caliper rebuild

[that_civic]

Hi,

So my rear calipers have been pretty bad lately, we had them off wound the piston back and forth until it became un seized, the slider pins are pitted badly, the brake sticks on but only half a pad, so now im looking at having them off again and fully refurbing them.

Question is would I need a new piston as well or is the seal kit enough to have them working again ?

All the kits ive seen are seal kits and don't include bleed nipples are the piston so i'd assume it just needs a clean and new seals to have them operating correctly but that is my assumption, I would like some advice by somebody that has done the refurb.


Thanks

 

[Pete180]

I've recently done a refurb on my front calipers using a seal kit from jap service parts (decent kit!). It's done the job and when I reviewed my piston it wasn't in bad condition so I cleaned it up thoroughly and reused it. I think the seal kit will do the job for a while, but ideally though if you have the extra cash go for a new piston. They're not too expensive and you'll have the confidence of it being brand new (looking back I should've gotten one). You'd also want new slider pins from what you said.

The kit I got came with bleed nipple caps, red rubber grease, seals and new slider pin dust boots.

 

[that_civic]

I've recently done a refurb on my front calipers using a seal kit from jap service parts (decent kit!). It's done the job and when I reviewed my piston it wasn't in bad condition so I cleaned it up thoroughly and reused it. I think the seal kit will do the job for a while, but ideally though if you have the extra cash go for a new piston. They're not too expensive and you'll have the confidence of it being brand new (looking back I should've gotten one). You'd also want new slider pins from what you said.

The kit I got came with bleed nipple caps, red rubber grease, seals and new slider pin dust boots.

Thanks for the input, I may go for a full refurb then including piston, slider pins are shot and definitely need replacing

 

[Pete180]

Thanks for the input, I may go for a full refurb then including piston, slider pins are shot and definitely need replacing

No worries yeah I reckon that's your best bet. When you come to dismantle your brake caliper, inspect the piston for pitting etc usually they'll always have some sort of marks/small grooves. Remember to clean the bore out too! get a wire brush in there and clean all the crap out the grooves. Especially the square cut seal groove

 

[typeryan]

My mate just rebuilt all my calipers for me.. All pistons and seals bought from eBay.. They are called budweg and seem very good quality and wasn't that expensive iirc.

 

[tysonzane]

Yeah I'd say if you're going to do it, just grab a full kit and do all the seals, bleed nipple, piston and sliding pins. They're cheap online from places like RockAuto and it'll give you good peace of mind that you know that wont need touching for a while. Dont forget to clean and hone (or do the poor mans version) the cylinder while you're there.

Have fun getting the piston through the new dust seals - its a bit of a tricky job!

 

[that_civic]

Further to this, I think I'm going to do this rebuild as new calipers are far too expensive .

What is the procedure to removing the piston with basic tools, I don't have access to many tools. I was thinking remove the pads and just pump the pedal hoping it would pop out but not sure that would work lol.

 

[Pete180]

Further to this, I think I'm going to do this rebuild as new calipers are far too expensive .

What is the procedure to removing the piston with basic tools, I don't have access to many tools. I was thinking remove the pads and just pump the pedal hoping it would pop out but not sure that would work lol.

It is possible to do it that way but it's a bit more difficult and rather messy as brake fluid will get everywhere! You can take the caliper itself to a local garage that has an air line and they can pop the piston out for you. Compressed air and bang, it pops out. That's what I did for mine and it didn't cost me anything, such a simple job on their behalf. I read you can use a tyre foot pump (with the correct fitment end) to push it out, again a bit more difficult though.