Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Maintenance advice to keep your Spider in shape.
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kuhndg

Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by kuhndg »

Hi all, Last night I started the brake part of my restoration. I am trying to rebuild the front calipers and I followed my manual, and it was very helpful up to the point when I blew air into the bleeder stem to remove the piston. That did not work, and I really didn't want to force anything knowing I could pick all of your brains. The car has sat for two years and the dust boot was totally deteriorated! The positive is I drove the car from North Carolina to Wisconsin when I initially bought the car and the brakes worked fine then.

Thanks

Bob
mbouse

Re: Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by mbouse »

my own personal preference is to buy the calipers rebuilt from Rock Auto. use the 'stuck piston' caliper for a core.

then again.... i have a set of front calipers ready for rebuilding that you could buy for $15/side plus shipping.
So Cal Mark

Re: Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by So Cal Mark »

with the caliper off, blow air into the threaded hole for the banjo bolt while the bleeder is closed. Make sure you use a shop rag or piece of wood to cushion the piston when it comes out, and keep your fingers clear (all the while wearing safety glasses). Use a blow gun with a rubber tip to seal the air blowing into the caliper
Flyingthere

Re: Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by Flyingthere »

I have had the same problem, twice and the air did not really help much but hooking it back up and using the brake system to pump it out worked well both times. Have a friend pump the brake slowly for you the the piston will pop out, it should be pertty much an non-event. The only thing to remember is all the brake lines must be hooked up to something. :idea:
kuhndg

Re: Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by kuhndg »

Thanks, after talking to a couple of you guys with pm's. I went ahead and bought new ones at the AutoZone for $40 each with a $7 core charge. Seems when its all said and done it probably wasn't worth the time and effort to rebuild them when you factor the warranty issue into the equation. Thanks for the feedback!

Bob
jimmycakes401

Re: Stuck piston on front caliper rebuild

Post by jimmycakes401 »

How did those $40 calipers work out for you?
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