Re: TQC Rear Caliper Rebuild

[steveb@newkla.kla.com (Steven Buchholz)]

Tales of ur-Q rear brake caliper woes:
> > 
> > I got one rear caliper off the car last night.
> > This is the one that has the sticky emergency
> > brake lever.  I tryed to get the three bolts
> > off the inside to open it up and broke off one
> > head.  Lots of rust, too much muscle, setting sun. :-(
> > Anyhow, I'm looking for wisdom on how to get it
> > freed up and generally put back together.  I will
> > get a 12 mm hex and spin out the cylinder tonight.
> 
> I have the same problem...and after talking it over with two different
> mechanics, the only answer I come up with is $$. They both said that
> sometimes you can get lucky with a can of penetrating oil and _LOTS_ of
> elbow grease. Just keep spraying and moving the lever back and forth and
> over time is "might" free up. I asked about the rebuild kit and they told
> me that it only contains the seals and won't help the E-brake.
> 

You folks might want to look into rebuilt calipers ... I didn't have a prob-
lem with the functionality of the E-brake, but the piston seals were long 
gone.  I talked to my BIL about the availability of rebuilts, and so he 
ordered a set for me.  He said that if I didn't like what I saw he could 
send them back, no problem.  I was pleasantly surprised to receive brand new 
OEM calipers as rebuilts.  We figured that the manufacturer bought a set or 
two to serve as seeds for future rebuilds.  This was quite a few years ago so 
I can't remember how much I paid.

Steve Buchholz
s_buchho@kla.com