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1990 240 ATE caliper rebuild?

durk80

durk80

Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Location
South GA
Hi all! My back caliper is weeping brake fluid. I saw on clean flame trap's website a rebuild on the fronts.I read about the remanufactued calipers with chrome plated pistons wearing out prematurely. How hard of a job would it be to rebuild them myself and would i need any special tools? Thanks!
 
It’s two seals and two dust caps, pull dust cap off piston, pressurize using air compressor to push pistons out, carefully remove seal from piston bore, install seal, piston then dust cap and done. Don’t separate two halves of caliper. Rebuild kits are available through iPD and FCP
 
You won’t need any special tools, but compressed air makes it easier to push the pistons out. Sometimes you don’t know if the pistons have corrosion that can’t be cleaned up until you’ve taken your car all the way apart, so take that into consideration.
 
Radtap said:
It?s two seals and two dust caps, pull dust cap off piston, pressurize using air compressor to push pistons out, carefully remove seal from piston bore, install seal, piston then dust cap and done. Don?t separate two halves of caliper. Rebuild kits are available through iPD and FCP
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Thanks for the warning about splitting the calipers apart. I knew there was something i shouldnt do!
 
nel621 said:
IF you're lucky the pistons will come out with compressed air.
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If second one doesn’t pop, install dustboot over empty bore and clamp a flat piece of steel to create a seal that allows other piston to pressurize
 
Using compressed air is dangerous, if they are that stuck, I had a friend that almost lost a finger when the piston popped using compressed air. I use a grease gun with a hard line to the caliper to push out the pistons, put a piece of steel in the rotor slot the size of the slot so that each piston will stop before it comes out of the bore. If you are rebuilding them anyway,clean/blow out the grease and brake clean them, clean the groves and the bore of rust, use a good brake lube when you put them back together.
 
Stick a wood block in between the pistons, I mean just don’t stick your hand inside a caliper meant to stop cars lol
 
Radtap said:
If second one doesn?t pop, install dustboot over empty bore and clamp a flat piece of steel to create a seal that allows other piston to pressurize
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Love this idea, Radtap and 283SD, as well as placing a block of wood between to keep everything nice during the extraction process.
 
Redwood Chair said:
No.
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What a drag! I couldn't find any that were just stainless. The Rock Auto description said that they were made of stainless and aluminium, and I went ahead and bought them just in case the pistons are gone. Although, if I have to use those new ones, it sounds like I'll be rebuilding them again in no time. The brake lines have been filled with rust in the past and probably still have some residual rust. I've flushed them at least 4 times, and at least twice it was done by a mechanic when he installed poly bushings and replaced some hoses.Thank you for your insight!
 
Why not just replace the brake lines at that point? I'd be worried about rust eating through a brake line. There's likely contaminants left in the brake system that can cause future issues.
 
If the dust boots are torn they're probably cores / trash anyway, so take a look before you go too far down the 17? /hr rabbit hole and have to buy a rebuilt caliper anyway.
 
Farrell Stainless Steel Pistons. The # I have for them is 1 631 454 1977, haven't used them in a while.
 
I only use a grease gun if one is VERY stuck. Clamp the free one in place, pump until the stuck one is almost out. At that point you are also looking at honing, so it needs to be split, making the grease mess less of an issue.
 
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