New Caliper or .......

[shrig1969]

ok, here is the update as promised....
Finally finished this morning having bled the brakes and taken her for a test run. Everything seems good with no unusual noises or squeaks. I did hit a couple of problems as the following pictures will explain.
Would I do it again? Most definitely! Thanks to all the posts explaining what and how to do it
Wheel off, lets begin

Piston pushed out and hose temporarily clamped

Disconnected the caliper to work on.

[shrig1969]

Did not know what to expect, I take it that doesn't look to clever?

The seal on the right came from the picture above (zoom in and you can see how pitted it was)

Everything cleaned up and put back together. Unfortunately got too involved in my work and forgot to take photos

[shrig1969]

This was the bit that made me wish I had never started the job. The copper nut was seized on and no matter what I tried nothing could move it. I ended up twisting the copper pipe and bending the bracket holding the top of the flexi in place. In the end I cut the spring clip locking the joint together, enabling it to drop through the bracket. Now I could untighten it by hand(aaaaaarrrgghhhhh!!!!)
I then connected the new flexi (clamped of course) and put a temporary fixing in place to hold it correctly until I order some replacements.

Let the bleeding begin.....

Having never done this before, I would like to know your scores from 1 to 10 on the quality of the Citrus below.
1 being very poor to 10 being very good.


Once again thanks for all your advice in enabling me to take this job on myself.
I have 3.9litres of DOT4 going cheap if anyones interested (California dreamin + Kevtherev??)

[Ian Hulley]

I would like to know your scores from 1 to 10 on the quality of the Citrus below.

Looks like you need to drink a lot more water to me

Aye, that was knackered alright.

Ian.

[kevtherev]

Well you saved a ton of money.
Your brakes work.
Your skills now include caliper refurbishment.
Your self esteem is beyond the stars.

Well done.

New caliper indeed...lol

[Bubble Meister]

Well done mate. Which kits / spares did you buy and where from please? How long did the job take? I need to change the flexi hoses and am thinking of doing the same. My only concern is that I have the fixed caliper with two opposing pistons.

I'd say the fluid isn't too bad - I've seen worse. Let it settle over a couple of days and then look at the crud that settles in the bottom.
Have you bled all the brakes plus clutch?

[kevtherev]

Fluid should be changed every two years.
If you're changing seals then you might as well change the fluid.

The clutch is a separate circuit, only a common reservoir...even empty the clutch will not be affected unless you press it.
With all the right parts and tools it should only take a morning.

Opposing pistons are no problem to pop out.
Use the brake pressure to push them out, if they start uneven put the caliper back on the carrier and use the disc to even them up, once near the edge you can grip the edge of the pot with a pair of pliers and wiggle.

[shrig1969]

Well done mate. Which kits / spares did you buy and where from please? How long did the job take? I need to change the flexi hoses and am thinking of doing the same. My only concern is that I have the fixed caliper with two opposing pistons.

I'd say the fluid isn't too bad - I've seen worse. Let it settle over a couple of days and then look at the crud that settles in the bottom.
Have you bled all the brakes plus clutch?

I got the flexi hoses and pads from Wagonbuild for around £45.
1 x seal kit was under £10 from Brakes international ltd.

It took me around a day from start to finish, with a couple of hours lost disconnecting the flexi's from the hard brake line as mentioned earlier.
No records broken, but very rewarding at the end.
Might be an idea to order them "brake hose clips" just in case!!

[shrig1969]

Well done mate. Which kits / spares did you buy and where from please? How long did the job take? I need to change the flexi hoses and am thinking of doing the same. My only concern is that I have the fixed caliper with two opposing pistons.

I'd say the fluid isn't too bad - I've seen worse. Let it settle over a couple of days and then look at the crud that settles in the bottom.
Have you bled all the brakes plus clutch?

Bled all the brakes but left the clutch for now, but I do intend to do that next ( I think I have some brake fluid leftover )
Hopefully a simple process to carry out, with NO risks attached????

[Bubble Meister]

Thanks for the replies: I always change the fluid in the clutch as well that way I know that there is minimal contamination of the fluid. I have looked and found that Just Kampers do a overhaul kit for my brakes. I wasn't sure if I'd need to separate the two caliper halves to extract each piston.

I assume you just lightly a braided the piston caliper to remove surface corrosion?

[Bubble Meister]

I wouldn't knock yourself for taking a full day, I've been overhauling my van for 13 years and still haven't finished!

[shrig1969]

Yes, pretty much so. I wire brushed the outside of the caliper and cleaned the delicate parts with brake fluid, using a scotch pad for the tough bits.
Do compare the price from JK with the brakes international company. I was impressed with the layout of the website ( easy to find the correct parts)and the price obviously