Aloha, it's been a while. So, I finally decided to tear into my front brakes and see why they are hanging up so bad. Anybody have any thoughts on how to remove stuck rusty caliper pistons? I got one out of 4 out but I'm afraid of damaging the others. They are rusty and stuck. Also, I've been trying to get a hold of someone at Girodisc but they don't answer their phone or emails. Any other suppliers out there with reasonably prices rebuild kits?
Screw a grease gun into the brake hose fitting. Use "C" clamps to control the ones that move easiest until they are all nearly out. Or just send them in one piece to whoever is going to rebuild them.
good idea brian, I also do so sometimes, but before I aways try to push the brake pedal to get the pistons out a little, then I block those what are moving and when all have been moved normaly it is easy then to take them out nice to hear again from you scott with doing work on your car
I have always had luck with an air hose at 125 PSI. But, those pistons were not rusted. Grease guns would work.
That's on my list for one of the many reasons that I'd just have PMB restore them A lot of things don't add up when maintaining a F, but I can't fault the PMB value proposition - JMO...
Greetings. Patience and use the grease gun. When I rebuilt mine I used air and Brian is right minus the damage to the piston. Rebuild them yourself. Girodisc rebuild kits are good because they include the small o ring washer so you can split the caliper once you have the pistons out. I cleaned the outside with wire wheel brush They came like new. Pistons and piston wall I used scuff pads. I found a scuff pad that was round and I used my dremel to clean out and polish the pistons and piston wall. There is a groove inside the piston wall that is tedious to clean. A large round o ring is seated in that groove so cleaning it up properly is very very important. The only real pain in the ass is placing the dust seals in place with the ring clamp. The girodisc ones are ****ty. Try and be careful when taking off the existing ring clamps. I reused them as I thought that they were better quality. Again take your time brother and you'll get great results. Do not clean pistons or piston walls with wire brush. You do not want to remove any piston or piston wall material. Wire wheel is for the exterior of caliper only. R
...including in your mouth up your nose in your eyes ears and hair. I'm so glad I don't do this for a living anymore. FLASHBACK! The very first day of my very first "professional" mechanic job. I was 16 years old. Aamco Tranmsissions R&R line tech. I walked home drenched in burnt ATF. I would later find the only worse smell I would encounter in that line of work is burnt gear lube. Nauseating. Well, thanks for that little piece of mental nostalgia.
Totally agree. Compressed air is NOT a good idea. If flying pistons while crushing fingers weren't already bad, breathing the resulting brake fluid mist once it pops is also a very, very bad idea for your lungs. Picking up smoking is a lot more favorable in comparison. IWhile grease will most certainly work, I am not a big fan of using that, bit of a mess and the difficulty to get rid of it from the canals of the caliper (and you have to to avoid future seal damage). Using the hydraulic pressure of the braking system pumping with your foot or a bench device made with an old clutch master cylinder making hydraulic pressure are better in my opinion. Or indeed, bring them to a brake specialist. Much less hassle and risk, plus you usually get new paint or zinc coating and a warranty.
Normal grease will eat rubber seals..so when rest of grease is hidden in almost impossible places, you have leaking seals in no time. Suggest using brake grease instead when using a grease gun. Guido
I was just about to write similar advice. Compressed air is very good, you can do it neatly by hand tight normal air coupling to caliper and nylon tube between coupling and blow gun, very neat, does not spary fluid. Last summer I did old Mercedes that uses similar calipers, they where so tight that eventually I filled caliper with water and sledge hammered to one side piston, it also works. Issue was old grease that simply held piston down and it came through seal and splitted seal half. Clean, new seals and still using same parts, after all they where 40-years old.
Maybe I've spoken too quickly as they don't specifically list TR, but the first time PMB posted a picture of a rebuilt (really restored), replated (including the fasteners) 308 rear caliper with new Welch plugs here for a few hundred $s a pair I thought to myself "wow, you couldn't do that yourself for less - what good value". Maybe worth a call/email: PMB - Ferrari Brakes
This may help with some of the issues you might face--I've been meaning to post this for awhile. I agree with above, use grease gun to remove stuck pistons and I recommend PMB--they didn't rebuild mine but I did have them replate my parts--came out fantastic. Good luck, let us know if you get stuck (no pun intended).... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
By the way, everyone who answered with air has never encountered a stuck piston. 175lbs of air will not do the job. Grease is how the people in the rebuilding industry do it.
Correct, TR is not listed and it's not the same price as 308 or 512. I got charged around $780 complete and it was definitely worth it since all but one of my pistons were seized enough to give me a headache. They even threw in some original bleeders because the aftermarket ones they originally sent were way too long for my liking sooooooooo, be careful removing your bleeders because they are hard to find. Anyway, highly recommend PMB. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
