Change of calipers

[colVR4]

Is there a 'how-to' guide on how to change the brake calipers anywhere? I am planning to embark on the Brembo upgrade on Friday and I just wanted some info on what to do. I have got hold of Kieran's guide to changing the front disks and pads which will come in very useful, just need the bit about draining the system, removing, refilling, etc.

I will endeavour to make a full 'how-to' guide myself if there isn't one on the system.

Ta

[Nick Mann]

There is no 'how to' guide at the moment, AFAIK.

The job is straightforward. Have you got new hoses? Have you got bolts for the calipers?

[colVR4]

No, haven't got bolts. I am assuming that I can just get them from a Mitsi garage along with the high-temp grease to put on them. Will I need different hoses as well?

[Wodjno]

No, haven't got bolts. I am assuming that I can just get them from a Mitsi garage along with the high-temp grease to put on them. Will I need different hoses as well?

I think you Prolly need longer ones. Also not sure if the fitment is the same on the caliper ..

[colVR4]

Okay, I will need to check that out then before tomorrow. Sounds like the shopping list is getting longer

[ghanda]

If it's just the front then your existing hoses will be OK. If you're doing the rear Brembo change then you'll need different hoses and will need to remove the splash guard.

[colVR4]

So the fitting for the BREMBOs is the same as the standard calipers is it? I am pretty sure that the standard hoses will be long enough.

[Nick Mann]

You should be okay with the front pipes. That helps too as the difficult job for me was persuading the flexi pipe to seperate from the fixed pipe. The flexi pipe from the caliper was easy.

I got bolts from B&Q! They are a standard thread, but I can't remember which size. Could be M20?

[colVR4]

Made a start on the calipers yesterday. The bolts that are needed are M12 x 25mm and are available from any good hardware store (although neither B&Q, Homebase or FOCUS stocked that size near me).

All the parts were really easy to take off and the BREMBOs went on with ease, as did the new disks. Then I ran into trouble....big trouble....the sort of trouble that can end in your wife with a bag of nails, a big hammer, a suitable wall and your gonads!!

The new wheels that I just bought don't fit over the BREMBOs....DoH!! Even though I went to Rochford tyres and asked them specifically which ones would fit, they don't. They are about 0.5 cm out, and yes that is with some spacers fitted. I put on the largest spacers I could find without having to change the wheel bolts.

So, to say that I am in the doghouse at the moment would be an understatement. I have called Rochford tyres and they have said that they will take the wheels back. I am going to buy the ENKEI wheels that are on MLR because I KNOW that they will fit.

So, a great start to the Christmas break. I hope that you all have a better time than I am likely to have. Suffice to say I am going shopping again today to buy something even more expensive for the wife.

Merry bloody Christmas everybody

[BraindG]

ah, DOH! - so, whats the crack, cars on axlestands atm?

[Nick Mann]

Made a start on the calipers yesterday. The bolts that are needed are M12 x 25mm and are available from any good hardware store (although neither B&Q, Homebase or FOCUS stocked that size near me).

M12! D'Oh!! Couldn't remember how big they were - obviously no-where near as big as I remembered!

The new wheels that I just bought don't fit over the BREMBOs....DoH!! Even though I went to Rochford tyres and asked them specifically which ones would fit, they don't. They are about 0.5 cm out, and yes that is with some spacers fitted. I put on the largest spacers I could find without having to change the wheel bolts.

That's more than a bit embarassing for them, ain't it? Surely every major alloy wheel supplier knows what will fit Evo's? Will they eventually change them for wheels that do fit or are you just going for a refund?

Merry bloody Christmas everybody

Hope it gets better mate. I'm sure your beloved will forgive you once she appreciates the added safety of increased stopping power. Vicky was gob-smacked the first time she drove my car after the Brembo's were fitted.

[colVR4]

I had taken off the old calipers and put on the BREMBOs but had not swapped over the hoses so it was an easy job to replace old disks and calipers and put the wheels back on. So it is drivable at the moment.

Rochford have said that if I take it back they will try and find a wheel that will fit or will refund me if the wheels are undamaged. There is no way that I can get to Rochford in the next fortnight so I am going to have and try the refund route with them I think.

The problem is that the disks that I have on the car are completely shot and I am not happy driving the car with them on. If I get new ones though I am wasting money as I will bin them as soon as I get wheels that will fit. I am really hoping that I can get a set of the ENKEIs off MLR in the next couple of weeks.

[colVR4]

Okay, call out to all members in the Bedford, Northampton, Cambridge, Peterborough (cough...Glenn) area. If you have a pair of old front disks that still have a decent bit of wear left in them and are just lying around at the moment not doing much, I could really use them right now.

Please PM as soon as possible if you have.

Ta

[disciple]

this may or may not help but i had a good chat with the guy in the hams magwarehouse and he told me to buy nissan skyline drifting wheels. he said the skyline calipers, especially the drifters, are ****in huge, so alot of companies are making primo wheels to fit over them and that the skylines stud pattern is the same. made sense i guess, also they make some really agresive, wicked wheels for skylines.

[colVR4]

and I think you will find that the price will match. I did look at several options that definately fitted the BREMBOs that were all over the £grand mark. Konig make quite a few that will fit but you have to have DEEP pockets

[AllBeItMine]

Any Mag wheel designed to fit an Evo 5 and up will fit over the brembos and look good... you just need to get that slightly larger offset.

[colVR4]

Right, update!!

I pick up my new ENKEI wheels tonight. I will then get the rubber stripped off the new alloys on my car and put on the ENKEIs tomorrow. Then tomorrow night I tackle the job of swapping over the brakes...phew!!

I know that the disks and pads are a doddle to swap, and the calipers fit on easy enough. One question though. Do I have to drain the brake fluid to change over the calipers or can I get away with quickly swapping over the brake hoses? I assume that I will then still have to bleed the system though. Any thoughts?

[colVR4]

ooohhh ooohhh another question, are the fittings for the brake hose the same for the standard calipers and the BREMBOs?

[Nick Mann]

I am pretty sure that the hoses are interchangeable. So if you can swap the hose from one caliper to the other quickly then you don't need to flush the whole system - just bleed the calipers. Don't forget there are two bleed nipples on the brembos!

[colVR4]

I saw that there were two of them, one on either side. From looking at pictures on the MLR it looks like the bleed nipples point upwards on the front side of the caliper, is that the correct fitment?