Brake Pistons...

Hi All,

Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...

...my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I buy
re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and seals
with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?

Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took days
to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money on
complete calipers.

Looking forward to hearing from you...

--
Kind Regards,

Mark Holland-Hicken
C21-Design

Tel: 01480 896821
Mob: 07712 528321
Web: www.c21-design.com

On or around Mon, 1 Nov 2004 13:08:38 +0000 (UTC), "mark hh"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Hi All,
>
>Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...
>
>..my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
>G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I buy
>re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and seals
>with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?
>
>Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took days
>to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money on
>complete calipers.
>
>Looking forward to hearing from you...

Provided you're willing and able to get the caliper off the vehicle and
clean it properly, I don't see why this would be a problem. A piston that
stiff is no bloody good anyway. The back brakes on my disco are seriously
naff, and are gonna need new pistons and dust seals soon, I reckon. Check
out whether the SS pistons come with new main seals (and dust seals), if not
you need these.

The only thing I wonder about is the fact that the originals are probably
hard chrome, whereas the SS maybe softer, depending on what spec SS it is.
I did once contemplate making me own pistons, having found out how much the
ones for the sherpa minibus I then had cost.

Recon calipers will I assume have standard pistons in, which will eventually
rust and get jammed etc. in the normal manner.

mark hh wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...
>
> ..my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
> G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I buy
> re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and seals
> with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?
>
> Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took days
> to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money on
> complete calipers.

New pistons aren't too hard to fit. I've used stainless ones in various
vehicles with differing amounts of success - the stainless quality seems
to vary and some of them pit fairly quickly. If OE pistons are sensibly
priced it's worth just using them - they still last a good few years
especially if you strip, clean and put new seals in the calipers every
couple of years.

The easiest way to get the stuck pistons out is to remove the caliper
(leaving the hose attached) and pump the brakes until the piston pops out.


--
EMB

I know if i buy reckon, they'll fail in the smae way but that might be a few
years down the line...

...the kits I've seen come with all seals - just wondered if anyone had
actually done it?

The bottom line is "low on budget" so I'll have to weigh pros and cons of
both.

Cheers

Mark HH

"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On or around Mon, 1 Nov 2004 13:08:38 +0000 (UTC), "mark hh"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
> >Hi All,
> >
> >Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...
> >
> >..my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
> >G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I
buy
> >re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and seals
> >with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?
> >
> >Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took
days
> >to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money on
> >complete calipers.
> >
> >Looking forward to hearing from you...
>
> Provided you're willing and able to get the caliper off the vehicle and
> clean it properly, I don't see why this would be a problem. A piston that
> stiff is no bloody good anyway. The back brakes on my disco are seriously
> naff, and are gonna need new pistons and dust seals soon, I reckon. Check
> out whether the SS pistons come with new main seals (and dust seals), if
not
> you need these.
>
> The only thing I wonder about is the fact that the originals are probably
> hard chrome, whereas the SS maybe softer, depending on what spec SS it is.
> I did once contemplate making me own pistons, having found out how much
the
> ones for the sherpa minibus I then had cost.
>
> Recon calipers will I assume have standard pistons in, which will
eventually
> rust and get jammed etc. in the normal manner.
>
>

I was wondeing...

...a good push should shift 'em, I'll have to do all 4 at once though.

Cheers

Mark HH

"EMB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> mark hh wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...
> >
> > ..my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured
a
> > G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I
buy
> > re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and
seals
> > with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?
> >
> > Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took
days
> > to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money on
> > complete calipers.
>
> New pistons aren't too hard to fit. I've used stainless ones in various
> vehicles with differing amounts of success - the stainless quality seems
> to vary and some of them pit fairly quickly. If OE pistons are sensibly
> priced it's worth just using them - they still last a good few years
> especially if you strip, clean and put new seals in the calipers every
> couple of years.
>
> The easiest way to get the stuck pistons out is to remove the caliper
> (leaving the hose attached) and pump the brakes until the piston pops out.
>
>
> --
> EMB

mark hh wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Just had a 5 minute job take - well it felt like forever...
>
> ..my brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
> G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in. The big question is do I buy
> re-furb calipers or should I have a go at replacing the pistons and seals
> with the stainless piston kits I keep seeing advertised?
>
> Has anyone put the stainless pistons in? Was it a nightmare? If it took
> days to do through grief I would rather save my time and spend some money
> on complete calipers.
>
> Looking forward to hearing from you...
>
I've recently rebuilt all four calipers on my '87 RR Classic.

I used std. plated pistons. - After all, the originals lasted for 180k+
miles! I see no need for stainless caliper pistons, unless you like
spending money!

Fitting the seal retainers can be a bit fiddly, but not difficult.

Regards,

Horse.

>y brake pistons are pretty much shot - I actually bent and fractured a
>G-clamp trying to squeeze the piston back in

to be honest I've never had any trouble getting the pistons themselves in. The
seal retainers on the other hand are quite another matter.

What seems to be th trouble? do they go in a bit/a lot then stop dead? Or won't
enter the bore at all? Or go in but get increasingly stiff?

Nick