Caliper rebuilds

[jlevie]

I rebuilt the calipers on my Spec E30 tonight and I could not believe how much junk there was in the calipers. I've pushed something in excess of 6l of brake fluid through the system in the past two years and the calipers were still filled with nasty looking stuff. There wasn't any sign of rust on the pistons or bores, so that was a pleasant surprise.

I guess that makes some sense as the bleed nipple is at the top and flushing the brakes won't push that stuff out. They and the rest of the system is clean now!

[dashboardmonkey]

Cool, brakes are important

[xLibelle]

placebo FTW~!

but for real, regular bleeds are important.

[Money$hit]

mine need rebled asappp. rebuilding those is not fun.

[jlevie]

ATE calipers aren't that bad. Only took me about three hours to rebuild all four and push a liter of fluid through the system.

[FredK]

It took me around the same amount of time to rebuild a Girling front ATE rear system and pressure bleed the system. The Girling calipers aren't THAT bad to reseal. I did find some weird looking sludge in the calipers, though!

[chip]

Mine took about the same- plenty of junk in there also-
It took me about 4 hours plus on my e34- I think they were just messin' with me

ATE calipers aren't that bad. Only took me about three hours to rebuild all four and push a liter of fluid through the system.

[IsItElectric?]

I rebuilt the calipers on my Spec E30 tonight and I could not believe how much junk there was in the calipers. I've pushed something in excess of 6l of brake fluid through the system in the past two years and the calipers were still filled with nasty looking stuff. There wasn't any sign of rust on the pistons or bores, so that was a pleasant surprise.

I guess that makes some sense as the bleed nipple is at the top and flushing the brakes won't push that stuff out. They and the rest of the system is clean now!

I was thinking of doing the same, but haven't ever rebuilt calipers. Is it difficult? Special tools req'd?

Thanks,

[chip]

I was thinking of doing the same, but haven't ever rebuilt calipers. Is it difficult? Special tools req'd?

Thanks,

No special tools- but a dentist toolset helps, compressed air to pop the piston out- use bunched up rags to 'catch it', and most importantly- Patience.

Overall very simple to do, but it does take a few hours-

[bastianshaw]

I cant beleive im going to ask this but are ATE fronts ANY better than the girlings?

[samiam3356]

I think the ATE MC's are better than other brands but don't know on the calipers. Too bad Lee isn't around anymore to elaborate on the issue.

[jlevie]

I cant beleive im going to ask this but are ATE fronts ANY better than the girlings?

I prefer ATE front calipers over Girlings only because a full rebuild (seals, guide bushings, and guide bolts) is easy.

[mlytle64]

each has it's advantages....the girlings are better at the track because pad changes are trivial. pull lower pin, flip caliper up, change pads. ate's you have to pull both pins and lift caliper off completely.

rebuild is quite similar on both. not a big deal. it is handy having all ate though as the guide pins and bushings are same front and rear so you don't have to have as many spare parts.

[yeaseth]

mines threw up dirty vomit

[NC325iC]

Ive rebuilt a couple sets of calipers as well and there is always some junk in there. Id say with as many miles as these cars have seen with all the heat cycling in the brakes a rebuild should be done whether they leak or not just to make sure the passageways arent blocked.