Getting to work

I saved myself a lot of greasy work buying a car with no engine. Right away I decided to replace all the brake parts. The rotors on the car were all rusted out and the first time I stepped on the brake pedal it went straight to the floor. So I removed all the old, rusted stuff and threw the rotors in the recycling bin. I decided to try rebuilding the front calipers and bought the rebuild kit from pelican. It will be awhile before I know if what follows was done right. I don't claim to be any kind of expert on this subject. An earlier yard sale purchase came in handy for removing the pistons.


The yellow clamp holds down one piston while the other gets pushed out. It takes a lot of pressure to just get the piston moving. The foot pump keeps it in control.



The piston pops out after awhile. To remove the other piston I used a piece of silicone rubber and a thick copper disk to seal the opposite cylinder.




With the open cylinder sealed, the pump is connected to the caliper brake line again and pumped until the other piston pops out.


I used ethyl (denatured) alcohol and a soft brush to clean the pistons. Over time they collect a lot of rust deposits and other grunge. The alcohol loosens it all really well.




Seating the piston seals into the cylinder groove.


Two clean pistons. I tried electro-cleaning one but that was a disaster. The hard part was cleaning the inside of each piston.


The stamped metal piece has to fit before the piston gets pushed in since you can't turn the piston once it is seated.



This one looks about right. The stamped piece can be removed so the bellows can be installed.



That's one caliper complete. I still have to get the pins for it and put the brake pads in.