'83 SC Brake Caliper Removal

[Gordo2]

Folks,

In the process of replacing rear pads and rotors. 101 suggests leaving the brake line attached and removing the "clip" that separates hard brake line to rubber to allow caliper movement without bending the hard line. SC service manual recommends removing the brake line.

I don't see how the 101 tip works. Do you push the hard line back through the loop to give a little movement? I haven't got the calipers off yet so I can't tell if the hard line can push through the hole of the mount bracket.

Also, is a 19mm box/open end the best way to get at bottom caliper retaining bolt? That thing's in one heck of a spot... Is the brake line held on at the caliper with an 11mm or 12mm nut fitting?

Bummer of a night. I thought I was going to get away with spinning my rotors. One of the pads was worn to metal chewing up the backside of my rotor. Good thing I'm somewhat mechanically inclined or this ride would chew me up and spit me out at a shop...

Nothing like 2 projects at once. I sanded wheel# 2 tonight in prep for re-paint.

DougE, if you read this... I'm behind the power curve to make the November ride. Need to wrap things up by this thursday, out the rest of the month.

Thanks, Gordo

[marcesq]

Too many projects . . . too little time hey Gordo.

I think we had a cheap 19mm wrench that was thinner than most when we rebuilt Doug's rear calipers. It is a bit of a problem.

The next run won't be until the middle of Nov. Maybe you'll be able to join us.

Look forward to meeting you, and the new 911

[Tyson Schmidt]

I usually use bungee (sp?) cords to support the caliper and only move it out of the way as much as I absolutely have to. If you're careful, it will be fine.

The clips are shaped like an upside down U. I use pliers to grab the little lip and wiggle it back and forth while pulling it away from the line/control arm.

[Doug E]

Gordo -

DON"T push that hard line because it won't move! You only want to bend the flexible hose part as the "loop" connection between the two is only a slot and not a hole. One end of the fitting slips into that loop so the assembly is held in place and then there is a metal plate backing.

The bungee cord idea is a good one but you might also try zip ties.

Yes, that lower caliper bolt was a tough one. I used a box 19mm as a ratchet could not get up in there.

I don't remember the fitting size between hose connections but DON'T use anything other then a flared-nut wrench as otherwise you are likely to strip the connection. As I'm sure Marc remembers, a few of my connections were very very very tight and with-out that flared-nut wrench we would have destroyed the lines.

All in all it was a much easier job then I initially thought it would be so don't worry, you'll be fine.

BTW, Marc is correct about the probably mid-November date so good luck getting her back on the road by then!

[Gordo2]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Here's a new tip: My brake line attachment at the swing arm was corroded in place. Removed the clip and it didn't budge. I sprayed it with some PB Blaster, removed the caliper retaining bolts (to free up some movement on the line) and tapped the brake line with an extension and hammer to free it loose in the hole. Once loose, I had enough freedom of movement to get the caliper out of the way (and hung with a coat hangar).


And another free tip: Bottom caliper retaining bolt is in one heck of a spot. I went out tonight and bought all sorts of tools to get at it (can't have enough tools... my wife already Loves this project). Best I found actually turned out to be the cheapest. Bought a set of box end wrenches with bent arms from Wal-Mart (Stanley set of 4, 9mm to 21mm for $14). Worked like a charm, just the right bend in the wrench to get at it without interference.


November is looking more and more out of the question. Once I got the caliper removed I noticed the dust boots were scrapped! Looks like I am in for a caliper rebuild as well. Since I'm taking the calipers off I may as well sandblast them and possibly paint. Since I now need to take the brake lines off, I will need to bleed my lines. May as well flush the system.

Can't stand the idea of driving around with the Targa top on. What do you think, January sound like a good time for a drive, I know my heater works, couldn't shut it off when I drove it home from purchase...

Can't say I'm surprised at my finds, after all I bought it for $5,700 expecting to find got-ya's. Guess I was hoping it wouldn't be required until this winter.

Note to self: Recommend to people getting PPI's done to ask for a good check out of the brakes...

Taking plenty of pictures. Will update this post with them when I get time to download.

Gordo

[Hal & Linda]

Gordo,

I just did a 4 caliper rebuild project that started out as a simple replace the old rubber lines idea. Seems that one thing led to another - the brake pads looked a little thin and so did the rotors.

Then somewhere along the line i got the "wouldn't red calipers look nice" bug, and since I had to remove the calipers to replace the rotors with the nice new cross drilled Brembo's anyway, I figured this would be a good time to look at the pistons.

Yep - the dust boots were so badly torn I zapped off the order to Pelican Parts for two sets of front and rear rebuild kits plus some nice ATE Blue to flush the whole system out. (my steel lines were really hard to remove even after spraying them a couple times a day for three days - and they are 11mm - be sure to use the flare wrench if yours are anywhere like mine).

I used the 101 projects book and everything looks look good EXCEPT for one minor problem - my brake light stays on. Everything looks perfect, car stops straight as an arrow, parking brake holds at 4 or 5 clicks and is really off when down. System was flushed and bleed. Any thoughts what may be causing this?

Some random things I found to look out for:

the 20 degree tool - made ours out of stiff cardboard. Got one set of pistons set at 20 degrees from the wrong side anyway but they were easy to get back out and turn the right way.

I cleaned our calipers with brake cleaner but really would have been happier sandblasting them as some oil and baked on crud must have been still there. I wire brushed them before and after cleaning but when I painted them there were some spots where the paint didn't hold up quite right. Sand blast them!

The caliper rebuild kits were really easy to install - but follow the instructions to the letter, especially the part about attaching the rear dust boots.

We took some pictures but I can't attach them because they're around 200K each - but looking forward to seeing yours as your project moves along.

All in all we're pleased how this came out - hope yours does as well.

[Chris Bunker]

If you never want to worry about stuck pistons again, I would recommend replacing the stock pistons with stainless steel ones. I bought some from Stoddard when I did my 78 caliper rebuild last year.

[Hal & Linda]

last week I posted a question in this thread about the brake light staying on. Asking the question to several local Porsche experts gave me three different answers:

Answer number one: disconnect the battery, wait 10 seconds and the switch will reset itself.

Answer number two: there's a problem with the clutch that uses the same switch, and

Answer number three: there's a brake safety switch that needs to be electrically reset by the dealer.

Well, the clutch on the '83 does NOT share any common warning switches, and technically, the third answer would be correct if the reset procedure the dealer followed was to (hold your breath, now!) - disconnect the battery and wait 10 seconds then reconnect the battery and the switch will reset itself.

Seems there really is a safety switch that trips when the brake pedal hits the floor - just like it would when you're flushing and bleeding the brakes manually.

Too bad there isn't a blushing smilie...