A Quick Brake Query

[fastbob72]

Hi folks,got a quick question if anyone can help.

Having to replace front discs n pads for mot next week.The problem being the passenger side front has had a habit of binding and has locked a few times leading to the calliper,disc n wheel badly overheading,also the disc is now slightly warped too :)

The jhing is,it's that age old issue of a gummed n crusted up piston not wanting to go back in the cylinder.

Easy enough,strip the calliper,pop the pistons,clean it all up etc,etc.

Except all the local motor factors n parts dealers have told me I can't buy new seals.I have to buy new callipers at £80 odd a side.

Now,that seems utterly ridiculous to me.Certainly I've bought seal kits for many a car in the past so was wondering,before I go trawling thru eBay n google if anyone has bought seals for the fronts callipers n whereabouts.

cheers,bob :)

[fastbob72]

I got replacement seals and rubbers and while the callipers were off took the chance to clean them up and paint them,here's some pics :)

[Devon Aygo]

I have checked the Toyota parts catalogue and seal kits are available if you PM me your chassis number I can give you the correct part number to order from your local dealer

[t-spiritpete]

Nice job fastbob,

is that yellow hammerite paint you used?

Pete.

[fastbob72]

Thanks Devon but I got them online a few weeks back.The local dealership lost the Toyota franchise to a rival so they were busy setting up a new showroom etc,hadnt even began the parts dept.I usually go the parts dealer that sells just to trade n use a mates account but they didnt do seal kits nor the motor factors that sell to the public so ended up getting them online from a Toyota parts dealer.Thanks all the same.

Aye pete,just plain old Yellow Smoothrite from Halfords,used a sanding disc with my angle grinder to take them as far back to bare metal as possible.Only trouble is even after a week the paint still a bit soft.Next time try using their metal primer first then topcoat :)

Where they were particularly rusty i used a grinding disc but carefully.lol.

Things is now the back ones stand out for not being painted.Could do them on the car but one glance and you can tell its not been done properly when they're painted without being removed.

Suppose they'll just have to wait till I've an excuse to take them off :)

[Konrad C]

£80 per side for the calipers. I changed a wheel bearing and on of the bolts holding the mounting brackets sheared of due to it rusted in.

After trying to remove it i called around local breakers and tried eBay and no luck. I even tried a local car engineer who said it will cost me £70 to £90 to repair

Called Toyota and list this piece of metal at just under £114 including vat!

Luckily I passed my local KwikFit and the guy said to me leave it with him and he got the broken bolt out without damaging the thread. I gave him £20. Got new bolt from Toyota at just over £2.

Some parts car be expensive.

Good paint project and I noticed the Haynes manuals in your pictures.

[Druid Boy]

It is often possible to re-use the original seals as the sticking problem is usually caused by the corrosion in the calliper pushing the seals onto the piston. Local mechanic put me onto re-using them, after all if there is no leak then the seals are working ok ie sealing. You do have to be meticulous removing the corrosion and crud and then use rubber grease to lube & protect the seals but it works a treat - tested my bike brakes at Outlon Park in a 'here comes the grass' moment. No worries.

[fastbob72]

Aye you're right Driud Boy it was simply corrosion in the cylinders and the bore in the calliper itself that caused the problem but the old seals had got to the stage where they couldn't be removed without wreaking them,when the brake was binding obviously the calliper and wheel were getting red hot.If the seals were removable before the binding problem then they were literally baked into place by the time I removed them.

Don't worry,I've stripped and rebuilt brakes many times and am a true master at reusing the 'unre-usable' parts.I've spent more time under the bonnet or under the car than I have anything else since I was about 11 or 12.lol !!!

Aye Konrad,I've got stacks of Haynes manuals for most the cars I've had over the last 20-odd years plus a few years back a mate had two boxes of them he was gonna chuck until I said don't i'll take them,,had ones for an Opel Manta,the old late '70's Toyota Celica,couldn't see them just chucked in the dump didn't seem right !!!

That's an old Capri one I had kicking around,it just happened to be sitting on top my amp when I need somewhere to put them while painting and I couldn't find any old newspaper hanging around :)

[fastbob72]

Oh aye and I cleaned the pistons themselves with meths,dried them off and lightly polished them up with autosol.

As for the bores,one was fine just cleaned out with meths n again polished up with a rag,the other,the sticky one had the usual crud plus very light gritty rust but it wasnt the bore rusting rather than rust powder somehow entered after the piston was removed but had adhered to the bore making it tricky to clean.i.e using a cloth it'd be easy to scratch the bore while removing it so I ended up very lightly using 2000 grit wet n dry that i'd left soaking in warm soapy water for over half n hour,then once washed out and dried again a light polish with autosol.

I used fresh brake fluid to lube piston and bore during refitting and real care pushing the piston home,wee wooden blocks and a valve spring or coil spring compressor are ideal,i've always used a coil spring comp but the valve comp or a decent g-clamp work too :)

Then refitted them to the car with strategic use of copper grease and wire brush,bled them myself with a one way bleed kit and the job's good.

Mind you,it's the 3rd brake overhaul i've done since the beginning of July,done a Capri and a Punto too so I'm kind of fed up with brakes now.lol

[Druid Boy]

Sounds like you could do with a break!

[fastbob72]

All I get is a KitKat.lol.