rebuilding rear brake caliphers

[Funcar]

The rear brake caliphers on my 72 spider are ceased. Has anyone rebuilt them or is this something that needs to be done at a specialty shop? I tried the search feature and was not able to locate this information.

[4uall]

this might help (ps calipers )

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12885

[azruss]

Rear calipers are a pain to rebuild. The hard part is the emergency brake part. There is a wedge that needs to be removed and reinserted. This is a very tricky, slight of hand, operation. I built a special tool to do the job. Many here can give you suggestion on how to do it without said tool. Make sure you have at least a haynes type repair book, lots of patience, and a box of bandaids. Pay attention to how the wedge and piston is oriented.

[rjkoop]

The rear brake caliphers on my 72 spider are ceased. Has anyone rebuilt them or is this something that needs to be done at a specialty shop? I tried the search feature and was not able to locate this information.

I just did mine. Not a fun job but do-able. Here's my thread.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 30&t=25271

[urbom]

Recently did all 4 calipers, and what they say about the wedge is true. Get a big c-clamp and grind the end square and the sides narrow as you will see in other posts. Once you have the wedge and park brake mechanism out, you can screw out the adjuster. On my calipers, the piston was still stuck, and I had broken bleeders on a couple. What worked for me was stripping all of the rubber I could get to, and putting the caliper in an oven. I welded a nut on the broken bleeder before I stuck it in so that I could give that a go too. When the caliper got up to about 400 degrees, I took it out and put it in a vise. The piston twisted out with a pair of vise grips on the small part, and the bleeder turned out with a wrench. When I got things moving a bit, I gave them a shot of PB Blaster and it went well. I think the difference in expansion rates between aluminum and steel is what works. Aluminum is .000023mm/degree K and steel is .000013mm/degree K, so the fit gets looser. finished up by blasting with walnut shell abrasive and rebuilding. Hope this helps.

[Funcar]

Thanks for the information on rear calipher rebuilding as it has helped me make the decision to buy the rebuilds. This project seems to be beyond my skill and frustration levels so will leave it to the professionals . Perhaps in the future I will pick up a used calipher and give it a try but for now have my hands full with other projects on the car.

[bradartigue]

Brakes are filthy and un-gratifying work and the labor to have someone else do them is very cheap (relative to other auto services). If you're going stock just have a shop do it, they can get the parts at Pep Boys (or Auto Zone) and they are usually OEM rebuilds. If you want a nicer-than-stock brake pad then order those from a vendor and give them to the shop.

[fiat218]

i dont waste my time rebuilding, i bought all new

[81SPIDERMATT]

although the original poster has made his decision I will throw in my .02 ... think it cost about 15 bucks for both calipers and knowing what you are getting into and help from this forum it wasn't really that bad ... and I am glad I did it ... and would do it again