Rebuild Calipers - DIY? or Buy Rebuilt?
 

Hello,

I've seen a lot of threads regarding this process--with very few people saying that it was easy and that they had no issues rebuilding their brake calipers.

Some post that it just makes sense to order rebuilt calipers and not have to deal with the headaches associated with the DIY rebuild process.

Can anyone share your thoughts on which is easier/better and why, please?

I haven't looked for rebuilt caliper prices, but the rebuild kits our host sells are inexpensive.

This is for my 1985 911 Carrera.

Thanks.

Lawrence

If you have the time and are willing to get down and dirty, rebuilding brake caliper for our car is not much of headache.

I'm about to rebuild four calipers in my '78 ER suspension and Carrera brake upgrade.

I'll post lots of pics, but having rebuilt a number of motorcycle calipers, it's not bad. The only problem I've come across is finding pitted caliper pistons and then having to source a new pair. This just adds unforeseen time to the rebuild, whereas buying refurbished calipers is just a quick swap.

I did my own because I am broke and cheap.
If I could afford it, I would DEFINITELY pay the pros for this job.

I agree with rnln, not really that hard. I did my rear calipers last winter, and it just took a little time. I had never done a caliper rebuild before. Mind you, this was NOT splitting the caliper halves, just remove and replace the piston seals. The part that took so long was cleaning the piston bore in the caliper. There was a lot of gunk caked on the inside of the bore that took some pretty good work with a scrubee type pad to get off. Once done and a back together, put in new fluid and bleed. It would be a good time to replace the rubber lines if they have not been checked/replaced for a few years.

HTH,
Craig

I did mine for the first time over the holidays. I was a little hesitant to tackle at first. Would do again in a heartbeat after doing once. Comments below.

1). After lots of reading here about tips / tricks, found the process to be easier than expected.

2). Two things were a little troublesome but not deal breakers looking back. The caliper bolts were a bear to break loose. Wasn't expecting that. The dust boot covers are a little fiddly to seat but bending down a few of the metal tabs made it easier.

3). I got a WHOLE LOT DIRTIER than expected. My hands still have traces of brake grime.

I spent a day taking everything apart and maybe another day to clean and put it all back together. Really was pretty straightforward. No "oh crap, what did I get myself into" moments. Even getting the piston orientation correct in the calipers was easy. Brakes are silent for me now (squealed like a pig before).

Worth doing too... one of my rear pistons was binding and all the dust boots were mangled. Brakes feel way better now.

I rebuilt my own calipers without too much problems but after seeing this video of the proceedures at PMB, this is the route I will go next time. I say this simply because my brakes are still gray and old looking and the re-plating that they do makes it worth the cost to me (I think they charge about $300 per pair for a complete restoration but you would have to check their site)


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DIY rebuild but only after pulling the pistons and confirming the condition of the piston's cylinder bore and the pistons themselves. Any doubts at all and go to reman.

Almost any parts shop can get you remans less expensively then some Porsche vendor.

I read a lot of threads here about rebuilding calipers and almost all said not to split the caliper halves if they aren't leaking. After seeing that video, I'm not real sure what the reservations would be as long as you have the correct O rings and a torque wrench.

There really isn't that much to doing a rebuild. I did my M's. I am certainly glad I didn't need pistons. I think the pistons I sourced were more than whole rebuilt units.

You wasted a LOT of time needlessly.

"pig sqealing" is mostly due to the lack of chamferring both the leading and trailing edges of the brake pads. Your new pads undoubtedly came chamferred but when they begin to squeal just take a file....

How did I waste time?

My labor is free, my rear caliper had a frozen piston, the boots were all torn and I had odd braking symptoms. Rebuilding the calipers, new MC, new pads, new hoses and lots of bleeding gave me a great (and more confident) brake system.

I'm rebuilding the calipers of my SC right now and it's been pretty straight forward. I ordered my seal kits from Eric at PMB which include the seals that go between the halves. Eric is a good resource and is very willing to talk over the phone and answer your questions. He's the source!

From my experience:
If you want them replated like new, have Eric at PMB do them.
If you don't mind a painted finish, rebuild them yourself.

Anyone have theirs zinc plated while they are apart? Any issues with this??

If I can do it, anybody can. I rebuilt brakes on two cars, a 70 and an 88. Sticking pistons and mangled boots. New lines pads etc. Painted with caliper paint. Lots of bleeding, the brakes that is. Gives you a satisfied feeling and you know more about your car. Compressed air is your friend but use with care. You can do it.

In the video, PMB zinc plates while the halves are sepreated.

I did mine and just repainted them with gold high-temp paint. They came out really nice looking and functioning. As Craig states above, you likely will need to clean out a lot of gunk in the piston chamber. I had to.

Also... I used a grease gun and a zert adapter on the bleeder to pump the piston out. I can explain how I did this in more detail if you wind up with a stuck piston like I did. Works like a charm.

