Thread: servicing Brake Calipers , "How to"

Well, Today was the 1st day after a few days of taking it easy with the rangie , that I could really test drive it with new Overhauled front Brake calipers and Brand new lockheed pads .....


.......Geez talk about stopping power ...... with 33" tyres if driven hard the and a bit of the brake pedal right foot pressure applied the Vented rotors start smoking...BTW previously I only had Brakes working on one side and the fact that the vehicle was puling to one side became more apparentt when I pulled the caliper/s off to investigate LHS BRAKE Caliper pistons were worn as pictured above.

The vehicle no Longer pulls to ones side like it did before , I'm really impressed with the Brakes , had to bleed the Brake system twice to get all the air bubbles out of them..

The condition of the back ones seem ok, I tested them by reversing on the drive way and applying the brakes , i won't be overhauling the back ones just as yet. I'd like to enjoy driving the Rangie for a while....it's seen more of the drive way this year than the road

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Now dont they look purdy , i did 1 caliper last weekend but didnt pretty them up as they will just get caked in mud again, its fidly replacing the seal clips and very easy to bugger them - i carefully removed the old ones and kept just in case.

, you're probably right , they will get caked up with dirt and mud , I just wanted to see how they turned out by spray painting them.

I also carefully removed the wiper seal retainers incase I stuffed the new ones up on insertion , I had 100% success rate with using the trailing arm washer placed on top of the retainers flat and few Gentle taps of the Hammer , they went in quite nicely.

Hi DO, were your calipers leaking fluid prior to the rebuild ? find 1 piston still leaking so pulled it apart again thinking i had stuffed the outer seal clip bit was fine, re-assembled but noticed its still leaking .

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Hi DO, were your calipers leaking fluid prior to the rebuild ? find 1 piston still leaking so pulled it apart again thinking i had stuffed the outer seal clip bit was fine, re-assembled but noticed its still leaking .

Hi Mate

yes , they were leaking on 1 side ( Passenger Side ) Caliper ...The piston/s pictured above were worn & I suspect "Fluid" was pushing past the Piston walls and pass the piston (Fluid) seal , I did also notice my retainer seals was slightly worn too so it is possible that the Fuild was getting past the wiper seal.

Just out of Curiosity ,have you replaced all your wiper seals and pistons seals and throw in new set of pistons? can you take a close up Macro pic of where it is leaking and post up in here ?

If you have thrown in a Brand new set of pistons , my suggestion is to get some 1200 grid wet&dry and smooth out the walls of the calliper cylinders this ensure the inside wall are smooth no defined lines present due to previous hydrolic pressure.

Originally Posted by Disco_owner

Hi Mate

yes , they were leaking on 1 side ( Passenger Side ) Caliper ...The piston/s pictured above were worn & I suspect "Fluid" was pushing past the Piston walls and pass the piston (Fluid) seal , I did also notice my retainer seals was slightly worn too so it is possible that the Fuild was getting past the wiper seal.

Just out of Curiosity ,have you replaced all your wiper seals and pistons seals and throw in new set of pistons? can you take a close up Macro pic of where it is leaking and post up in here ?

If you have thrown in a Brand new set of pistons , my suggestion is to get some 1200 grid wet&dry and smooth out the walls of the calliper cylinders this ensure the inside wall are smooth no defined lines present due to previous hydrolic pressure.

I only replaced all the seals and now guessing 1 piston may be needed but at $40 each i'll just get a 2nd hand caliper for now. I checked them and used fine wetndry to clean them up and they werent pitted or marked in any way.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

I only replaced all the seals and now guessing 1 piston may be needed but at $40 each i'll just get a 2nd hand caliper for now. I checked them and used fine wetndry to clean them up and they werent pitted or marked in any way.

I guess it's cheaper when you buy the whole kit , it paid i think $180 for all 8 pistons and seals ,the new pistons look like they are stainless steel , but as someone who is truely concerned, when it comes to brakes , please don't take any short cuts , you won't know the condition of the seals and pistons in the 2nd hand calipers , so unless you're willing to pull it all apart , you may have to Just bite the Bullet and buy all 8 pistons and replace them on both sides . this will give you piece of mind

Where did you source the kit from? (Apologies if you've previously put it in the thread and I missed it).

Steve

Originally Posted by steveG

Where did you source the kit from? (Apologies if you've previously put it in the thread and I missed it).

Steve

Hi Steve ;

I sourced the Kit from BMI ( British Motor Imports )

Front Caliper service Kits

Part No: STC-1278 = $77.50 inc GST each side