Club 80-90 Forums

I'm putting in new pads into my Girling callipers but they won't fit! They're too wide for the gap where they should go. It says it Haynes to " push the calliper piston back into its bore using a flat bar"

Does it mean like this?

Cos this thing ain't moving anywhere!

That piston is on the skew - no wonder it won't go back!
I use a flat piece of wood and a cramp - make sure that you are pushing in the centre of the piston. Put rags around the reservoir as the chance of pushing fluid out is high and is difficult to clean up in there. (or remove some before doing it with a pipette/turkey baster or some other device)

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:Does it mean like this?

Yes, but square... The easiest way is a G-clamp around the body of the caliper, maybe with a big socket tucked in to give it a bigger area to bear on, to decrease the chances of it going on the wonk like that.

Right now, you've got a problem... HOPEFULLY, the seals haven't popped out, and it'll just square up.

Bingo!



Thanks for your help on a sunny Sunday gents!

Oh, and top tip for putting rags on the top of the reservoir!

Hang on.

Now that I've put the new pads in and depressed the brake pedal a few times I'm unable to spin the front disks.

Is this normal/handbrake or have I done something wrong (I've literally changed the pads, no messing with bleeding nipples or anything)

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:Now that I've put the new pads in and depressed the brake pedal a few times I'm unable to spin the front disks.

Is this normal/handbrake

Not normal, and the handbrake's at the other end...

Sounds like the caliper's sticking. This is the side which the piston went in wonky, or both?

Both sides.

I get two presses of the brake pedal and then that goes solid and the disks are stuck fast. Calliper barrels not retracting (although they were after the first pump)

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:Both sides.

I get two presses of the brake pedal and then that goes solid and the disks are stuck fast. Calliper barrels not retracting (although they were after the first pump)

Sounds like a master cylinder problem. If you crack the bleed nipple open, does fluid come out under pressure, then you can turn the wheel?

I bled one side, the nearside, which wasn't the wonky side I photographed. The nipple on the offside is not to be messed with if I can help it! Anyway, fluid came out in a good flow right away and now both callipers are freed off.

I await instruction before I depress the pedal again!

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:I bled one side, the nearside, which wasn't the wonky side I photographed. The nipple on the offside is not to be messed with if I can help it! Anyway, fluid came out in a good flow right away and now both callipers are freed off.

I await instruction before I depress the pedal again!

Sounds like a duff master cylinder. It's not releasing the pressure in the front brake system, so they're not returning. If it was just one flexi, it'd just be that side which locked on.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Still, I guess over-eager brakes are better than ones which do nothing... <ducks, runs>

Seems like next weekends birthday camp out may be on the back of the doka

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:Seems like next weekends birthday camp out may be on the back of the doka

Better you find out now than when it locks on half-way there, though.

Old pads back in and there's no problem. I think the callipers must have wear that prevents them from retracting with such thick (new) pads in.

Cylinder maybe needs replacing, but I think callipers most likely need rebuilding.

chuckle-bus-tom wrote:Old pads back in and there's no problem. I think the callipers must have wear that prevents them from retracting with such thick (new) pads in.

Yet they BOTH retracted OK once the hydraulic pressure was released from ONE... That's hydraulic pressure being trapped - can only be - and that can only be coming from the master.

With the old pads in, there's more fluid between the master's pistons and the caliper's pistons, but that shouldn't affect the master at all. I suspect that it's failing to allow some of that fluid back into the reservoir.

Ordering up a new master....

Thanks for your help!