Brake caliper spreader - Porsche special tool

[DarrylD]

Hey Gents!

I was looking for that special tool required to service the disc brakes. In the Bentley manual they show the caliper spreader special tool that looks like this:



But it goes for over $100 from the sources I could find via Google.

BUT... I did find this one:



at www.zdmak.com for only $29.95!

So anybody seen where one could be found cheaper or have any problem with the zdmak version?

I've got a hanging caliper (again) and swore I wouldn't fix another one without a caliper spreader! This is a tool that gets used about once a decade if I'm lucky so I'm not looking for a professional quality tool.

[juanbenae]

i have got a length of 1"x4"x12" doug fir that works well. best part is that mine doubles as a bit of kindling should it get cold and my furnace is on the blink. it triples as a surface to exercise your calipers too.

nice find though. maybe i will get one for my pops for xmas. then maybe he will give me his 1x4 brake tool.....

[Rot 911]

I use the handle of a wooden hammer. Slide it between the pistons, twist the head, pistons retract. Don't forget to watch for the brake fluid rising in the master cylinder!

[RickM]

I really like that $29 jobber.

[BK911]

I use the old brake pad. It just happens to be the perfect thickness. Coincidence? I don't think so!

[Bill Verburg]

I use and Eagleday, but thats even more expensive than factory.

Cheapest is some old pads and a pry bar. next is some NAPA spreaders ~$10

[Hugh R]

I use a big "C" clamp.

[alan911]

B.F.S.D... tool

It's a really big screw driver leveraged against the old pads. Works like a charm. Been using it on disk brakes changes for 40 years.

But I guess if you need to spend those kind of bucks to do the job then, go for it. Sure looks pretty though.

[juanbenae]

40 years? i did not even think disk brakes had been around that long.....

[Grady Clay]

Here is the Factory tool P-83, I don’t think it is $10.

"
"
(C) 1969 Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche A.G.

I have this tool and still prefer the pry-bar and wood technique.

Best,
Grady

[alan911]

K9....how old are you ???

British cars have had them for a gazillion years.

[randywebb]

PAG was criticized in the 50's for being slow to move to disc brakes in their cars....

[masraum]

a couple of C clamps work wonders, but I bet one of the spreading tools is much easier. I'm glad that I can come up with ways to get things done, but as I've gotten old enough to get the right tool for most any job I've decided that the difference between what works and the right tool is too much to ignore.

[Joeaksa]

Used a pair of "C" clamps for years, works well and use them on other projects!

Jaguar won Le Mans in the early '50's because of their disk brakes, and they were installed on airplanes before this. Been around a long time...

Joe A

[Evans, Marv]

I've kept an eye out for a tool similar to the one Grady posted for years. Haven't located one. Seems like there should be something around.

[DarrylD]

Here's another style of caliper spreader I found:



This one goes for $29.75 at www.handsontools.com

I think I prefer the zdmak one for about the same price.

[DarrylD]

After looking at all these calipers spreaders, I'm wondering if any of them have the leverage required to un-stick a frozen caliper.

Right now I can't even turn the rotor without about a 3' length of 2x4 levered between the wheel studs and risking a popped spincter muscle. The rotor and pads look great so I don't want to take the chance of damaging them getting the caliper off the rotor.

So is a block of wood and a hammer to drive the unbolted caliper off the rotor the only way to do this?

[gredtarga]

FYI: My rears on my 83sc were stuck and the c-clamp/wood thing didn't work at a reasonable force like the front, so I spent the cash ($97) and bought the special tool from Baum Tools #1023/4. Perfect fit for the caliper, fixed the lightly stuck piston and new rear pads dropped-in with ease.

[David E. Clark]

Originally posted by k911sc
40 years? i did not even think disk brakes had been around that long.....

According to Wikipedia:

"Experiments with disc-style brakes began in England in the 1890s; the first ever automobile disc brakes were patented by Frederick William Lanchester in his Birmingham factory in 1902, though it took another half century for his innovation to be widely adopted. The first modern disc brakes appeared on the Jaguar C-Type racing car in 1951. In 1950, disc brakes appeared on the first production car, the Crosley Hotshot, followed by the Chrysler Imperial in 1951."

[emcon5]

I have always just used a screwdriver against the old pad.

Tom