Calipers and the pistons that bind in them

Well, what started out as a caliper rebuild quickly turned into a full blown brake job. The hardest part was waiting for parts. Actually that held progress up more than anything else.

We left off with the calipers having been removed from the car. Well, to rebuild we have to get the pistons out. Come to find a couple of the pistons in my calipers had seized completely. So getting them out took some real doing. The best method was using air pressure...unfortunately we figured those out after practically destroying two piston heads. Here are some pictures of the brakes:

Here is one of the pistons from the front driver's side. This caliper had all kinds of funny stains in the pistons.

this a picture of a caliper cylinder. Above where the piston seal goes you can see the result of a lot of corrosion. I believe that is why this one seized.

This is how we braced the pistons before hitting blowing pressurized air into them to force out the pistons. To quote my father "It looks like an abortion." Not the most professional looking, but it worked.

My new shiny stainless steal flexible brake lines. SWEET!

I also decided to paint my calipers. The aftermarket wheels expose them too easy not to add a little color to them. I cannot wait to see these mounted.

This is a picture of all the seals and rings that I pulled out of the calipers. They had seen better days. Most of the rubber just crumbled.

Presently this project is not complete but it is close. My father managed to break a parking brake retainer spring that is so rare it can only grow in two places in the world. Once we get that spring and put the parking brake back together; we can assemble the whole brake system, bleed the brakes and test our work. I have a feeling this could be an adventure. Especially if the brakes fail on the road. I prefer not to think about that.

In the meantime we have been taking down some other projects on the side. I changed the spark plugs...twice. First time I mistook units of the gap distance so the were set at .08" instead of .08mm. It is amazing how something so minor.... After the second time I got the gaps right in made a huge difference. I also replaced the spark plug wires. This was the first time anyone had...ever. The wire still had Made in West Germany written on them. I thought I was done with the ignition system until I opened the distributor. All the points and rotor are corroded so now those are on order. The car still runs but they will need to be replaced. Looking at the old spark plugs it seems the engine was running fine...they did no have any significant deposits or discoloration. Here is one of the worst ones:



My new high performance spark plug wires. I seriously bought them because they were $100 cheaper than the OEM wires.

We also replaced the tie rods. The original one's rubber was completely rotted away in parts. This created some serious play in the steering wheel. I put the upgraded 911 Turbo tie rods. These have almost no rubber in them so they never wear out like the Carrerra ones do.

I finally got all the special screws to put the doors back together. So that will be coming soon. I hope that the next installment will have this car on its wheels again.

PRICE for the Installment (I always hate this part):
Cap, rotor, new hood badge, etc. - $191
Emergence brake springs, flapper box, etc. - $159
Door seals, caliper rebuild kits, tools, etc. - $141
Miscellaneous stops at the local auto parts store - $50

TOTAL - $540 (and we are not done yet...yikes)

*one caveat: A Porsche dealership charges $3000 for a brake job of the magnitude we attempted, and new calipers are $280 a piece. So I saved what money I could.