Club 80-90 Forums

1984 T25 Hightop 1.9 watercooled.

Front brakes binding. Where do I start? What is causing them both to bind? Was thinking of stipping down the front brakes and taking the calipers off. Is this a good place to start and if so what should I be doing to the calipers? Haven't the luxury of lots ofmoney to just go and replace them for shiney new ones. Also what sort of job is it to strip off the front brakes? any special tools needed?

Thanks

Your brakes have been "braking" for 20odd years or so and the little rubber seals that stops the brakefluid from getting out and the moisture from getting in have probably split somewhere. Overtime moisture gets inbetween the caliper housing and it's piston turning what was once a smooth shiny surface into a rusty pited one, this causing the brakes to stick on.

That's my theory anyway


You'll need to give your calipers a sevice. You'll need to buy a caliper rebuild kit for each caliper . Drain the brake fluid and remove the calipers. Now you need to remove the pistons from the housing ,this can be done by attaching a airline where the hose goes on the housing. Split the caliper into two and remove the pistons . You'll then be able to see what state they are in if they are bad then you'll need new calipers or you could try your luck on some second hand but they could have the same problem.if they have only a few pit marks then 1000 wetndry paper should sort it out but don't do anything to drastic. Clean all components and fit new seals then smear some brake fluid round the piston and carefully seat it back into the housing , reasemble and bleed the system and there good as new.

First things first, how do you know they are binding ? Have you had the thing jacked up to spin the wheels, to be sure ?

If they are, stuck or sticking or are difficult to spin freely, this condition could be caused by a number of things. eg, lack of use/lack of maintenance/age related problems/over adjustment of rear brakes/over adjustment of handbrake,etc, etc

Buy your self a Haynes manual, decent jack and a pair of axle stands and then simply check the basics , such as are /were the brake pads siezed in the caplipers/are the pistons working freely or are they badly rusted due to the rubbers being knackerd....it may be a simpler job than you think to rectify this problem.

Putting it in a nutshell,,,,,,,have a look before guessing and thinking the worst........

Regards


Fritz,,,,,,,