Caliper rebuild companies / services

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Many thanks for the suggestions here folks.
@jamesmartin - Thanks again for that rear axle refurb! Looking forward to getting it attached to the chassis!

It looks like Bigredd will refurb them for £67 a corner. That's with their fancy hardened enamel finish (in black... I'm not a monster!). It's more than I was initially hoping for, but for the amountor work I have ahead of me on this project, I don't think it's too bad in the time vs money stakes.

As I've said before, this is for my "dream landy" build, so I'm not fitting anything non-original unless it represents a quality improvement. pattern brake calipers don't sound like they're going to be adding quality, so they aint going on my landy! :)
 
A good result in the end for you, pity there's nothing closer.
As for the refurb, apologies again for partially hijacking your thread. I'm doing it for the satisfaction as much as anything. I have split the calipers, and a large footprint has got the pistons moving. I had thought of the drill/tap method, good to know it works.
 
farmershort said:
Many thanks for the suggestions here folks.
@jamesmartin - Thanks again for that rear axle refurb! Looking forward to getting it attached to the chassis!

It looks like Bigredd will refurb them for £67 a corner. That's with their fancy hardened enamel finish (in black... I'm not a monster!). It's more than I was initially hoping for, but for the amountor work I have ahead of me on this project, I don't think it's too bad in the time vs money stakes.

As I've said before, this is for my "dream landy" build, so I'm not fitting anything non-original unless it represents a quality improvement. pattern brake calipers don't sound like they're going to be adding quality, so they aint going on my landy! :)
Click to expand...
ahh more money than sense.. got it ;) :p
 
Vintage-and-Classic said:
Yes but it does involve separating the two halves of the caliper which is not recommended by any of the workshop manuals. Bear in mind however that the professional reconditioners do split the caliper and there is nothing wrong with doing so if you know what you are doing: The pistons almost never seize when they are absolutely fully retracted so there is room to *carefully* drill the centre of the piston and to tap it M8 Then screw an M8 set screw into the piston and it will push it out of the caliper. You need to be very careful to save the sealing rings which fit between the two caliper halves if you are resorting to this method because they are not included in kit sets. This is the method used by countless car restorers on Girling calipers which are no longer available on a new or exchange basis (Daimler SP250 anyone?). I should stress that this method is for the mechanically experienced: You need to know enough to re-assemble the 2 halves to a safe standard and you need to be able to drill and tap the pistons without damaging the caliper body.

Edit: I'm assuming here that the pistons will be seized beyond all other methods: I have a brake master cylinder mounted in a frame with a nice long lever which I use to hydraulic calipers apart. They have to be quite badly seized not to respond to this sort of approach!
Click to expand...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-DAIM...hash=item2c94ad760c:m:m2Z9PX1TQqWKS51U0ojCE3g
 
wammers said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-DAIM...hash=item2c94ad760c:m:m2Z9PX1TQqWKS51U0ojCE3g
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. I think that the Dart must be one of the last to be catered for in this department - although if (as many people do) you want to keep things completely original then it's still necessary to rebuild your own calipers: These ones take the later type pads not the original ones. Don't laugh... it matters to the concourse guys sometimes :O I wish that the rebuild specialists would just fit stainless pistons as a matter of course too!
 
I'm not sure why the need for SS pistons?
surely if you harden the piston material, the wear will occur on the caliper casting instead! I'd much rather replace a piston than a whole caliper if it came to it!
 
farmershort said:
I'm not sure why the need for SS pistons?
surely if you harden the piston material, the wear will occur on the caliper casting instead! I'd much rather replace a piston than a whole caliper if it came to it!
Click to expand...
It's not about wear, it's about corrosion. The Girling design of caliper was completely brilliant coming out originally in the 1960s and this was because instead of the cylinders corroding as with all the previous designs of brake, the pistons corroded instead and they were cheap to make. This is what usually finishes off this type of caliper: The pistons corrode and the plating starts to lift resulting in leaks between the piston and the seal. Stainless pistons don't corrode (if they are made of the proper grade) and so the rebuilt caliper lasts longer before it becomes prone to sticking or leaking. I've rebuilt calipers dating back to 1963 and I've never seen any wear but I suppose eventually this must happen. The original pistons were chrome plated so I suppose that the stainless ones would in theory be less likely to wear the cylinders.... we'll have to wait another 50 years or more to find out ;-)
 
Don't forget, there shouldn't really be metal to metal contact! The piston touches the rubber seals and shouldn't be scraping up and down the inner bore of the cylinders. In my experience the major problem is the pistons rusting and the chrome coming off, leading to either them sticking to the seals or the seals wearing on the rough spots and leaking. In deciding whether to re-use a calliper the key thing is the condition of the grooves the seals go in. You want these to be nice and smooth, and not corroded or pitted, so the rubber can make a good seal. I put my stainless ones in about 2 1/2 years ago and they're still nice and shiny.
 
I reciently overhauled my front calipers, very straight forward job. The number for the caliper body seals that i used is 17H8764L
 
Vintage-and-Classic said:
It's not about wear, it's about corrosion. The Girling design of caliper was completely brilliant coming out originally in the 1960s and this was because instead of the cylinders corroding as with all the previous designs of brake, the pistons corroded instead and they were cheap to make. This is what usually finishes off this type of caliper: The pistons corrode and the plating starts to lift resulting in leaks between the piston and the seal. Stainless pistons don't corrode (if they are made of the proper grade) and so the rebuilt caliper lasts longer before it becomes prone to sticking or leaking. I've rebuilt calipers dating back to 1963 and I've never seen any wear but I suppose eventually this must happen. The original pistons were chrome plated so I suppose that the stainless ones would in theory be less likely to wear the cylinders.... we'll have to wait another 50 years or more to find out ;-)
Click to expand...
This is what aftermarket pistons look like after years of use. The genuine ones one the other side were only rusted on the top 5mm.
pistons.jpg
 
Brown said:
Don't forget, there shouldn't really be metal to metal contact! The piston touches the rubber seals and shouldn't be scraping up and down the inner bore of the cylinders. In my experience the major problem is the pistons rusting and the chrome coming off, leading to either them sticking to the seals or the seals wearing on the rough spots and leaking. In deciding whether to re-use a calliper the key thing is the condition of the grooves the seals go in. You want these to be nice and smooth, and not corroded or pitted, so the rubber can make a good seal. I put my stainless ones in about 2 1/2 years ago and they're still nice and shiny.
Click to expand...
You are quite correct, I'm sure of it. This is why the cylinders last almost forever and why the design was such a breakthrough 50 years ago. The main occurrence of metal to metal contact is when the pads or discs wear unevenly because the end of the piston sits squarely on the back of the pad.... another good reason for keeping the brakes in good condition!
 
Don't forget that, on the disco at least, one of the faults is the pad wearing thru the caliper until it hits the hub. no amount of refurb will fix that - so check it before you start.
 
Vintage-and-Classic said:
You are quite correct, I'm sure of it. This is why the cylinders last almost forever and why the design was such a breakthrough 50 years ago. The main occurrence of metal to metal contact is when the pads or discs wear unevenly because the end of the piston sits squarely on the back of the pad.... another good reason for keeping the brakes in good condition!
Click to expand...

Yup, there's more contact between the cylinder and piston in the slave cylinders on drum brake systems. On most of the ones I've had apart the seal is provided by some sort of cup washer and the piston itself is guided by contact with the bore of the cylinder. But the Land Rover disc system has quite broad shallow pistons that just touch the rubber. I've not seen the pads wearing at an angle, but I suppose it could happen occasionally . . . .
 
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