Hi Chris - thanks for your PM. No problem with re-producing my post here:
Calipers have come back from Classicar - I'm really pleased with the results.
From this:
To this:
All in, it cost £420 to have both of them refurbished. The bill from Classicar was £411 inc VAT and I had to have them couriered to them which was just under a tenner.
Every component in the caliper is replaced though, apart from the caliper body itself. This means new pistons, seals, spring plates, spring plate screws, connecting pipes, bleed valves, bleed valve caps, new decals and powdercoating. Then the calipers are pressure tested to make sure that they're not leaking or not working properly.
Then there's the fact that it probably takes quite a bit of persuasion to get the plate screws out - my local non-Porsche independent couldn't get them out - I have no idea of how they managed to.
New Calipers from Porsche are £350+VAT each - can't remember if that's with 10% PCGB discount, though I think it is. Then they'd come in black, so I'd have to take out the pistons, seals, plates and bleed valves to have them powdercoated red, as my front calipers are red.
Despite the fact that it doesn't look like the plates had lifted much in the first picture, when I fitted new discs last year, I fitted anti-squeal shims to the Pagid Blues I had in at the time. I had to pry the pads out with a screwdriver, then I had to use a G-Clamp to push them back in. Now they slide in very easily by hand. The difference is amazing.
Couple of coats of high temp wax and they're now back on the car. I've put back on standard pads, to try and cut down the amount of squealing the brakes make by 50%
I also unscrewed the spring plate bolts and added some extra Nickel anti seize, which is particularly good for protecting stainless steel from corroding and seizing. The plates now have a layer of high temp silicone sealant seperating them from the caliper body, so hopefully, platelift will stay away for a long, long time.
I'll take out the bolts and regrease/replace them as required, probably every two years. I've already bought some extra M6x12 button allen headed 316 grade stainless steel screws - which are marine grade and particularly resistant to attack from salt water - for the next time round. I fear the fronts will need doing sooner rather than later....
