Club 80-90 Forums

So obviously things were going to well with putting the van back together and faith decided to intervene. My caliper has some corrosion on it and it was pointed out in the CVRT that the line is pitted, (I am assuming they meant caliper line as there is no corrosion from the rubber hosing to the regulator).

I went to take the caliper off to give it a good clean and replace the seals and the metal line on the caliper going to the hose snapped. I'm wondering can I replace this with the tubing I used for my clutch slave years ago or is it a new caliper job or what are my options. Sometimes I wonder is this all a cruel joke

Clutch pipe is a bigger diameter than brake pipe,  new girling calipers are available from Brickwerks at a good price with no exchange. have you checked the rest of the metal pipes, sometimes its easier to replace every metal and rubber hose at the same time.

Cheers, I guess I can stop cleaning the old one so .
Ya the other metal pipes seem fine, the side connected to the rubber hose going off to the regulator has some schultz on it so no way to see if that is rusted really but the rest of the pipes look like the two in the image below going i to the regulator, the regulator looks fairly crusty but it was never mentioned on the cvrt report so I will just give it a good wire brush before I retest. In the initial cvrt report it just said 'front right brake pipe rusted' so I'm gonna guess the one that broke is the one they meant.

Looks like those pipes have been replaced, the short metal pipes to the calipers are available made up from Brickwerks, best to replace both calipers at the same time.

If the calipers themselves seem okay, then nothing wrong with just giving them a good clean, and a paint over with hammerite if that appeals.

What would scrap the calipers for me is excessive corrosion that prevents it from working properly.
Piston seized or sticking,
or where trying to undo a brake pipe or nipple results in either of them shearing off within the body of the caliper.

My old callipers were bin fodder because the metal around the holes for the pad retaining pins had eroded away.

I have bought used original calipers, which I will clean, paint and rebuild with a full service kit.

MOST things can be repaired, as long as you have the confidence and competence to do it.
AND the correct tools and parts to do it properly.

I have read many times that replacing the seals etc in an 'original' caliper would often be better than buying many of the modern replacements.
And alot cheaper too.

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All that aside,

As said already, almost all hydraulic pipes are available from Brickwerks, so it even saves you having to get the length, shape and flares correct yourself.

Funds permitting, it is the easiest option.

Cheers folks. Ya i agree with you Robsey, i dont have the cash at the moment to get two new callipers and the calliper itself even though it seems a bit crusty is actually working fine. The piston itself moves nice and smoothly and the nipple screw in and out no bother. Similarly the other side of the sheared pipe unscrewed without any issues. If i could just replace that bit of pipe it would be ideal, im guessing this is the part on Brickwerks 251 611 735 D. That looks ideal like. 

I see you have the later single-pot caliper.

And it is the rigid line coming from the front right caliper. - based upon the corrosion comment on the failure sheet.

I make that part number 251 611 736E.

251 611 735D is for the left side.
At less than £8 a side (plus carriage), I suppose you could get both for peace of mind.

Ya i just noticed there was a left and right side, I will definitely get both though, maybe even two right hand side ones for when I inevitably do something wrong with the first one

I have replacement bit of pipe on the way and i should have it tomorrow. When it originally broke, a lot of brake fluid got out before i could plug the hose so obviously i must put in some more brake fluid. Im trying to decide will i get away with just topping up the reservoir or do i need to loosen the bleed valve on the calliper and flush out the old fluid. I was looking at the bleed valve last night and where the spanner would go on is rounded. I am really hesitant to go near it at the moment in case i break it off in the calliper body. The way everything has gone so far that is exactly what will probably happen  . Any suggestions for this?

You will need to bleed them. But as you state the chances are the bleed nipple will snap. I suggest you try using a blowtorch first. Good luck.

Maybe put a wanted ad up. Somebody may have some S/H ones for sale.

Cheers Rob, Ya i will get on the blowtorch tonight and see how that goes, I will try and drop it to a mechanic tomorrow if that doesn't work and see if he can get it out. i have one month until the CVRT test and i must still tackle the back wheel yet. What size is the bleeder screw? I was down to a 6mm spanner and it still was to big

They are usually 7mm. But If its rounded no spanner will fit it. You may have to use molegrips or pipe grips.

Will I have to take the bleed screw off the other caliper at the same time or is it ok just to have one off.

at the risk of opening the can of worms if the brake fluid hasn't been replaced recently (2-3 years) then worth doing the whole system, but risk of 4 snapped bleed nipples - it is possible to get ATE branded ones, but as with everything these days they may not be same quality made in Germany stuff as was fitted back in the day, I bought some from Autodoc and they looked right. and were appropriately chunky

Oh Aidan, the can is open and the worms are half way down the road at this stage. I have spare bleed nipples so i'm not to bothered that way, its more the concern i will snap them in the calliper. I have my test on 24th of May so i need to have everything sorted by then at the latest really.