you need to take the pad out and put something in between the piston and the disc that is slightly thinner than the pad, then hit the brakes to push it out, make sure you put something in place though or you can push the pistons right out.

If there is corrosion on the piston and you push it back into the caliper you run the risk of creating a leak if the seals get a bit chewed on the way in. Even if this is the case, you can get away with pushing them back a little to free them up a bit.

Get some red rubber grease, pack lots of this in around the pistons to protect them, NO other grease as it will eat the rubber. ONLY brake fluid, and red rubber grease should some into contact with the seals.
 
personally for the £60 for a replacement i wouldnt bother ny arse messing around with them for it to happen a few months down the line again. Im all for saving money but sometimes new bits are a lot less hassel and a hell of a lot more reliable.
I had the same prob with my 90's rear brakes last year so i just got 2 calipers 2 discs and a set of brake pads cost me about £140 quid for the lot a few hours had them fitted and i wont have to do anything for a few years then it will only be a set of pads.

Defo worth it if you ask me
 
I know what you're saying but i need a temp fix to keep me getting to work for the next 4 weeks...then i'm back in the uk and can do the job properly. Getting parts here is a joke, so expensive, i'm looking at at least 3 times the price..

Cheers discomania...will be careful with the pistons.
 
Got the same problem with my rear left. Problem is i dont have £60 on hand for a new caliper. So ill be cleaning it up this weekend...
 
£60 for a new caliper??? from where? that sounds a bit too cheap to me!!!


when you pump your brake pedal to make the piston come out, carefull you dont do it too much or the piston will pop out.....

The way I do it is clamp 3 pistons, pump the pedal and let 1 piston come out just slightly over the "clean line" on the piston, brake cleaner and a tooth brush..
then push it in, clamp other one and do the same... and so on..

that's an easy way to sort it.

I got a pair of front calipers for my 90 and cleaned one the other day on my workbench by using an air line to pop the pistons out and then push back in

163034_10150331965435613_727855612_15999026_6662967_n.jpg
 
if you search around you ccan get a new patten part front calliper for about £60- £65 rear callipers are cheaper about £45

I have went down the road of cleaning and replacing seals, then pistons now i dont bother i replace.
 
where have you been searching around?

because before I got second hand ones I searched around and didnt find them at that price
 
Right, update, all done!

Took me only an hour and half of that was getting the wheel off...had 2 new tyres fitted 6 month ago and i think Superman had tightened them..grrr..

Anyhows with help from the lad slowly pushing the brake pedal i managed to free up the pistons, 2 out of 4 on right front were locked solid..cleaned whole lot out with air compressor, brake fluid and they're moving really smoothly now, top job.

Next job...master cylinder and vacuum pump.

Cheers lads.
 
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