Brake rebuild - tips

[Guest]

In case it helps, I thought I would share some points that I have learned after rebuilding my front brakes (rebuilt & resprayed calipers, new discs & pads).

I found that Hammerite was way too soft for calipers - had to strip them & then resprayed again with high temp engine lacquer then 2 coats of clear acrylic over the paint & new decals. They look nice now, with a good hard coating.

Also, when undoing brake lines, you need to give the flared brake nut spanner (that you will of course be using!) a sharp knock to free the brake line at the caliper. If you just slowly build up the pressure, it will chew up the soft brass fitting. Of course this didn't happen to me! []

Finally, I have struggled with the Gunson's brake bleeder for years - I find it leaks in one of several places every time & it generally just a PITA to use. I invested in a Sealey professional bleeder (not too bad at £60 or so). I found that it was absolutely brilliant - best tool that I've bought for some time. No leaks, no pressure loss. Here's a link, no air line needed either. It's very robust too:

http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/Brake-Clutch-Bleeding-System-Sealey-VS820?sc=2&category=112

Brakes look lovely & work spot-on now [8D].



On to the MOT now then the rears! Hope this might help someone.

Cheers to all
Roddy

 

[Guest]

Thanks for that Maurice.

Yes, I'd heard about these even better bleeders. Do you know who makes them? Fortunately I plan to change my fluid at least every two years. Maybe I could graduate even higher one day & get an even better pressure bleeder! I just couldn't believe how nice the Sealey one was to use after years of spare tyres losing pressure, brake fluid blow-back, air leaks etc. and had to tell the World! It's so nice to use the best tools when working on your car.[8D]

You are absolutely right about the temperature tolerance of engine enamel. I couldn't find spray-on gloss black very high temp paint anywhere, so this was the next best. "No problem if you want satin or matt black Sir". Yes, as you say, track work could put the adhesion of the paint under serious strain & might exceed what it was designed for. Interestingly, I had to repaint my calipers because the black paint and/or lacquer had lifted in various areas on them all. Makes you wonder what paint Porsche used. [8|]

Cheers,
Roddy