How To - Replace Rear Callipers

[Fast Jan]

I finally got round to replacing my rear callipers today, and seeing as I couldn’t find a ‘How To’ when I was looking for one, I thought I might as well figure it out myself and complete a How To as I went along for future reference.

It was actually a much easier job than I expected – I had a mate over on stand-by (Cheers Grant!) ready for me to shout ‘Help!’ when I got stuck, but I think the only thing I needed help with was bleeding.

So here we have my ‘How To Replace Rear Callipers’


1. Chock front wheels
2. Release handbrake
3. Jack car up, stabilise on axel stands
4. Remove wheel




5. Undo calliper slide pin bolts (12mm)




6. Slide out calliper




7. Remove old pads.


8. Suspend the calliper by using tie-wraps or similar to prevent damage to the hoses




9. Calliper carrier bolts (14mm) now need to be removed. I couldn’t shift mine so used a squirt of ‘Shock and Unlock’, left it for a minute and the bolts were then removed.








10. Calliper carriers were then removed and cleaned up






11. The rubbers on the slide pins were replaced with new –

a) Pull the pin out



b) Fit new rubber things



c) Push pins back in and ensure the lip of the rubber is over the lip on the pin




12. Calliper carriers can then be bolted back on.


13. Next, the calliper itself needs to be removed. The easiest way I found to do this was to bolt the calliper back on to the carrier – this gave it the necessary stability to enable the 2 x 12mm bolts and pin to be removed.
The flash kind of messed the pic up a bit, but circled in red are the 2 x 12mm bolts and in green is the split pin/pin which all need to be removed.




14. Unbolt the 2 x 12mm bolts






15. To remove the clevis pin, I first levered out the spring pin



Then levered out the clevis pin






16. Next is the removal of the brake hoses but before removing them place cling film or similar (I used a thin rubber glove) over the master cylinder and attach with a rubber band or by re-fitting the top - this will create a slight vacuum thereby allowing fluid to be released from the un-attached hose more slowly. Brake hoses can now be removed - undo the 14mm bolt making sure to keep the washers safe. (Also, cloth and jar at the ready to catch the worst of the leaking brake fluid).




17. The calliper is now free from the handbrake linkage and can be removed (2 x 12mm bolts again – I’d only fitted them hand-tight so were quickly removed)






18. Old and new calliper comparison




19. I wound in the piston slightly using long nosed pliers to ensure it would seat correctly over the pads.



20. Remove protective cap so as hose can be fitted without any fuss and without leaking too much brake fluid all over the caliper

[Fast Jan]

21. Attach brake hose to new calliper ensuring washers on either side are in place




22. Replace clevis pin and clip in place with spring pin





23. Insert and tighten 2 x 12mm bolts after applying copper grease to bolts




24. Apply copper grease to rear of pads (making sure not to get any on the face) and slide into place on the calliper carrier




25. Bolt the calliper back onto the carrier using the 2 x 12mm bolts (copper greased 1st)





26. Bleed brakes thoroughly

27. Re-fit wheel

28. Road test being *very* careful and allowing for brakes not feeling 100%

29. After testing, pull hand-brake up and release – repeat several times until any slackness has been removed.

30. If any sponginess remains go back and re-bleed – repeat steps 27 to 29 until the brake pedal is as responsive as it should be (I think mine were bled twice rear only, and then as brake pedal still felt slightly spongy bled front and rears and then finally rear only again). There will be a lot of air in the system due to the callipers being completely empty of fluid and as they fill the air needs to be bled out. You may also find the brakes need bleeding further over the next couple of days.


If anyone knows of any proper technical terms for things I haven’t named correctly, please let me know and I’ll go back and edit accordingly.


The usual disclaimers apply - if you decide to follow this 'How To' and it all goes horribly wrong, don’t blame me

[Craigie TF]

Looks good, well done!

[MGFNorway]

Well done!

[Petevick]

excellent Jan, CJJ has taught you well. I'll link to this later in my web site.


.....nice gloves btw

[Dr Dave]

Well done Jan!

Only thing I would do is not touch the handbrake until I'd road tested the car, using the footbrake plenty, to bed the pads in etc and get the caliper set to its working position.

[Baracus]

ace job Jan

[gotenks1321]

Well done Jan Nice write up

[peterjamess123]

Good pics and talk through as said well done, one tip if i may be so bold, remove brake master cylinder cap----seal cylinder top with clingfilm/plastic bag-----screw cap back on, do this before disconnecting pipes and you won't loose as much brake fluid and more often than not only need to bleed the side/ ones worked on, but remember to remove clingfilm/plastic before testdrive if you have not had to top up while bleeding brakes. Again Good post.

[Tim.]

That's a cracking how to Jan, good easy steps and brilliant clear photos.

Have some rep.

