Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey all,
i just need some help from you bright people! so just tried to change my brake pads and found out that i have a seized brake piston! so i was wondering how hard is it to overhaul the caliper?


thanks matt

Dont know if its the same but i overhauled my old patrol rear brakes. they were only a one piston non-floating caliper type. pretty easy just blew out piston via brake line inlet using compressor( very VERY careful, put a piece of wood in front of it and keep fingers away). Clean everything up, then replace seal around piston and dust seal then push/clamp back in with g-clamp. use brake fluid as a lube wen re-assemblying, otheriwse just buy a second-hand one from wreckers. Overhaul kits can be brought from any auto store but i got mine from a brake mob called tbs-bhss in brisbane and they dont cost much. Oh and if your doing one side, you do the other side as well, it wont be far off shiting itself on you.

If it realy is seized than using an air compressor with an air blower isn't going to move it if the hydraulic pressure couldn't. And if your are even a little bit unsure it's best to give it to a pro because this is brakes you are talking about - pretty serious stuff.
And are you sure it is seized? because sometimes the pistons can be very hard to push back. Try opening the bleed nipple and pushing back on the pistons so the brake fluid comes out of the nipple nice and easy and dosen't have to fight it's way back through the brake lines and junctions back into the resivoir. But if you do this make sure you clean up all the brake fluid because it will eat away at your paint!

the Beauty of using air to blow it out is that it can be controlled, on a bench with safetly precautions. a simple block of wood allowing a 20 mm clearance infront of the piston and building up the pressure with an air squirter and a gentle tap with hammer has worked everytime with me.

but the idea of using the bleed nipple to back the fluid pressure off is gold, wish i would of thought of that. you can send the whole caliper off to get rebuilt but its costs about 150 bucks and the car is undriveable till you get it back.

the guys that service all the mine cars at work weld the piston heaps (heating it up) then let it cool and out it comes, but they also replace the pistons for new ones after
dont loose the seal(2 OF) between the two halfs of the caliper as you cant buy them from anywhere even toyota

Thommo 73 wrote:the guys that service all the mine cars at work weld the piston heaps (heating it up) then let it cool and out it comes, but they also replace the pistons for new ones after
dont loose the seal(2 OF) between the two halfs of the caliper as you cant buy them from anywhere even toyota

I did a landcruiser pair months ago, and the aftermarket seal kit came with the two seals for the caliper halves. I think they were just ordinary orings, not like you couldn't throw some generic orings in.

hey thanks for ithe ideas but i reakon like the second fella said it mite be a pros job. its pretty seized. so do u reakon that if this one piston is seized the others arent far behind? so i should do something about them ??

thanks fellas

Yeah, with brakes its best to do both sides at once. And even if its not seized now, you have the peace of mind knowing that BOTH your front brakes are new and reliable, also if you do just one side the other will be a bit old and not as efficient and it may even pull.

mattfromovertheback wrote:hey thanks for ithe ideas but i reakon like the second fella said it mite be a pros job. its pretty seized. so do u reakon that if this one piston is seized the others arent far behind? so i should do something about them ??

thanks fellas

if it is siezed, its probably rusted, and if its rusty it could have shagged the bore of the piston, which means $$$.

new pistons arent cheap on thier own

look for a replace that will do a reco exchange, Slacks Creek brake and Clutch used to do this. Dunno if they still do though.

yeah hey thanks but its alrite i just talked to a mate who is mechanic and got me the stuff for trade! its good having contacts ahha.
yeah i had to get a new piston and a new caliper kit.