NA8 Handbrake setup?

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:20 pm

Rebuild the calliper - do it!

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:09 pm

There's an o-ring that goes around the caliper adjuster screw. It's there to stop the fluid from escaping out the back of the caliper - as yours is doing. You've probably damaged it while you've been playing with that screw. You could just replace the o-ring and be done with it. That would be bad because you already have signs of rust/water/damage in the back of the caliper which must be investigated. You have 2 options:
a) get 2 rebuild kits and do them yourself but make sure that you get someone independent to check your work, or
b) get someone with the knowledge to do it for you and watch and learn

I'd go b).

dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:49 pm

Yeah I must of tweaked it the wrong way but I'm under the suspicion that it's been giving me grief without me realising.

About 6 months ago when I did my rotors and pads I noticed the adjuster hex was wet but I didn't take much notice of it.

Then a few months ago I bled my brakes and that same caliper had a huge amount of air in the line.

I've also been upset with the average braking of my car, albeit not lack of power but lack of feel and grip. I've ordered 2 rebuild kits so they should be here soon hopefully. And if there is someone in the north shore of sydney who would be willing to help it would be much appreciated. I'm pretty sure I can handle it thou. There's only one way to learn.. Is there anyway to test them prior to installing them. Maybe a compressor or something?

Cheers.

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gslender · Postby **gslender** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:31 am

You will need to make or modify a tool for the circlip - I bought one from SuperCheap and hacked it to suit the purpose. It is a bitch of the place to get, but easy when you know how.

dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:11 pm

I'll figure it out. I've got some time before my rebuild kits arrive so I'll start by dismantling the one I've taken off and cleaning it up.

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dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 7:54 pm

So i'm currently rebuilding the trouble calliper and its going smoothly so far.

Ive cleaned out all the brown gunk and muck by spraying brake cleaner inside and out and have now noticed a bit of pitting inside the calliper which by the sounds of it is normal.

All the seals i've removed have been fairly fresh but i did notice that where it was leaking from, the lip of that seal wasnt exactly flush on the calliper which i'm not sure of which could be the cause of the leak.

One question i have is as far as the grease supplied, how much do i use?

i've coated all the seals and rubbers inside and out with it along with a liberal amount used on the hot dog thingo and internal adjuster screw thread, head, and rubber o ring. Ive basically filled up the adjuster screw head so the hotdog is sitting in grease.

Is that ok?

Thanks,

Jono.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:00 pm

Pitting inside the bore can be terminal. Take it to a brake specialist for his opinion on either using the caliper as is, honing it, scrapping it or re-sleeving it.

I don't know these guys at all but they have the right sorts of competencies.
http://www.chatswoodbrake.com.au/site/i ... p/services

Also good background info about re-sleeving and re-manufacture from these guys.
https://www.powerbrakes.com.au/index.ph ... 1128396544

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:13 am

Post pic. Small amount of pitting is ok, but lots will just continue to leak and allow fluid past the bore

dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 12:26 pm

Bit of an update so far..

I pulled the caliper apart and put it back together with fresh seals which went together pretty easily. Only a couple of things were tricky like trying to get the circlip off the internal handbrake adjuster screw so i just adapted a very small pair of long nose pliers to get it out (i filed the tips much finer and round) which worked a treat. That and getting the piston seal back in with half on the end up the piston and the other half of the caliper but it only took me 45min which i was surprised by..

So after i finished that i mounted it back up and connected everything up. So at that point i started bleeding and straight away, same issue :evil:

That wasn't surprising to me as all the seals i took out were in great condition and i managed to salvage all of them.

So now i've been talking to a guy who said he would re-sleeve the caliper and have it better then new. So now ive droped my caliper off and hopefully everything should be hunky dory. Only thing im worried about now is all the other calipers

Thanks for the help everyone i will continue to give updates with any developments.

Jono

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 1:08 pm

Interesting, where was it leaking from?

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dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 5:46 pm

Same place as before, behind the handbrake cable mount, so i'm guessing from the o ring on the adjuster screw. Hopefully they can reuse the seal kit i put in.

Do you guys no if they will bench test the caliper to make sure its not leaking?

Cheers.

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:59 pm

That is a really, really odd place for it to be leaking. The handbrake arm / cam is normally well sealed and wouldn't normally be place for leaks ?? I can't even imagine it wearing out unlike the piston, which is a common place for leaks.

dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:05 pm

gslender wrote:That is a really, really odd place for it to be leaking. The handbrake arm / cam is normally well sealed and wouldn't normally be place for leaks ?? I can't even imagine it wearing out unlike the piston, which is a common place for leaks.

The pistons were clean and dry as a bone.

According to the guy who's re sleeving them, they leak from the handbrake all the time. Just a few hours before i dropped mine off there was another guy who picked up his mx5 calipers with the same issue.

Im sure my handbrake was losing pressure at the calipers when i ripped the handbrake.

Should be interesting to see what happens when i get the caliper back.

Jono.

gslender · Postby **gslender** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:55 pm

Just odd as re sleeving normal means the piston and bore, but if he's doing the handbrake cam sleeve then I guess so.

dmad_dood · Postby **dmad_dood** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:21 am

Basically what was happening is that over time and because the car stood for very long with the guy who owned it before water was getting into the brake fluid and rusting the caliper inside out.

So where the o ring slides up and down on the bore it was very slowly rusting out and progressively leaking more and more fluid until it just came gushing out.

Soon in the mean time waiting for the caliper to be resleeved I pulled and rebuilt the other took it past the shop and that ones all good.

I should be getting my caliper back today and we should be good to rock and roll when I get a chance I'll put pics up.

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