Quite proud of myself :)

thanatu55 · Post by **thanatu55** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:11 am

I bought some really tatty old 330i calipers off ebay a couple of weeks ago and set out to restore them myself. It's only now I look back at the old photo's I realise just how bad they were! So having never done this before, I'm pretty damn pleased with myself. Just thought I'd share.

Before:

After:

enzed4 · Post by **enzed4** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:25 am

They look great

. Did you need to refurbish them (I understand there are kits to replace the seals etc)?

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:40 am

Great job OP - they look great!

Shame you already have the discs.

thanatu55 · Post by **thanatu55** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:47 am

No the seals are all ok, all original. I used plenty of degreaser and brake cleaner to clean them up a bit, then I tried to get rid of all the rust with a wire brush but soon realised doing it by hand would have taken me a year so I bought a wire wheel for my drill and even that was a hard slog! I think they turned out well enough though, made sure I got all the way down to the silver before painting.

I may replace the seals anyway though just to be on the safe side.

thanatu55 · Post by **thanatu55** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:50 am

Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:40 am Great job OP - they look great!

Shame you already have the discs.

Thanks

john-e89 · Post by **john-e89** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:14 am

They look great, top job..!!!

Kamuela · Post by **Kamuela** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:41 am

they look great!

Steve84N · Post by **Steve84N** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:20 am

I'd definitely refurbish the bits that matter as well.

jimbo1958 · Post by **jimbo1958** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:43 am

They look fantastic....great job.

buzyg · Post by **buzyg** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:12 am

Jobs a goodun. ready for the next challenge.

csquire4 · Post by **csquire4** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:56 am

Good work.

firebobby · Post by **firebobby** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:06 am

They look great, what a transformation. I have done this a few times on various cars and I would just make sure you haven't torn/ripped the outer dust seal with the wire brush.
Did you have a look at the seals and pistons ?
Do the pistons move in and out OK As you know, these are critical safety items and demand respect when working on them.

thanatu55 · Post by **thanatu55** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:46 pm

firebobby wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:06 am They look great, what a transformation. I have done this a few times on various cars and I would just make sure you haven't torn/ripped the outer dust seal with the wire brush.
Did you have a look at the seals and pistons ?
Do the pistons move in and out OK As you know, these are critical safety items and demand respect when working on them.

Yep no tears or damage to any of the seals, pistons move in and out fine. I'm going to replace all the seals anyway as I'm not going to get round to doing the brake upgrade this weekend.

Do you know where I can get everything I need for them?

thanatu55 · Post by **thanatu55** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:55 pm

Just to complete the set, that's the rears done too.

andyfanshawe · Post by **andyfanshawe** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:08 pm

Nice job.
What paint did you use?
TBH, I've stripped and restored/painted hundreds of calipers over the years, and only had to replace a very small number of piston seals and dust boots. Bigg Red are the only source I use for UK calipers and seals. http://biggred.co.uk/
Interestingly, I have never had to replace seals on any american stuff. Even leaking wheel cylinders come back to life with a quick hone with a scotchbrite pad. Amazing.

Excellent job though. I would be proud of them.
Andy

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