Agree with Dave, its application of the footbrake that adjusts the handbrake up, not the other way round. Terminology perfect unless you want to be reeeeeely picky - Its a spring pin, not a split pin, holding the clevis pin on the handbrake cable.

[Yigit]

Excellent how to Jan!

[Herbie]

That's a fantastic guide Jan
I love the "condom" gloves hehe

[MGFmad]

Originally Posted by peterjamess123

Good pics and talk through as said well done, one tip if i may be so bold, remove brake master cylinder cap----seal cylinder top with clingfilm/plastic bag-----screw cap back on, do this before disconnecting pipes and you won't loose as much brake fluid and more often than not only need to bleed the side/ ones worked on, but remember to remove clingfilm/plastic before testdrive if you have not had to top up while bleeding brakes. Again Good post.

Or you can use a flexi hose clamp to stop fluid loss.

Good how to Jan

[CJJ]

I see I have competition. Nice job there. Nothing better than new shiny bits. Were the old ones sticking, or was the draw of the shiny calipers just too much for you?

Have some rep, because I know how much longer it takes when you involve cameras.

[mitchell1964]

excellent write up jan with great pics rep on it's way

[Dr Dave]

Originally Posted by CJJ

Have some rep, because I know how much longer it takes when you involve cameras.

Some would see that as a plus! Ah, wrong subject!

[Fast Jan]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

Only thing I would do is not touch the handbrake until I'd road tested the car, using the footbrake plenty, to bed the pads in etc and get the caliper set to its working position.

Cheers Dave
I did pump the pedal after bleeding and before taking the slack up with the handbrake, but I didn't make that clear in my post so will edit accordingly

Originally Posted by peterjamess123

Good pics and talk through as said well done, one tip if i may be so bold, remove brake master cylinder cap----seal cylinder top with clingfilm/plastic bag-----

Thanks - I did do this as well (well actually I used a glove and a rubber band but still did the same job so will also add that into my post

Originally Posted by Tim.

Terminology perfect unless you want to be reeeeeely picky - Its a spring pin, not a split pin, holding the clevis pin on the handbrake cable.

Thank you - yes I do want to be picky (!) so will go back and edit to call things by their correct names

Originally Posted by MGFmad

Or you can use a flexi hose clamp to stop fluid loss

Wasn't sure on this - I did loosely clamp, but wasn't sure if I should or not as I have the goodridge braided hoses on so didn't want to clamp tightly and cause any damage to them - and as I wasn't sure it was a good idea I didn't mention it and hid the clamp under a cloth for the pics

Originally Posted by CJJ

I see I have competition. Nice job there. Nothing better than new shiny bits. Were the old ones sticking, or was the draw of the shiny calipers just too much for you?

lol @ shiny, I'm not that much of a magpie really you know
And yes, it does take a lot longer when you're taking pics, but following 'How Tos' is how I've learnt to do a lot (most) of the stuff I've done over the last year so they're invaluable to me which is why I do complete them when I can - it's my way of giving a bit back to the forum I spose I did the N/S first and figured out how to do it, then took the pics and notes when doing the O/S

The O/S piston was really stiff to rewind back in (which I'd been doing fairly regularly recently due to the handbrake light being on all the time) so I was fairly sure it would stick on properly sooner or later and wanted to replace before it caused more damage.

The N/S wasn't so difficult to wind in but I think it was this one that was causing more of a problem as the car was pulling to the left slightly but would brake in a straight line. On removing the wheel and inspecting the disc on the N/S it pretty much confirmed my suspicions as the disc on this side is in a very sorry state - whether caused by heat build-up or not I'm not sure, but the surface of the disc is flaking away.

New discs & pads on order so hoping they'll be on before the MOT later this week...

Originally Posted by Petevick

.....nice gloves btw

Originally Posted by Herbie

That's a fantastic guide Jan
I love the "condom" gloves hehe

I gotta try and keep these hands feeling soft as my face some how and they sure as hell don't see enough Fairy Liquid to help much

I always start off with great intentions and gloves but usually end up taking them off and forgetting to put them back on therefore ending up in the Black Hand Gang anyway

[Chris T]

I replaced my N/S calliper today and decided to do in a slightly different way by removing the handbrake connections and the brake pipe whilst the calliper was still attached to the car. Good job I did this as the calliper was so sized on the only way to get it off was with a hammer!

I also used the suggestion of taking the car for a drive with the handbrake still disconnected and this seemed to work well when it came to reconnecting the handbrake mechanism.

[HarryB]

A lovely walk through to say the least. And as I will be in the UK in September or so I dont suppose you fancy taking on my rear brakes whilst I am there.............? (worth a try)

[Trevormgtf]

All that work and you did not fit new discs and pads at the same time, now you will have
to take them off again.

trevor