rear caliper rebuild

[mikey]

Need some advice gentlemen..... I seem to have developed a nasty leak in my drivers side rear brake caliper on my '70 1.7 liter. It seems to be coming from the inside piston, but I cant be sure because the wheel has thrown fluid everywhere. Where is it common for these calipers to leak from?? And is rebuilding them with a standard rebuilt kit a tough job???

Mike

[John Rogers]

Well I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but the rebuild kits don't have all the seals needed to do the rebuild (missing the parking brake seal it seems) and rebuilt rear calipers seem to be pretty hard to find (ie impossible). New ones are available but are about as expensive as a complete 914! I had the same thing happen several weeks ago and finally put BMW320i calipers on the rear and of course lost the parking brake. I'd recommend looking at an earlier post about rear brakes as some people say they are available from A-1 or other rebuilding places. If you do find some, please let us all know!! Good luck.

[bowlsby]

I have heard rumors that the rebuild kits from certain sources may in fact have all the seals...

AA
GPR in San Luis Obispo, CA
Rich Johnson maybe?

If Pelican doesn't have it, then try Automotion, Kragens, Economy Imports...I've heard that rebuilds by Cardone Co. have been available through local auto parts outlets.

[John Rogers]

I called an Advance Auto PArts store in Denver and the man said he could order them and they take about 3 days to get there. Since I live in the San Diego area I plan to get our son who lives in Denver to followup on this and see if it is true or not. The price was about $85.00 and about $75.00 core for each one. I'll post more info as soon as I can get it. Advance Auto Parts web site is: http://www.advance-auto.com/

[mikey]

hey john,

Is that price for the rebuild kit, or for the whole rebuilt caliper with a core exchange??

[Scat(\/)an]

John,

I'll check at work tommorrow and get you a price and availability on those calipers. The price sounds about right for the rebuilt calipers and the core. I can't guarantee the price to be 100% accurate as the price varies between markets.

[Joe Bob]

Mikey,

As an owner of a 1970 model, I feel your pain on the brakes. But when life gives you a lemon make lemonade....8^).

I see by your profile that you are in San Diego. Go on down to Kragen Auto Parts. Buy the 320i BMW front calipers. You can get them rebuilt with pads for around $80. The core charge is something like $15.00 each. Put those on the front, put your 914 front ones on the rear.

These are bolt on for the 70-72 '14s...you will lose the use of your ebrake but you will have 40% bigger brake pads. Don't forget to look at your old cruddy brake lines. I went with stainless steel ones. Consider changing over to ATE Blue brake fluid. The fluid needs to be changed regularly BTW. Good Luck.

BTW, there is an excellent tech article on the BMW caliper upgrade. See Tim's 914 website at.... http://www.914fan.net/

[mikey]

hey mikez,

where in san diego do you live?? Do I need a 19mm master cylinder to use the bmw brakes?? As far as the no e-brake thing.....I heard of a solenoid type device that maintains pressure in the brake lines when the ignition is turned off. You mash the pedal to build up pressure in the lines and hit a switch, which locks the pressure in the lines to the rear calipers. Does this sound realistic???

Mike

[John Rogers]

If you live in the San Diego area, the 19mm master cylinders are available from any of the Porsche repair shops such as Black Forest, Dieters, etc. The "line lock" type of emergency brake will use the existing pads, which after a hard autocross run or time trial can stick to the rotors and possibly cause warping or the fluid pressure can increase from the heat and blow out the caliper seals. I found there are some small mechanically actuated calipers by Wilwood just for use as a parking brake and I have a pair and I hope to get the mounting brackets made tonight and mounted. If all goes well I'll make a tech article and take some pictures for the site here. Or you can come out to the stadium this saturday and check them out in person. Are you coming down MikeZ?

[This message has been edited by john rogers (edited 05-16-2000).]

[Joe Bob]

I live in Santa Barbara,my Dad lives in Del Mar...but I will be racing at the "Murf" on the 20th.....the 19mm master cylinder is something that is put in on a "as need basis". If your 17mm works, keep it...don't throw something away that works fine....

I did not notice much of a difference when I put in the 19mm....but the brake lines and fluid....that is a necessary upgrade in my opinion.



[This message has been edited by mikez (edited 05-16-2000).]

[Scat(\/)an]

Did some checking at work today...

A1-Cardone has rear calipers listed in their catalog for a '70 thru '72 model. Part #'s 19-1549 (left), 19-1548 (right) these calipers are unloaded and may be superceded by #'s 19-1549D and 19-1548D. Prices are $79.99 + $50 core - unfortunately, the warehouse is currently out of stock (maybe discontinued?). Bendix may have these available, didn't think to check at the time.

'73 thru '76 rear calipers are #'s 19-1133 (left), 19-1132 (right) and are priced at 83.99 + $73.00 core. Both #'s were in stock when I checked the warehouse. LOADED rear calipers, #'s 17-1133 (left) and 17-1132 (right) are also available (and in stock). These run $87.99 + $80 core.

The hydraulic parts catalog lists rebuild kits for '70 thru - '78 models, Tru-Torque # D93342 and run $13.49 per caliper - although I'm not sure if it comes with the e-brake seals or not.

[turbo2.0]

Dunb question of the day: What's the difference between loaded and unloaded calipers? Pads? pistons? Thanks.

[oredith]

yup.. loaded come with pads, unloaded are just the calipers..

[John Rogers]

Speaking of OREDITH, did you ever get the electrical problem solved?????

[mikey]

Hey,John Rogers???
How much did those little mechanical e-brake calipers cost you?? Were the mounting brackets hard to make?? Also, using the 320i calipers up front, will I have enough clearance between 2 liter alloys and front caliper. Or will I have to offset them??

Mike

[oredith]

ohhh.. electrical's a bad subject.. i've checked the major stuff, so it's down to digging into the little stuff, like individual wires..
2.5 weeks til graduation's not a good time to start digging through the car.. as long as it's moving, i'm not complaining..

Jeff

[JP Noonan]

There are a number of different alloys used on the 914, and among those there are some early/late differences within the same design.

Personally I have German ATS five stars with and the 320i conversion. Fit fine on my '75.


Which alloy's are yo concerned about? I have a set of Riveiara's I could try.

[John Rogers]

There is enough clearance as they are on my daughter's 914 also. So far I have done the following: 2x BMW calipers = $35.00, machining I did myself = $00, 2x Wilwood calipers = $150, 2x longer e-brake cables = ??? as I will get them done next week, 1 x 1/8 x 36 inch steel for brackets = $3.00, welding I did = $00. They will bolt to the hub at two places so they won't rotate. I sould have them ready to mount by this weekend but probably won't have them on but I'll bring the assemblies to the Murf so you guys can see them. I'lll take some pictures and write an article for the site here shortly.

[B Frye]

I checked with Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation 11470 Main Road / Clarence. New York 14031 800-448-7722 / In NY (716) 759-8666 / Customer & Tech Service (716) 759-8669

They indicated that a total restoration would be around $300 per rear caliper. When completed the calipers would be (for all purposes) brand new.

I know a Corvette guy that uses SSB to restore calipers that are beyond rebuilding and he swares by them.