246 brake caliper leakage (catistrophic) | FerrariChat
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246 brake caliper leakage (catistrophic)

Discussion in '206/246' started by Gary48, Jul 14, 2005.

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  1. Gary48

    Gary48 Guest

    Dec 30, 2003
    940
    #1 Gary48, Jul 14, 2005
    Just overhauled my Dino and just took it out for a test drive and the darned brake pedal went clear to the floor on the first stop sign, Whew! Thank God my brother Dr. Ferrario was with me and had the presents of mind to hit the emergency brake while I had this wide eyed look of panic in my eyes. We limped home kind of shaken and found the right front caliper had lost its seal, (between the split haves) has any body experianced this.
     
  2. lukek

    lukek Formula 3

    May 2, 2003
    2,085
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    LK
    #2 lukek, Jul 14, 2005
    Yep, on an Alfa. Crappy workmanship when rebuilding calipers. But on my 74, it was more progressive, and I caught the leak before the pedal went to the floor...
     
  3. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

    Feb 14, 2005
    9,294
    CHNDLR
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #3 synchro, Jul 15, 2005
    Who had performed the caliper rebuild?
     
  4. Ken

    Ken F1 World Champ

    Oct 19, 2001
    16,078
    Arlington Heights IL
    Full Name:
    Kenneth
    #4 Ken, Jul 15, 2005
    I was always told to NEVER rebuild the calipers; you can see why! I *suppose* a real expert can do it but this is not normally considered a DIY job for sure. Even the *experts* can screw it up. White Post is famous for their lack of success with Girling brake boosters....so as much as I hate to recommend anyone be a parts changer as opposed to a mechanic, I think you should replace the caliper.

    Ken
     
  5. Gary48

    Gary48 Guest

    Dec 30, 2003
    940
    #5 Gary48, Jul 15, 2005
    I don't know who worked on the thing last, but one of the four caliper bolts was loose enough so that one of four sealing o-gaskets failed. We made new sealing rings out of blue silicone and Dr. Ferrario insisted on recommended torque spec upon assembly. He also specified us soaking the new seal material in brake fluid overnight to insure compatibility. He has seen brake fluid dissolve the handle on a screwdriver. We did this and the fluid did not touch the blue silicone. This is aircraft spec .095 thousanths thick sheet available from Aircraft Spruce. I will probably repeat this procedure on all the calipers. We just cut out the rings with two sizes of round punches, fit perfectly!
     
  6. Gary48

    Gary48 Guest

    Dec 30, 2003
    940
    #6 Gary48, Jul 15, 2005
    Good news the Doctors hands are black but the parts are clean and the procedure successful. Always good to have a doctor in the family.
     
  7. Gary48

    Gary48 Guest

    Dec 30, 2003
    940
    #7 Gary48, Jul 15, 2005
    Don't be down hearted I can fix it for you sonny, it won't take too long it'll just take money
     
  8. racerboy9

    racerboy9 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2003
    2,647
    #8 racerboy9, Jul 15, 2005
    These lathe-cut sealing rings come up on Ebay from time to time. They are probably available from Porsche Performance.
     

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