110 brake calipers - rebuild or buy

[Cchase]

Would it be better to rebuild old calipers with stainless steel pistons and new seals, or purchase new AP-Lockheed calipers and save on the rebuild time/hassle?

These seem to be quite reasonable from Paddocks: 

http://www.paddockspares.com/seb500470g-front-brake-caliper-new-lh-vented-from-la930456-ap.html

Thanks,

Colin

[neil110]

I suppose it all depends on how much you value your time. If you strip, clean and reassemble your existing units with stainless pistons then you should never need to worry about them again.

The only problem might be finding the small, square section seals to go between the "halves" of the caliper if you split it

http://www.hitechseals.com/products/o-rings.asp

[DC_]

Colin I did my front calipers in August (I think). Replaced rather than refurbished. So far all is good. I went for bearmach. After a harsh scottish winter, they are still performing well. Still got the old genuine LR ones for when I get my workshop built and can pass some time with a beer and refurbish. I’m hoping the BM last many years. 🙏🏻 

[Retroanaconda]

I rebuilt a set of front calipers about six or seven years ago which are still on the car. I used Zeus stainless pistons and genuine Land Rover seals - they’re all still available I believe, including the gallery seals.

Would I bother again? Probably not if decent branded units can be had for £100 a side. And the stainless pistons are not without issue, while they won’t rust they are not fit and forget. Mine gained some kind of tarnishing over the years which prevented the pistons from retracting cleanly and eventually caused the same problem with the dust/wiper seals popping out. Managed to clean them up enough to get them back in but literally took an hour a side with a toothbrush and brake cleaner. That was a few years ago and it’s starting to happen again so I will probably just replace them with new when the time comes.

Just seen that on Paddocks the non-vented calipers are £130 a side. Vented ones are £100 a side and vented discs £30 each - seems like the sensible choice for those of us with non-vented front brakes is to replace the discs with vented at the same time for no extra cost.

[western]

the caliper fluid gallery seals are part 17H8764L 

still available from various suppliers https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=17H8764L&oq=17H8764L&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

hoping to rebuild my 110's calipers this summer with SS pistons & new seal kits. another thing to not have to worry about.

[reb78]

Shop4autoparts.net sell the gallery’s seals and little fiddly bits you need for calliper rebuilds. Like others on here, I bought stainless pistons from Zeus and that was probably 7 years ago now. 

 

Oh, and I would add, I would encourage folks rebuilding these to split the calipers. On mine the lower galleries were completely blocked with rubber material. I presume this was rubber and/or muck resulting from fluid changes that were not frequent enough. You will not spot this and fix it if you don’t split them. 

Edited March 13, 2018 by reb78

[Cchase]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I really appreciate your collective experience!

Same seals as for a Mini!!

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/17H8764.aspx

Cheers,

Colin

[Vogler]

Mind that front and rear calipers have different gallery seals. I ordered them and the stainless pistons at shop4autoparts. There's a small metal tube in the longer gallery seals of the front calipers which is not included in the new seals, so make sure not to discard it.

I rebuild the calipers of our 110 2 years ago. One of them had to be replaced because there was too much corrosion in the slots for the seals. Take that possibility into account if you only order parts for a rebuild.

I split them at the time and IIRC someone here (Western I think) posted some research about the torque settings for the bolts keeping the halves together. I remember it to be quite high, which is the only thing that makes me doubt about splitting: although there are no issues, I wonder if it is OK to reuse the bolts.

Greetings,

Joris

Edited March 14, 2018 by Vogler
Clarity

[ballcock]

I looked at rebuilding my front calipers but allowing the  time and parts I decided a new pair from Bearmach were more cost effective and good value for money. I can't fault the fitting or the finish still looking good a year later.

[Boris113]

I was in the same dilema a month ago. Like Ballcock said above, I also weighed up time, cost and the chance of messing up the o-rings and having to wait for more to arrive with no car. In the end I bought new AP branded ones which were about £70 +vat each.

Edited March 14, 2018 by Boris113

[Tanuki]

After 140,000 miles and a decade-and-a-half the calipers on my 90 were problematic [couldn't push the pistons back cleanly, one of the wiper-seals on the front had rusted to the piston and pulled out of the caliper-body] - looking at the time-cost and parts-cost for a rebuild compared with the price of new AP-Lockheed-Delphi parts it was a no-brainer: I bought new calipers all-round, fitted them/bled the system all in under an hour, and used the time saved to have a few extra pints down the pub!

[DC_]

3 hours ago, Tanuki said:

After 140,000 miles and a decade-and-a-half the calipers on my 90 were problematic [couldn't push the pistons back cleanly, one of the wiper-seals on the front had rusted to the piston and pulled out of the caliper-body] - looking at the time-cost and parts-cost for a rebuild compared with the price of new AP-Lockheed-Delphi parts it was a no-brainer: I bought new calipers all-round, fitted them/bled the system all in under an hour, and used the time saved to have a few extra pints down the pub!
 

Holy moly you’re quick !! 

[Cchase]

Tanuki,

A good use of 'found' time!

I cleaned all of the calipers and greased the pins that hold them in the fall after a particularly muddy trail ride. Two of the rear pistons were a bit stiff and the rear pads and rotors will need attention soon. My truck suffers more from sitting around than from use. I think that I will purchase new calipers, but rebuild the old ones to keep as spares. This will be a good winter project for next year.

Thanks, all.

 

[Snagger]

I rebuilt the calipers on my RRC and 109 (110 axles) with Zeus stainless pistons.  I would have done the same on my wife's 2009 90, as at three years old and road use only, the pistons were already rusty.  With standard calipers, genuine or pattern, it's going to be a recurring job.  Better, I think, if you have the ability to take the bull by the horns and fix the problem once and for all.  Getting all four calipers blasted, then stripping, fitting the stainless set and painting cost less than two new calipers.  But if you're not a moderately experienced mechanic, new might be slightly wiser (better still to get someone who knows what they're doing to do it for you - there's plenty to cock up on brakes).

[TSD]

Must admit I was semi-lazy... the calipers that came with my Ibex had no pistons in, and they had been left so long there was rust dirt and paint in the bores and galleries - so I bought new calipers, then fitted them with the stainless pistons I'd already bought. At least it was an easy, clean job

[Tanuki]

21 hours ago, DC_ said:

Holy moly you’re quick !! 

I had an assistant to do the stuff like jacking, loosening/removing/refitting wheels.

And a rattle-gun to undo the 12-point caliper-to-axle bolts.

21 hours ago, DC_ said:

 

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Tanuki

[ballcock]

In my case it wasn't a question of ability, purely the best use of time as I had stripped the 110 off the chassis with all new brake lines. The calipers were an excellent price straight from Bearmach and my time was used to do more important tasks.