Brakes: Restored! Not just rebuilt...

[Eric_Shea]

Well... this pretty much wraps it up:

Once the calipers have been hand tightened (this is a great time to align the 1/2's before torquing them down), it's time to take them over to the bench.

We protect the plating in the vise and begin the torquing process. These fasteners are M9 so I like to use a final torque of 29ftlbs. Here's the sequence:

Number the bolts from left to right 1-2-3-4.

Torque as follows first:

10-14ftlbs. 2-3-1-4

Next, go to final torque:

29ftlbs. 2-3-1-4

Once the caliper 1/2's are put together you should have some new calipers on your hands. Install bleeders, pads, pins and clips and you'll be back in business.

A word about your new calipers and your new pads:

1. New calipers have new seals. These new seals will tend to pull your pistons back off the pad/rotor more aggressively than old seals. This means you will have a soft pedal for a while until your seals break in. Use the proper bedding procedure for your pads and it will help break in your seals. Your pedal will eventually begin to come back up as your seals break in.

2. New pads should not squeak or squeal if they are bedded properly. There are also pads designed not to squeal but they also have the bad habit of not stopping as well as the proper pads. Rob mentioned the Porterfield pads early on. These are our favorite for both stopping power and modulation. These are an extremely predictable pad and they will easily out stop compounds of the era. Great investment for anyone thinking of "upgrading". Again, following proper bedding procedures will ensure your pads not only work well but work quietly.

I hope this helps! I'm a car guy so I love to see people dig in and get it done (the proper way) no matter what the make and model.

Feel free to ask any questions about areas I may have missed.

[conedodger]

Beautiful Eric... As usual, almost too nice to put on the car and get dirty!

Another nice thing I have noticed about the Porterfield R4S pads is the lack of brake dust on the wheels. Once they're bedded they're pretty quiet too. Very good stopping power too. Last weekend at Thunderhill I had a young lady in an RX8 spin in turn 14 right in front of me. I had come into the corner intending to pass her between 14 and 15 so I was right behind her looking at her drivers door. The brakes hauled me down to a speed that allowed me to dive around her backside on the outside of the track. Love these pads!

[Eric_Shea]

Hi Walter,

Thanks... yes, they're a tad different from your average mass rebuilder. We get that a lot too:

"Why not buy the el cheapo mass-rebuilt, assembly line calipers other parts vendors are pushing on me?"

1. Those things cost those vendors $35.00 each. They're pushing them because there's big money to be made off you.

2. The caliper bodies are vibratory tumble polished. They put them in a huge bin of media and polish all of the finish off them. Then they get an oil bath. That's it! There is "no" protective finish on them at all! Give it a few years and your bargin calipers will literally be covered with rust. We've seen hundreds of them. The ones that come from the big-box rebuilders are almost unusable in a few short years.

3. We've seen pistons in backward. We've seen two different spacers installed on one caliper. We've seen handbrake arms on various other caliper types installed backward.

4. Their fasteners (the things that literally hold your brake calipers together!) get the same oil treatment. They begin to rust within a few short years. We've had some stick inside the calipers as we attempt to tear them down.

The real benifits of zinc is the sacrificial coating properties. Zinc, by nature, will attract oxidents and literally save the metal it is protecting. Even if it is scratched off the zinc will continue to protect the steel it encapsulates. We've restored 46 year old calipers and have them come out looking brand new. All thanks to the protective properties of the zinc coating applied those many years back.

Zinc also helps protect your piston bore. While the bore is not a sealing surface, it can get wear from the piston. Wear, lack of fluid changes and rusty caliper shellac will cause a caliper to stick. This usually happens just above the seal where moisture can get in. Other rebuilders use a hone to clean out your caliper bore. We recommend against that as it leaves a fresh steel on steel surface (bore and piston). The zinc bath leaves a perfect factory finish on the inside of your caliper bore. All in all, the process will clean and replate the entire caliper and make everything good for another 30-40 years.

I'm a real advocate of having your calipers replated... obviously.

I don't want to get into the costs here because the intent was not to turn this into a SPAM thread rather than a helpful how-to.

[conedodger]

I guess you'll have to PM him Walter! I have used Eric's brake and suspension services on 3 of my 5 vehicles now. First on my 914... They still look like new years after he rebuilt them. I know Eric's very principled when it comes to not 'spamming' the boards but if you want to get in touch with him his business website is PMB Performance and he is on Facebook under that same name... Plays a mean guitar too!

I'm going to do a little talking out of school here. Like I said, Eric is very principled. I have known him for 5 plus years and I have never seen him promote his business on the boards. He instructs and that is all... Eric charged me $269.00 for the rebuild of my core calipers. The pads and shoes were extra and I don't recall their cost. Compared to the mass rebuilders that might sound a bit expensive but I always remember what my Dad told me back when I was getting into cars. 'Before you can go, you have to make sure you can stop'. I have a great wife and 4 great kids. I'm not risking my life on mass rebuilder calipers.

Sorry E, I know you don't talk prices on the boards but I think you do a very valuable service these guys need... I'll buy you lunch next time I see you to make up for telling on you!

Edited June 5, 2011 by conedodger

[conedodger]

When the calipers arrive I will be putting them on and changing out the flexible lines with SS as well as bleeding the entire system with ATE Super Blue. I will post the pictures here...

[=Enigma=]

Beautiful job Eric. Thanks for sharing the process. Your comments brought back memories of crushing my thumb with a ballistic piston. Even though I knew beforehand to watch out for that based on other posts here, it still got me. Sadly, I didn't think to get the halves plated and I'm one of those who "painted my way to glory".

[conedodger]

Calipers, pads and shoes arrived today. I am still in the process of rebuilding the triple Webers so I may not get to the brakes tomorrow but if I do, watch here for some pics of the install... I am replacing the flexible lines with SS braided lines from MSA. I went to the dealership and tried to buy stock rubber lines and I was told 'you can't get them, we just put on the SS braided line when we have occasion to do an older car like yours.' Me and Eric know a guy from the Porsche World who would turn beet red if he heard that. I have never had a problem with them but I am pretty particular about checking things.

[jaltman]

Very good reading, thanks for posting all this.

[westpak]

Wow I have to say my first thoughts when I read the first post was come on, a rebuild is a rebuild is a rebuild, clean, replace seals and boots and that is it, but after reading and seeing the process gone through here I am impressed, I might just send my stockers to get this done and skip using the rebuilt ones I bought. Very nice.

[240260280z]

2 questions:

1. How did you get the zinc plating to look so golden and shiny?

2. How can this post be converted to an "article"?

[sblake01]

How can this post be converted to an "article"?

I don't have a FB account to see it but this sounds like an "article".

You guys be sure to 'like' PMB Performance on Facebook if you want to see more of Eric's work including all these pictures in one place and original resolution.

[conedodger]

I will talk to Eric about redoing it as an article if there isn't a process to just make this thread the article. He is usually pretty busy during the week though...