What Calipers Should I Buy

[tidyshow]

Hi there,

I have a 1997 300 TDi which requires a N/S Front caliper.

I have found 3 types to buy but i'm unsure as to which ones i should buy.

The choices are as most of you will probably know :

1. Allmakes

2. Britpart

3. Bearmach.

After trawling the net i think Bearmach might be the ones to go for, but i'd rather ask those in the know.

[Boris113]

I had some in Bearmach boxes 2 years ago, they are still working perfectly. I've had bad experiences with Britpart brake components before so avoid them, that could have been a one-off though.

[lawrence]

I'd stay away from britpart. Whats wrong with your calipers could you not have them rebuilt.

had mine rebuilt and they are like new now for a fraction of the price.

[FridgeFreezer]

For the love of god, don't buy Britpart brakes!

I'd say option 4 = rebuild your existing (presumably genuine) calipers with stainless pistons.

Option 5 = gen parts

Option 6 = good 2nd hand genuine

[fozsug]

OEM so Lockheed i think. Or genuine.

[tidyshow]

The pistons on the N/S caliper on its inside have seized and are scored badly.

I can get a pair of bearmach ones for £95 delivered.

To me that seems a fantastic price for a pair.

The allmakes and britpart ones are £85 per pair.

[Igol]

I'm with FF rebuild your original ones for a fraction of the cost.

I've just fitted one I got from a scrappy and reconditioned myself and am planning on getting a new kit and cleaning up the old lockheed one and sticking it on ebay.

[tidyshow]

Where do i get rebuild kits from ?

And how muh are they ?

[fozsug]

http://www.zeus.uk.com/land-rover.php

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

allmakes and bearmach can do nasty cheap or decent.

Phone a supplier and ask them to advise what the maker is

good are Lockheed, QH, AP, Delphi

Beamach will do a cheap version in a white box with no one wnating to own up to making it - aviod

Nige

[tidyshow]

I called Zeus but they don't do parts for land rover calipers, only rebuild kits for their own ones.

[tidyshow]

Spoke to my mechanic who says that the caliper is shot. So needs to be replaced.

And i never replace just one disc / set of pads / tyre on an axle, i always change a pair at the same time so i want to do the same for the calipers too.

So my choice seems to be bearmach at £95 for a pair delivered or lockheed for £239.40 a pair plus delivery.

Thats a massive difference in price. I always usually buy OEM parts if i can but the wife is doing her nut in just now with

all my "toys". If anyone can find me lockheed ones for less than the price i was quoted by brookwell that would be great.

[jad]

Paddocks are cheaper than that and free delivery... http://www.paddockspares.com/parts-and-accessories/land-rover-discovery-1/brakes/front-axle.html#p=2

[FridgeFreezer]

OK, option 6: Good 2nd hand one + rebuild kit / stainless pistons

[UdderlyOffroad]

What does he mean by 'shot'? I've yet to come across a calliper that was too far gone for a refurb...

Saying that, I've bought some Bearmach's for my rear axle disc conversion on my 110 - seem to be reasonable quality, and more to the point there's a guarantee included...if they go wrong for whatever reason they're going back! I'd say go for Bearmachs once you've priced up Lockheeds from the usual suspects (LRDirect.com, LRSeries, D4x4.com, land-rover-parts-shop.com) and agreed with the long-haired boss :-D

I will be rebuilding my fronts though - mainly for reasons of poverty. I personally can't see the point of S/S pistons, very expensive and in industry hydraulic pistons are usually chrome-plated...Do use gen/OEM seals though

[reb78]

I called Zeus but they don't do parts for land rover calipers, only rebuild kits for their own ones.

I bought pistons and seals from Zeus to recon my 110 calipers, so not sure how they 'dont do parts for land rover calipers'.

these guys also sell parts at fairly decent prices

http://www.shop4auto...covery-1/Brakes

[tidyshow]

Thats what the lady on the phone told me "we only suplly rebuild kits for our own units"

but anyhoo i think i might just go for the bearmach ones (not just to appease the other half),

as UdderlyOffRoad says they come with a years warranty so if there are any problems, off they go.

Just like to thank all involved for their help and info.

[DrRob]

Buy cheap, buy twice

[Ally V8]

If you add a G to the end of a Britpart number you should be able to get an OEM part - in the case of Britpart calipers it usually is Lockheed.But only if the supplier is interested in supplying EXACTLY what you want,often they just go for the BP c-ap numbers so they can make the biggest mark up.

Older RRC, Disco 1 and Defender are often very badly worn in the area where the pads sit,my local parts supplier has in the past sent me calipers which have been "reconditioned". The pads sit so low in the caliper they actually rub away at the hub of the disc - total rubbish !

[tidyshow]

Well my bearmach calipers arrived today.

Might try and get them fitted before i go to turkey on thursday.

Fingers crossed.

[Retroanaconda]

I personally can't see the point of S/S pistons, very expensive and in industry hydraulic pistons are usually chrome-plated...Do use gen/OEM seals though

I think the difference would be that in plant for example pistons are cycled regularly, which provides a cleaning action on the ram and helps prevent damage/corrosion. In a brake caliper the pistons only cycle 'fully' once every pad change and so they don't benefit from this. For this reason, coupled with the fact that on a Land Rover the pistons are liable to experience 'not very nice' conditions with regard to abrasion and moisture, I went with stainless pistons (from Zeus) when I rebuilt my 90's calipers a while back.

Use genuine seal kits though.

[reb78]

I personally can't see the point of S/S pistons, very expensive and in industry hydraulic pistons are usually chrome-plated...Do use gen/OEM seals though

Chrome seems to peel or pit eventually leading to the metal below rusting. Surely the advantage of stainless is that they wont rust and should be re-useable next time the seals need replacing?

[JimAttrill]

From experience you should fit Lockheed seals. The tin ring on the Britpart or Bearmach seal kit is the wrong shape and is normally buggered when fitting.

[GW8IZR]

What does he mean by 'shot'? I've yet to come across a calliper that was too far gone for a refurb...

Obviously I don't know anything about the OP's callipers or why they have been condemned but I do have some here that are impossible to refurbish. The wear where the pad sits is bad enough that the pad sits too close to the hub of the disk. If the wear gets too much the metal edge of the pad can contact the hub of the disk and I did see an example where the (mechanically inept) owner hadn't realised what the scraping noise was.. he eventually found out when he had to do an emergency stop, the disk did but he didn't!

I can see an advantage in using stainless steel for this application where there isn't much (any hopefully) fluid on the outside of the seal and I wouldn't mind rebuilding my front callipers with SS next time as an experiment. I can also see why my hedge cutter ram isn't SS as it wouldn't have been cost effective to do so. There must be a difference in quality of the chrome surface as its donkeys years old, lives outdoor and hasn't a trace of corrosion on it.

[Thys]

Buy cheap, buy twice

..........that's if you survive the brake failure when you needed the brakes to work in an emergency.........

What we do with come classic cars with disc brakes, is to have the cylinder re-sleeved , and replace the pistons with stainless steel ones.

One way to prevent damage to the piston is to replace the brake fluid at least once a year, even consider replacing the brake fluid if the calipers were submerged in water after serious wading.