mollydog10 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I just took my hubs and everything off to replace the swivels on my '03 Td5 Defender......my hub nuts wernt that tight.....slackened off easily with a big box spanner and a bit of foul language....hope ive put them back on tight enough!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 I haven't even gotten that far yet. I have spent all of yesterday afternoon, and most of today trying to press the seals back into the caliper. I have now ruined the metal dust seals on the kit. But before that, using a large flat, heavy thick washer that covers the piston and the seal, I used three C-clamps to every so carefully press it all into place. And it went into place. And then when I release the C clamps, it just falls out. I finally got two of the pistons back in half the caliper, but only by using the old rubber seals and rusted up metal dust seals that I removed originally. I guess the solution is to just buy another entire brake caliper assembly, IF I can find one that comes complete with pistons already installed. Because I am 100% certain that this Bearmach ( I assume) kit is not going to fit. The rubber parts are too thick. The metal seal doesn't grip the sides of the caliper. I've wasted several hundred dollars and a week waiting on this damned stuff. I never realized this would be such a hassle, when we moved to a British Overseas Territory. And I'm not that bad a mechanic. I've swapped engines in different vehicles, and rebuilt all kind of things from Ford and Dodge trucks, to my souped up 68 Mustang GT ( 390 cubic inches). I've rebuilt several motorcycles. I've done complete overhauls, installed cams, main bearings, connecting rods. I maintained a Rotax engine on an aircraft I used to own. Mechanical things and I usually get along just fine. I've probably done at least 20 brake jobs in my life. This is nothing new to me. But I have NEVER had the problems maintaining a vehicle that I have with these Defenders. I am used to just shelling out the money, buying the part, and having it fit. Why is it such an apparent problem with these vehicles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Okay. I'm over my whining fit now. Huge frustration, but mystery maybe solved. I took an extremely close look and apparently sometime in the past someone whacked the caliper with something hard. The reason the piston was stuck in the first place was because the machined ledge between the two gasket grooves was out of round. It has a couple of flattened dents in it, such as would be made with a hammer edge. I ground it back to round with a Dremel grinder, and smoothed it out, but it's still deformed and I can see several hairline cracks in the metal itself where it joins the main body of the bore. I'll just have to find someone to sell me the entire caliper. Hopefully, already assembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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