should I replace my brake calipers

[nick_the_fish]

So the brake hoses are off and new ones being made up by HEL. I'm going to start stripping and rebuilding the front hubs tomorrow, and while i'm doing it i'll put on some new front brake discs because they are looking pretty rusty. I'll also replace the pads which are low.

Question is, what about the calipers? How do know if they are on their way out? are there any tell tale signs? Obviously if the rubber is looking perished or cracked its a no brainer but anything else to look for?

As said in previous posts, we've got a pretty big trip coming up next year so I want the truck to be in as good condition as possible, but bearing in mind we're not made of money and there is no point replacing parts that don't need replacing.

Any thoughts?

 

[David]

Not that I'm any sort of expert, but if the rubbers are all ok and the pistons push back ok and not full of pits I would leave them alone

 

[Shayne]

Buy a kit to rebuild them yourself or send them off to be done for you , calipers don't die they just get tired . I only bought new to save time i will be rebuilding the originals and they will go back on when the new ones get tired .

http://www.biggreddemo.auto-guru.uk

 

[nick_the_fish]

I thought abut going to Big Red @Shayne but after @grantw experience with them i'm not sure its worth the risk, as they seemed to make a pretty bloody fundamental mistake on his rebuild, and their lack of quality control (noted by the fact that they didn't spot their mistake) doesn't help.

How easy is it to rebuild a caliper with one of their kits? Is it a case of take out the old and put in the new, or does it take any special tools or skill's?

 

[Shayne]

Must admit i've never done it but it looks very simple to me

 

[MarkW]

Bigg Red have been running for donkeys years now. Grants issue was the first bad experience I've ever heard of.

They did my calipers a few years ago and they have been fine

 

[Shayne]

I had the calipers of two trucks done by bigg red and my third would have gone there only i couldn't have the truck laid up for a week .

 

[Chris]

Nick, it's not hard - if you know how to do it and you have the right kit to hand. I have done dozens of them over the years. It's all fine until you can't get one of the pistons out. Then you need to know what to do. I have a new set on, a fully rebuilt set all painted on the shelf and as set of filthy ones on the floor. If you decide to have BiggRed rebuild them, you're welcome to borrow my dirty ones to send to them if you want to keep yours on the road. Pretty sure they're the same as the 80.

That vid makes it look all so easy, but I can tell you that's fantasy for a UK set. Better to use the brake pedal to get the pistons out. Then you find the pistons are all corroded. It's a decent how to video but he's plain wrong about some bits. Also, it's much much easier to just split the caliper body in half.

In short, I'd get onto Roughtrax and order some new ones up.

 

[nick_the_fish]

ok thanks guys. Some food for thought there.

How do RoughTrax calipers compare to Toyota ones? I like to put on OME or better

 

[leeloo]

any calipers of a know brand like brembo, ate.. etc.. will do fine. And they are just cheap, between 80 and 120 euro, it is not worth the time and effort to rebuild them..

 

[Chris]

Compare in what way Nick? I don't think there is any way you could compare them other than fit probably. There's no way you could tell if they stopped you any quicker. They're a cylinder with a piston in connected to your brake pedal. I have them on my 80 and the stop me like brakes are supposed to. If you want OME but fancy a rebuild then don't do it with anything less than genuine parts. Or effectively you won't have OME will you. Roughtrax don't sell rubbish.

 

[AndyCook]

Toyota also do exchange refurbished callipers, I got some from Simon Holton and sent old ones back to him for my Hilux

 

[nick_the_fish]

Compare in what way Nick?

I guess quality and longevity was what I was thinking. I don't really know much about what is inside a caliper, other than watching that video and looking on the parts diagram on Toyote.epc. I figured that since its got to take the pressure of the brake system there must be a quality comparison and because I want this think to take us over the Rockies/ Andes and (hopefully) Himalaya there is a longevity comparison. Whatever I do now i would like to last for the next 100k miles, whether thats OEM/ Roughtrax or upgrade.

A lot of these questions stem from my lack of knowledge and my eagerness to take away the best vehicle i possibly can, but if its really just a cylinder, a piston and presumably some piston rings then a quality rebuild v new options come down to cheapest and easiest. I'll have a look at the Roughtrax ones.

Toyota also do exchange refurbished callipers, I got some from Simon Holton and sent old ones back to him for my Hilux

Sounds interesting. I'll drop Simon an e-mail.

 

[David]

On my troopy the drivers side original only did 60000 miles, the new one from Simon at Toyota was around £260+the vat

 

[leeloo]

Toyota OEM calippers, rebuilt, not new are arround 380 euro. Completly new OEM Toyota are in execess of 540 euro. Is not worth it. For some parts it does, but for brake callipers is not.