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Brake caliper refurb

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:57 pm

After recent issues with a seized caliperviewtopic.php?f=2&t=98292&p=1440598&hil ... s#p1440598 which I think was actually due to the pads not sliding freely because of corrosion / dirt I thought I'd take the opportunity of not needing the car whilst on holiday to get all the calipers refurbed and painted.

I believe the only real problems were that the piston seals very deteriorated however the fact that the calipers were corroded and both looked a mess and were impeding the pads from moving freely all added up to justifying whipping them off and sending to BiggRed.

Rightly or wrongly I took an angle grinder to the front of the calipers to remove the casting marks and generally fettle. I was really pushed for time and forgot to take a before picture but I've removed the casting seam lines and polished as well as I can with a wire brush attachment. Hopefully they'll come back looking like 6 pot Brembos......
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If anyone is interested I have gone for BiggRed's longest lasting finish in their standard Gun Metal grey colour which with refurb & return shipping cost £266. I'll post a picture when I get them back.

I'll also be ordering new discs, pads and springs. I thought I'd give M-Tec a go (for discs at least)...
Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by kis » Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:41 pm

If you managed to get them off yourself you should have just refurbed them yourself? I bought the kit fro, big red for the 330's. Pretty straightforward :)
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:04 pm

kis wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:41 pm If you managed to get them off yourself you should have just refurbed them yourself? I bought the kit fro, big red for the 330's. Pretty straightforward :)
That was my first inclination but I am so pushed for time at the moment the opportunity to get them done whilst on holiday seemed sufficiently attractive. I reckoned that by the time i'd bought the seals & sliders & paint i was probably over £60 so considering that they will be finished to a much higher standard than I could achieve and with better paint and a lot less mucking about it was justifiable.

I've also ordered MTec discs & Textar Epads (I've been using these for a while and like that my wheels stay cleaner). Hopefully will be back on the road by Wednesday night...
Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by MrPT » Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:13 pm

Nice job with the angle grinder. Makes a big difference to the finish. :thumbsup:
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by adam1985 » Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:47 pm

would be interested in your opinion of the refurb with pic when you get them back, considering doing the same to mine but need to find a week or two when I dont need the car!
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by kis » Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:17 pm

Newbers wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:04 pm
kis wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:41 pm If you managed to get them off yourself you should have just refurbed them yourself? I bought the kit fro, big red for the 330's. Pretty straightforward :)
That was my first inclination but I am so pushed for time at the moment the opportunity to get them done whilst on holiday seemed sufficiently attractive. I reckoned that by the time i'd bought the seals & sliders & paint i was probably over £60 so considering that they will be finished to a much higher standard than I could achieve and with better paint and a lot less mucking about it was justifiable.

I've also ordered MTec discs & Textar Epads (I've been using these for a while and like that my wheels stay cleaner). Hopefully will be back on the road by Wednesday night...
Fair enough! I have time on my side as I'll be replacing my stock ones with 330's. So it's a "second set". If I ever need to do the rears then I'll grab a set of eBay, gives me the time.

Also unless they're really bad I'd wait till the pads are nearing end of life. That way I can replace everything in one go. May seem silly I guess but decent pads do cost money and I like to be as economical as possible :wink:
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Wed Aug 02, 2017 11:10 pm

Got the calipers back from BiggRed today. I was hoping to get them on tonight but spent most of it on the M25 instead and then didn't fancy going out in the rain. Anyway I unwrapped one and it looks pretty nice (for a brake caliper). I think my work with the angle grinder came out quite well:
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I resisted going for anything too flamboyant colour wise (I feel that would be inappropriate for bog standard brakes).
Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Wed Aug 02, 2017 11:58 pm

I didn't bother buying new springs as I figured they'd just corrode again in a year or so but I did just give the old ones a spruce up (now hardening in the airing cupboard....)
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Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by s.m.456 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:07 am

Cracking job! Very tempted to have mine done. If you don't mind me asking what was the ball park figure to have the complete set refurbished?
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by A5 VRX » Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:48 am

s.m.456 wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:07 am Cracking job! Very tempted to have mine done. If you don't mind me asking what was the ball park figure to have the complete set refurbished?
I think it's on the first post, £266 all in from what I can see
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by adam1985 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:39 am

A5 VRX wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:48 am
s.m.456 wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:07 am Cracking job! Very tempted to have mine done. If you don't mind me asking what was the ball park figure to have the complete set refurbished?
I think it's on the first post, £266 all in from what I can see
When i contacted them recently for prices they gave me the below prices depending on finish per pair of calipers;

Standard, grey or gold paint (A basic paint finish normally chosen by the trade when cosmetics are academic) £89.00 2/3 day turnaround
Electroplate, silver or gold (Industry standard plating, as used by most manufacturers) £109.00 12/14 day turnaround
Premium, Red, Blue, Black, Green, Bright Green, BRG, Purple, Silver, Gold, Bronze and Pink (Anti-corrosive undercoat, followed by 2 top coats oven cured. Providing a premium durable gloss finish) £139.00 7/9 day turnaround

Return carriage 2 calipers £9.90
Return carriage 4 calipers £16.00

If 4 calipers are sent you get 10% off. Think the OP went for premuim with gray finish so (£139.00 x 2 -10% + £16.00) which is about £266
57 BMW 3.0si sport Coupe, Carbon Black, Bilstein B12 Suspension, CSL reps & style 339s for winter - Current
10 Skoda Fabia mk2 vRS, Rallye Green, Black Roof, Black Gigaro Alloys - Gone
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Brake caliper refurb

Post by D4dawg » Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:53 pm

Big red don't mazzer ones
Great job every single time.

Looking good buddy

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:11 pm

[/quote]

When i contacted them recently for prices they gave me the below prices depending on finish per pair of calipers;

Standard, grey or gold paint (A basic paint finish normally chosen by the trade when cosmetics are academic) £89.00 2/3 day turnaround
Electroplate, silver or gold (Industry standard plating, as used by most manufacturers) £109.00 12/14 day turnaround
Premium, Red, Blue, Black, Green, Bright Green, BRG, Purple, Silver, Gold, Bronze and Pink (Anti-corrosive undercoat, followed by 2 top coats oven cured. Providing a premium durable gloss finish) £139.00 7/9 day turnaround

Return carriage 2 calipers £9.90
Return carriage 4 calipers £16.00

If 4 calipers are sent you get 10% off. Think the OP went for premuim with gray finish so (£139.00 x 2 -10% + £16.00) which is about £266
[/quote]

Exactly this!

Rear:
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Front:
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Just got to bleed them now (wish me luck....)
Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Ducklakeview » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:52 pm

Looking good, but from those pics of the OS? of your car, it looks like you have the NS brake discs on there. ..

Mike

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Brake caliper refurb

Post by Newbers » Thu Aug 03, 2017 11:04 pm

:cry: B___ocks! It never occurred to me they are handed - what a plum!

Unfortunately they are not going to get switched over until I've decorated the hall, dug a soakaway and sorted out my drive......

In the meantime here's a pic with a dirty wheel fitted. Tidy if not eye-catching.
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Coupe, KW coil overs, PSB limiters, Powerflex ARB bushes, 18" CSL reps, Aero skirts, ZHP leather knob, Whippy and proud. Probably needs a wash :roll:

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