I did mine about 6 mts ago. A dirty job but not a hard one. I used air to remove the pistons and to make the job very easy i installed speed bleeders.

They are the duck's guts! I wish they'd make them for other vehicles.

Like in lots of different sizes? Speed Bleeder Sizes

:-)

andy

Same here, ...I did mine with my son-in-law (who IS a real mechanic)...no splitting of the halves but a nice rework,..very dirty job,..but very rewarding when we tasted success.

Certainly not complicated, although he was surprised to see me brake out the 20 degree angle plate!!!!!

Next time, I'll get new sets unless my son-in-law needs some side work,..I don't mind paying him for doing the grunt work (plus I get to learn, as he does)...good times, for sure.

I think everyone should do it once!!!!

BEST!

Doyle

I was scared to work on my brakes, but ended up taking the advice here from the community, which was pretty much (as you would expect) "GO FOR IT!".

I didn't care about how the calipers ended up looking, I just wanted them to work as designed, so no fancy plating or painting of the exterior. It was an easy job and I'm glad the forum egged me into it, as now I know how to do it and it's one more thing I can do. It was also very cheap with the new seals and other items sourced from our host.

Good luck, whatever path you choose!

Schnell --- I am also redoing the calipers for my 83 SC. I actually bought another complete set of calipers (used) from the Pelicans here. I am taking my sweet time with the job.

I am about half way on the disassembly. I also used the grease gun method. Boy does the job get messy!!!!

How did you end up cleaning out all the grease --- especially from the piston chambers and the brake fluid ducts?

I cleaned them up with a bottle of rubbing alcohol before installing new seals. They cleaned up fine. I also blew some air through the bleeders.

My mytyvac was handy for sucking alcohol back through the bleeders.

As part of the rebuild do I have to take the calipers fully apart, or can I do the basic rebuild without the full disassembly?

I'm not planning to paint/coat the calipers; I only want to replace the seals/gaskets.

Thanks.

No need to split the calipers for a basic rebuild.

Thanks! I will use alcohol to clean.

DIY no doubt...

DIY here also; in fact my rear calipers are still waiting to be put back together.
If you run into problems Eric at PMB has good advice and additional parts you may need.
In my case a couple of piston were frozen and cam out damaged and Eric managed to find me a couple of used one as replacements.

This may help answer some questions

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/660577-brake-caliper-rebuild.html

what is the advantage of having the brakes zinc plated?

Remeber this guy trying to find the o-rings to put the calipers back together? http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/171144-split-calipers-seals-warren.html
I wonder if PMB would share what they use for seals?

For the caliper rebuild for a 3.2 is it the rear dust seal installation where you start throwing things?

Rear dust seal
 

Yes, that was my only issue with the entire job. Some say it just pops on but that wasn't the case with my 87 calipers. Several threads on this detail, I wound up eliminating about 1/2 of the "clips" and then got the seal to stay in place. Its still holding 2 years later. Front and back parts are not the same for who knows what reason ! (good thing the seals aren't a huge functional issue regardless, especially for those of us doing DE's and a lot of brake maintenance.)

Eric suggested somewhere that a 914 dust seal would fit the Carrera rear calipers... I haven't tried it yet.

Eric will sell you all the o-rings you need

I had Eric at PMB do the calipers on my Alfa GTV after letting them sit on a workbench half full of grease (from attempts at freeing the pistons). Besides sandblasting the car and reseating the valves this was the only thing I did not do myself on a bare metal rebuild. It was HIGHLY worth it and he turned them around like lightning.

I plated mine. The only issues were:
1. The platers took forever... something like three months
2. The plating was expensive... like $300+ for four calipers and hardware.

All said and done, I probably have a little more than $400 into the project, with all the cleaning supplies, rebuild kits, brake cylinder hone, etc...
Next time, I would probably have Eric rebuild them.

Here's how mine turned out:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343318767.jpg

I agree with the others that this is a fairly simple task, particularly if you don't need to split the calipers. I just completed a successful front brake job, based on the info I found here from fellow Pelicans.

One thing I noticed when I was disassembling my calipers was that the "top of the C" on the pistons, for want of a better term, lined up with where the brake line threads into the caliper. So I just used that as my guide when I reinstalled the pistons and didn't need to mess with an angle plate. The brakes work perfectly and don't squeal, so I figure I got it right. Here's a pic I took before taking everything apart to show what I'm talking about.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...-24-40_893.jpg

Job almost done !
You guys inspired me to have a go rebuilding my callipers.
4 hours later and the pistons had new rings and dust covers.
One piston in every calliper was so stubborn, luckily they weren't too deteriorated.
Just need to sort out some decent disks and pads and it will be job complete.

Thanks for the info. I'll be ordering my rebuild kits today!