[Mk2] [Turbo] Front Brake Caliper Refurb

[TRINDA1664]

Hello

Im looking to refurb my front calipers as the seals are old and perished.

Can some give me tips on how to do this i.e removing the pistons.

Has anyone got a how to guide?

Thanks

Dan

[nickg07]

Id save the heartache and just buy a refurb from ebay or brakes international. .

[uglee]

Just remember that the carriers are often not a part of the refurb and you have to use your old ones. I've seen quite a few where it's the pins seizing as opposed to piston issues only. You can get new pins, but the cost I'm not sure on.

You can strip, replace the seals and clean everything up but from experience you'll get about another year at best if your car is a daily driver before they start giving you stick again. But to throw a spanner in the works I've had 'refurb' calipers and got barely 2 years out of them.

BiggRed seemed to go to town on a friends set so maybe worth trying them? http://www.biggred.co.uk/



HTH

[ashley]

+1 for professionally refurb'd calipers

I've had them from Camskill (bit more expensive) and Brakes International (cheaper, but didn't look quite as nice)...both recommended

[JohnnyC]

Good advice from uglee, it's usually the sliders.

Try cleaning the sliders first.
If that doesn't cure it or you know for sure it's the pistons, then I'd go for refurb calipers.

The problem with the refurb kit is they're just seals etc. No new pistons (which IIRC are around £10 each).

Refurb calipers that I've had have had brand new pistons.

[Ren0W]

Put some pressured air at the bleeding nipple.
This should get the pistons out.
Just do it bit by bit, otherwise it's a projectile.

[Driftlimits Performance]

We use Big Red caliper repair kits and they come with all the bits for the sliders too.

Becareful not to mark the pistons. The outer edge is fine to grab, but not the inner.

[going4the1]

The lower piston will give the most problems. If you don't have access to an air line they can be pumped out just using the pedal. You will need to hold the good (upper) piston in situ with a g-clamp and pump the brakes to pop out the lower. Then push the lower back in so that is just seals the unit. Hold it in place with the g-clamp then pump the upper out.

If you are planning to re-paint - the calipers needs to be washed in hot soapy water to clear it of all brake fluid otherwise the paint wont stick.

The old pistons need to be polished so that they are mirror-like.

I must have been lucky - my seal kit has lasted 4 years so far!

[Baker]

for the price (£50 - 60 per caliper), carfactorsuk will refurb your calipers.
They replace everything for that price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LH-Front-Brak ... 56457dd059

cheaper than getting a refurb kit.

No need to go anywhere else imo.

[TRINDA1664]

Hello Guys

Thank you for all of your replys.

Has anyone used carfactorsuk before? They seem very cheap.

Thanks

Dan

[Baker]

I have. Wouldn't go elsewhere for calipers.
Pm me if you need any further.

[going4the1]

That is really cheap - pretty good feedback too. Plus £15 off with the old caliper!

[matt77]

I used CarfactorsUK for a pair of front calipers. I changed one and was very impressed. Refund on the deposit was issued after about two weeks.

The new caliper was that good, it caused a brake imbalance of 30% against my old one on the other side. So I ordered another recon.

This one had patchy paint, some corrosion (not affecting operation but still...) and a torn dust seal. As I was on a deadline I replaced the torn seal myself and fitted it.

It's worth noting that they gave me a discount code after my first (ebay) purchase, but their own website is a lot more expensive than their ebay prices...

[Hez]

Just ordered 2 x front calipers from carfactorsUK, ill report back when i get them and ill try and put a couple of pics up, but if they turn out to be ok cant go wrong for £58 each :O

[TRINDA1664]

That would be great if you could.

[Hez]

Right just got my calipers today from CarFactorsuk everything looks fine and they very clean, pistons move freely, Didnt get the slider bracket but came with 2 new dust boots for the slider pin attatched to them so thats all good.

Couple of pictures for anyone interested:

[Hez]

Im not going to be able to get these on the car for a test for next couple of weeks but cant see why there would be anything wrong with them

[JohnnyC]

but cant see why there would be anything wrong with them

Should be fine.

Although I have had a slight problem with supplied dust boots in the past, although I've very very picky
Not saying you'll have the same problem, my refurbished calipers were from a different company anyway, many years ago.

The new dust boots were a little too tight for the slider pin. As said, I'm very picky. So I bought some new genuine Toyota ones - you can see the difference in quality...