Brake Rebuild- Dust covers

[Tony'z911]

Sorry for this being somewhat of a re-post, but my last thread died and I'm hoping to reinstall the calipers TODAY!

I have rebuilt all 4 calipers now and would be ready to reinstall them, but I still can not get the rear dust covers snapped on so that they stay on the caliper. I have put as much effort as I could into snapping the metal ring onto the caliper but it doesn't stay on. I really don't even see what it's supposed to clamp onto.
I usually start with one side and then push it down and work my way around on both sides until I get to one small area that is left that won't sit down flush on the caliper surface. Even after wrapping both hands around the caliper and squeezing until my fingers are killing me, the cover still won't clamp down and stay.
Does the dust cover just sit there or do I really need to clamp it down so it is completely flush w/ the caliper? Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do?

PS- I'm also installing SS lines before I reinstall the calipers so any tips on that would be appreciated as well.
TIA for any replies.
-T

[Gunter]

Yeah, they can be tricky. Some rebuild kits have round clips to hold the dustcover in place, that makes it more difficult. Others have the square/rectangular profile which are easier. In any case, they must go on the small shoulder so that the dust cover stays on. Try a small screw driver, lots of patience with all parts clean and dry, including your hands. It takes "Fingerspitzen gefuehl" which means: Finger tip dexterity!!! You can do it! My experience is with the front brakes. If there is a difference with the rear, maybe someone else can elaborate. Bob Tindal has an article on Pelican Tech regarding caliper rebuild. He suggests to leave the rear piston sticking out about 1/4 inch and fit the dust cover like a turtleneck.

[Tony'z911]

Ok, I didn't get to my car today since installing a new alternator in my gf's car took a little longer than I thought.

Gunter- I know what you mean about the front DC's having that round clip that holds down the DC. They were actually a piece of cake. For the rear ones, I have left the pistons out about 1/4" and have fitted the dust cover on to the groove in the piston. Now the problem is when I stretch the DC down and try to clip it around the 1/8" flange that runs around the top of the bore. The DC fits down into a round grove in the caliper, but it will not stay down since there doesn't seem to be anything to hold it down. The DC has that little metal expandable ring inside the bottom lip of the rubber that seems like it should hold it down, but as I have previously mentioned I don't see what it attaches to. ??? I want to get the DC secured so that I can get the calipers back on the car and brake them in before next weeks's AutoX!
Still looking for help on this, Please!

-T

[gchappel]

I asked the same questions. I will tell you what worked for me, and it was actually pretty easy. The problem with the rear dustcover is that you can't get a good hold on it all the way around, you can get most of it over the lip. but when you push down on the last part- some other part of the ring lifts up. Here is the trick. Take some 5/16" dowel rod- or some people use a pencil. You are going to use these to hold the dust cover in place- that is they span from the metal ring in the dustcover to the other side of the caliper. You want them tight- so cut them a little long and sand them down to length. Push one end of the dustring down over the lip and hold it in place with the dowel. Lets call that 0 degrees. Do the same thing at 90 and 270 degrees- that is push the ring down over the lip, and hold it in place. Now all you have to do is push the last part of the ring over the lip- and you are all done. I tried for 2 evenings to just push these things on- once I found the trick I did both rear calipers in about 10 minutes.
Good luck
Gary

[squelch]

I am also struggling with these dust covers. I ended up putting a small tear in one, less than 1/16". How big of a deal is this? I assume these need to be water tight, but not certain.

Thanks

[rusnak]

do a search on mustard jar lid. I think it's the Colemans, but don't quote me on that. The right sized lid will allow the things to snap on in like 2 seconds.

[ninesixfour]

Sounds like you've got the boots covered. As far as the lines go, I did all of mine recently and installed new factory rubber lines as well as new hard lines. I recommend having the proper flare nut wrenches for this job. I didn't have them and I will by the time I do them again. Also, if they've never been done or it's been a very long time watch out when you try and loosen things as they might be a little frozen up and the hard lines may start to twist on you.

[RWebb]

yes, Colemans

other things will work - I had no problem at all with mine and used no jars of any type...

[buttjoint]

On my 89, I asked that question here and the answer was to use a gerber baby food lid. Worked real slick.

[Walt Fricke]

To some extent our varying levels of frustration with this may depend on which kind of dust cover retainer came with the rebuild kit, or which you saved from what was there. I didn't know about round vs square shouldered continuous rings. But I do know that some of these are more like a spiral - the ring goes around at least twice, sort of as if a spring wound so the coils always touched. These expand some when you push them down. Piece of cake. Some kits have one, some the other. I could never find a rythm to it, far less a rhyme or reason.

I'll have to try the dowel method, as Gerber's did not work for me.

If you tear one, myself I'd not fret too much. These are not like CV boots - critical to proper operation.

Walt Fricke

[defcon65]

Clean the grooves and remove any nicks with a file. Apply silicon assembly lube and pre-seat the dust covers. Use two 6" C-clamps and a couple chunks of 1x2 or other soft wood and work your way around. They sort of click when they seat right. You can sight across the seal and see when they are fully seated.
Hope that helps.