Topic

There's something decidedly odd about it, pass it up & go for one that with definitely fit. It’s too late to go & check one of my spares but this is a critical component so don't chance it. And it’s definitely much too late when the brake pedal goes to the floor & the countryside is approching at a singularly dispiriting rate whilst there's a distinct squeak coming from a rapidly distending sphincter.

I hate asking questions but everyone on this forum is so nice. Thanks for taking the time to respond and its sound advice.

I'm gonna leave this and try and repair/clean my calliper once I get back from my travels (300 miles round trip to the south).

Before you replace the caliper I recommend you try this. i have used this to good effect on single and dual pot calipers on a number of cars with good results.

Unbolt the caliper. Get someone to very (very very) slowly and gently push on the brake pedal so the piston extends. Do not overdo this as you dont really want the piston to pop out altogether.

Clean the piston with brake cleaner or similar and a rag. If there are any obvious rough spots caused by corrosion then very very carefully rub them with fine wet and dry paper just to take off any high points and then clean again.

Grip part of the rim of the piston lightly with a mole wrench. I would here recommend you use a rag between the jaws of the mole wrench and the piston's surface to prevent risk of scratching..

Using the mole wrench but also your other hand around the exposed piston carefully now rotate the piston by a quarter of a turn. Remove the mole wrench.

Retract the piston to it's normal position. I have managed to do this with just using a large G clamp on it's own without touching the fluid side but I once broke a G clamp so would suggest you use the safer method :- open the bleed nipple on the caliper slightly and apply steady force to push the piston back into the caliper. Take care of fluid spills, ideally have a jar or tray to catch the fluid. . Once the piston is retracted close the bleed nipple.

Clean the caliper, slide in the brake pads and refit to the carrier and brake disk. Toque the bolts to the recommended torque, Dont over-tighten.

Using your preferred technique bleed the brakes. If you were very careful in the last step you should be able to just get away with bleeding that single caliper but if in doubt bleed the whole system.

Drive the car. There is at least a 95% chance this will have cured your problem.

I have never attempted to repair a brake calliper until last year but have now done two pairs. For £30 on ebay you can buy two seal kits complete with new pistons and £13 for new guide pins. I removed the callipers and using a twisted wire wheel and cup wheel removed all the rust down to bare metal. Next I removed the pistons, if you cannot remove them with pliers or mole grips carefully use an airline. It takes very little pressure to pop them out, if you give them a full 150psi blast they will fly around your garage or across Sainsbury's forecourt (don't ask how I know) . Inspect the bores after cleaning them thoroughly any mild corrosion can be removed with wire wool, clean out the seal grooves and re assemble. Watch a you tube video, it's easier than explaining how to do it but there is a simple way of putting the seal on the piston, then putting the outer part of the seal into the calliper then inserting the piston. Re assemble with new pins remembering to put them back the same way they came out. If you didn't do the rust removal it's less than an hours work for two callipers

It’s interesting how attitudes change over time. Not all that long ago there was a reluctance to mess with your brakes, a safety critical item & a certain MOT fail if not balanced & up to scratch; especially discs, such was the mystique. Now with YouTube tutorials & the ease of component supply via eBay, folk seem to get stuck in & the first they know that they didn’t quite get it spot on is when the old lady & her shopping trolley are seen out of the corner of your eye disappearing over the hedge in a cloud of flour, sugar, bun cases & mixed fruit.
My advice is never reuse anything you’ve taken out of the suspect unit unless those parts are metal & discarded any rusty item that doesn’t come clean with a wipe. If a special tool is required either buy it, hire it or reconsider. Clean clean clean. Use only specific lubricants i.e. the stuff in the seal kit, replace bleed nipples & change the pipe union if it’s rusty & chewed up, consider replacing the pipe if that’s rusty. Unless you’re going for exotic fluids stick to the recommended DOT rated fluid & don’t let the thought even poke it’s toe into your mind; “it’s looks clean enough, I’ll reuse it”. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it could be as much as 20%* water.
If you stick to those basic tenets of calliper rebuilding you’ll be fine
*That figure was plucked out of the air as an illustrative.

