hengti 2 Posted October 8, 2006 hello all i've got a very stiff nsr caliper piston (ouch!) - it has been binding and is very stiff to wind back in can anyone advise - is it possible to take them apart and regrease the piston? i presume it's threaded. anyone done this? also - the osr h'brake cable is stiff; i may aswell replace both whilst i'm at it. i remember someone once telling me that the whole system works better with two cables of the same length - but i can't remember if it's two l/hand or two r/hand cables that are needed - does anyone know? Cheers guys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted October 8, 2006 (edited) I dont know what 205 calipers are really like yet a threaded piston sounds pretty odd. But them I know know s*it a half of the time ANYWAY...siezed pistons on previous motors have been sorted sometimes by placing the caliper in a vice and using that to squeeze the piston back in. This can be done with the caliper off but not disconected from the break line. Starting with WD40 and then when its moving pretty freely using some grease. Edit: I've only done this in situ with a vans breaks (pretty big breaks) but I'm sure you could figure it out with smaller ones! Edited October 8, 2006 by BrainFluid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted October 8, 2006 cheers Nate i guess the handbrake compensator mechanism must be threaded in some way, as you rotate the piston to wind it back into the caliper body when fitting new pads. perhaps the piston has two 'bodies' - the outer one moving as a normal caliper piston might - ? clearly, i don't know what i'm talking about either ... !! i'm hoping to save myself the £60 required for a new caliper basically. i've got a spare one somewhere which i'll dig out - hopefully it'll be the right side. if anyone were able to advise how these things work though, it'd be handy, just incase I end up having to take the existing one apart Henry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted October 8, 2006 cheers Nate i guess the handbrake compensator mechanism must be threaded in some way, as you rotate the piston to wind it back into the caliper body when fitting new pads. perhaps the piston has two 'bodies' - the outer one moving as a normal caliper piston might - ? That almost exactly how it works, the inside of the piston has a threaded section which rotates independantly of the outer when fluid pushes the piston out. On a kind of clutch mech. Rather than stripping it down, cycle it fully in & out a few times to see if it frees up first as the rear calipers do become lazy if they aren't used hard weekly. Put a piece of wood between the piston & pad guide to stopit popping fully out. Stripping it will mean the rubber seals are most likely going to split & leave the piston open to the elements. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted October 8, 2006 thanks Graham. the seals do look rather delicate - wasn't sure it'd be wise to be taking things apart. will have a go at freeing it up tomorrow night - presumably i'm just repeatedly winding it in and pumping it out again with the foot pedal - ? ps. don't suppose you know which two h'brake cables i need as well?!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted October 10, 2006 presumably i'm just repeatedly winding it in and pumping it out again with the foot pedal - ? Yes, thast exactly how I'd do it. ps. don't suppose you know which two h'brake cables i need as well?!! No idea, I hadn't seen anything about using two from one side before & thought they were the exact same cable anyway which aren't sided but parts cd says otherwise. . Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted October 10, 2006 cheers managed to free it up last night - lifted the rubber seal and squirted plenty of plusgas in there, wound it in and pumped it out a few times. it now moves OK, but is still stiffer than the other side. i've a feeling it'll be requiring 'regular' attention from now on. will have to give the brakes a good work out on a regular basis to see if that helps maintain it. i've ordered a pair of gen Pug cables (L & R). They are different lengths; a local Pug specialist (who has since moved to France to trade) once mentioned that they system works better with two the same length. Don't know which two though - presume the longer ones - ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted October 10, 2006 a local Pug specialist (who has since moved to France to trade) once mentioned that they system works better with two the same length. Don't know which two though - presume the longer ones - ?I'd have thougth possibly the shorter ones as they won't be as loose & likely to hang down like you generally always seem to see on 205's where they have popped out of the fuel tank clips. Can't see why they are different lengths though, they start in the same place on the car & end in the same place just on opposite sides of the car. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted October 10, 2006 cable has been fitted now. there's not alot in it, but the o/s cable would appear to be about an inch longer than the n/s one. i guess this is to compensate for the fact that the petrol tank is a fair bit deeper on the right hand side of the car than it is on the left. i decided to leave the n/s cable in, as i couldn't get the ferrule out of the caliper - and it's not in too bad a condition anyway. i tried both the new o/s and n/s cables on the o/s and ended up using the shorter n/s one - it is a better fit. only problem is that the grommets don't line up with the clips on the petrol tank, but i hand-drilled some holes in the clips a while ago so that the cables can be loosely zip tied up - so not a problem in my case. thought others might find this interesting - if you're replacing the h'brake cables, buy two n/s ones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tenchu 1 Posted October 10, 2006 I just removed the piston on mine tonight after it had seized (again) causing me to fail the MOT (again.) It's seized on me a couple of times before and I've always just freed it of by winding the piston in and out a couple of times. This time it pissed me off so much that I stripped it right down. After all the effort of having to wind the piston out, (after taking the calipers off the car to start with) the rest was easy. No seals splitting, just clean everything in brake fluid and the piston is now moving better than ever. (Make sure to dip the piston in fresh fluid before trying to screw it back in.) I reckon it's worth the extra hassle to get it moving that bit more freely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted October 11, 2006 I just removed the piston on mine tonight after it had seized (again) causing me to fail the MOT (again.) It's seized on me a couple of times before and I've always just freed it of by winding the piston in and out a couple of times. This time it pissed me off so much that I stripped it right down. After all the effort of having to wind the piston out, (after taking the calipers off the car to start with) the rest was easy. No seals splitting, just clean everything in brake fluid and the piston is now moving better than ever. (Make sure to dip the piston in fresh fluid before trying to screw it back in.) I reckon it's worth the extra hassle to get it moving that bit more freely. thanks - good to know that they do come apart relatively easy. i'm mainly concerned about the outer edge of the dust seal on mine - the caliper is corroding where this seal fits and appears to have started to harden the rubber which'll split it eventually i guess. i'll keep a eye on it and maybe strip it down if it continues to be a problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEX 98 1 Cars Posted October 15, 2006 (edited) I priced a set from GSF as mine failed it's MOT on siezed rear calipers. £62 exchange £20 surgarge each. I freed mine off. Edited October 15, 2006 by ALEX Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
