Brake Callipers

Thought I would share my process of restoring the front brake callipers.

Both callipers were in a bit of a state, so I was unsure of how they would come up.

Fairly sure they were both ceased.

Only one way to find out and that is to take it apart. First off remove and inspect the brake pipes. Both were cracked and need to be replaced.

Need to be careful with this oil, not very nice stuff.

With the callipers secured in the vice remove the two pins.

Then remove the spring clip

The brake pads and anti-squeal shim can now be removed. Both of mine need to be replaced.

Now on to the tricky bit. Removing the pistons. If like me your callipers are not attached to the car then you'll need some way of getting the pistons out with damaging them. If like mine they are ceased and stuck fast then what I did might also work for you.

Mine were stuck fast and on reading on the internet others had suggested using compressed air to force the pistons out. Fortunately I have a small compressor, but you could always ask your local garage. There is a small rubber washer shown in the top left of the photo above that needs to be replaced as well. This seals the joint between both halves of the calliper.

I reconnected the pipe and connected that to my air hose and then turned on the flow. Nothing happened. It took a lot of heat, penetrating fluid and some gentle tapping with a hammer to get them moving. But once they did they shifted very quickly. I used a larger screwdriver to stop them coming out completely as I could only get one moving at a time.

Once removed you can see how badly the corrosion had affected the rubber seals. Fortunately these are replaceable.

First off you need to remove the outer rubber seal

Then the inner rubber seal, which wasn't in bad condition. But may as well replace.

This left the metal housing for the outer seal. This requires just a gentle tap with a screwdriver around the top rim to ease it away the it come off.

Just the clean up left!

That'll do!

Next a degrease and a coat of primer and chassis black. As with all these main parts there are usually plenty of smaller parts that also need inspecting and cleaning or replacing.