Think that advice is spot on. Critical items like brakes need to be treated with respect because if they fail at worse, it's a rude awakening on how long it is to stop at worse curtains. I had my front brakes replaced at a repair shop and the apprentice didn't clamp the caliper to the hub tight enough and on the way home it fell off, not a great feeling I can say

trevtherev wrote:

Think that advice is spot on. Critical items like brakes need to be treated with respect because if they fail at worse, it's a rude awakening on how long it is to stop at worse curtains. I had my front brakes replaced at a repair shop and the apprentice didn't clamp the caliper to the hub tight enough and on the way home it fell off, not a great feeling I can say

Yeah I had a front calliper fall off my old Valiant Charger at about 150 kph! A definite brown trouser moment!
The bolts hadn’t had locative applied to them upon installation by whoever did them for the previous owner.

The amount of crap workmanship I’ve found on cars with full authorised dealer service histories is amazing, just yesterday helping a mate with a cam belt change on his mum’s Holden Astra (badge engineered Opel) we found the coil pack damaged by poor handling ( they’d just shoved it back in and hoped for the best ), a broken radiator drain plug ( glued back together) a broken engine mount (given that this car has only ever been driven by a very careful little old lady, unlikely to be caused by her, but highly likely to be caused by careless jacking up of the engine during a cam belt change)
Until yesterday the only people to ever work on this car were authorised Holden dealers ( getting hard to find now since Holden closed up……. And from what I saw yesterday a bloody good thing too)

Airportable wrote:

It’s interesting how attitudes change over time. Not all that long ago there was a reluctance to mess with your brakes, a safety critical item & a certain MOT fail if not balanced & up to scratch; especially discs, such was the mystique. Now with YouTube tutorials & the ease of component supply via eBay, folk seem to get stuck in & the first they know that they didn’t quite get it spot on is when the old lady & her shopping trolley are seen out of the corner of your eye disappearing over the hedge in a cloud of flour, sugar, bun cases & mixed fruit.
My advice is never reuse anything you’ve taken out of the suspect unit unless those parts are metal & discarded any rusty item that doesn’t come clean with a wipe. If a special tool is required either buy it, hire it or reconsider. Clean clean clean. Use only specific lubricants i.e. the stuff in the seal kit, replace bleed nipples & change the pipe union if it’s rusty & chewed up, consider replacing the pipe if that’s rusty. Unless you’re going for exotic fluids stick to the recommended DOT rated fluid & don’t let the thought even poke it’s toe into your mind; “it’s looks clean enough, I’ll reuse it”. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it could be as much as 20%* water.
If you stick to those basic tenets of calliper rebuilding you’ll be fine
*That figure was plucked out of the air as an illustrative.

I couldn't agree more with the above statements, there is nothing magical about rebuilding brake callipers, once you have done one you will realise how simple they are to do. Watch the you tube videos, if you are unsure watch them again. For a few hours work you can derust them, rebuild them and paint them. I used these https://www.toolstation.com/abracs-wire-twist-knot-cup-brush/p17385?&mkwid=s_dc&pcrid=653986639419&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmN2iBhCrARIsAG_G2i72KAvzOz4BKmr3Wu0vhcJIa1eQQ4bYmWPV3eZIU-m-inxG-Z263ucaArqQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds and one of these https://www.toolstation.com/abracs-twist-knot-wheel-brush/p67421
Remove the rust before dismantling, reassemble and paint
It costs £43 for a front pair of rebuild kits which include seals, pistons, new guide pins and lubricants. I bought these "speciality tools", UK 4PCS CAR TRIM REMOVAL TOOL KIT SET PANEL DOOR PLASTIC PRY DASH INTERIOR CLIP Completed