Photo Essay - Rebuilding Brembo Calipers

[PhilMeUp]

Last year I had a standard 2005 BA XR6 Turbo ute, which meant having the standard boring PBR brakes. I’m a brake geek, which meant when I saw a vague advert for some Brembo calipers on Gumtree I rang the number. I kept getting the seller’s voicemail, but kept trying each day (as did numerous other people). It turned out that that he’d been away for several days, and when I did get him on the phone I had literally just driven past the road that his workshop is on.

I ended up buying a whole pile of stuff from a wrecked FPV BA Super Pursuit, including front and rear four piston Brembo calipers.

They sat around while I looked for wheels that would fit over the calipers. I was also indecisive about just how much money I wanted to tie up in the XR6 Turbo ute.

When I later saw another Gumtree advert for a pair of front four piston Brembo calipers I bought them as well. They were on the other side of the country (Sydney, and I’m in Perth) but a deal was made for the seller to post them to me.

The advertisement read:

“I have 1 pair of used Brembo calipers suit 360mm discs, they have come of a 2004 BA XR8 Falcon.

Were in perfect working order when removed.

Only reason for selling is due to upgrade.”

When they arrived I realised that they had been on a car that had been badly burnt-out. This didn’t matter as I was planning on rebuilding them anyway, and I got them at a good price. I don’t think that the seller had much of an idea about brakes, including the disc size (ie should be 355mm, not 360mm).

I’ve since sold the XR6 Turbo ute and now have an FPV Tornado ute. I’ve also bought a pair of six piston front calipers, which means that I no longer have a need for the four piston ones. However, I’ll be putting the four piston rear callipers on the Tornado.

Someone had done a dodgy job with a spray can to make the calipers look red. There was overspray on the mounting brackets and the bleed nipples had also been painted.



But it was obvious that the calipers had been subjected to extreme heat.


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Replacement Seals & Dust Boots

Although you can buy genuine Brembo parts here in Australia, they are expensive. They can be ordered a bit cheaper from the US, but there is a company called StopTech that also makes Brembo-compatible seals and dust boots.

StopTech parts can be ordered from Zeckhausen Racing (the Caliper Rebuild Parts section) - http://store.zeckhausen.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=82

Their general web site, particularly the Technical section, has a lot of useful information about brakes - http://zeckhausen.com

Some relevant part numbers for Brembo calipers that are used on Falcons and FPVs:

Seals

28mm
Brembo Part No: 05.5955.52
StopTech Part No: 753.99000

30mm
Brembo Part No: 05.5955.53
StopTech Part No: 753.99001

36mm
Brembo Part No: 05.5955.56
StopTech Part No: 753.99003

40mm
Brembo Part No: 05.5955.58
StopTech Part No: 753.99005

44mm
Brembo Part No: 05.5955.60
StopTech Part No: 753.99007

Dust Boots

28mm
Brembo Part No: 20.4872.40
StopTech Part No: 750.99000

30mm
Brembo Part No: 20.4872.41
StopTech Part No: 750.99001

36mm
Brembo Part No: 20.4872.44
StopTech Part No: 750.99003

40mm
Brembo Part No: 20.4872.46
StopTech Part No: 750.99005

44mm
Brembo Part No: 20.4872.48
StopTech Part No: 750.99007
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Rebuilding Brembo Calipers - Summary:
- Not a difficult job.
- Take lots of photos and write notes during disassembly - you might need to refer to them for reassembly.
- Cheap and very much worth doing. The difference in apearance is huge.
- If you’re buying a set of secondhand Brembo calipers then this is worth considering before fitting them to the car.
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Part Numbers & Bolt Specifications

Part Numbers - Front Calipers (on the inside, above piston):
20.7678.01 1A (outer)
20.7679.01 1A (inner)
Despite the different piston sizes, the part numbers on both the 36/40mm and 40/44mm versions are the same.

Part Numbers - Rear Calipers (on the inside, above piston):
6972 (outer)
6971 (inner)
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Part Numbers - Front Brackets:
20.A002.01 and 20.A002.02
19.7681.18 and 19.7681.19

Part Numbers - Rear Caliper Brackets
R20.8415.90 - both sides

Bolts - Caliper to Bracket Bolts
Front: 70 x 1.5 x M12
Quantity: 2 on each caliper

Bolts - Rear: 55 x 1.5 x M12
Quantity: 2 on each caliper
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Caliper Pad Springs & Pins
2 x front springs, 4 pins
2 x rear springs, 4 pins

Caliper Connecting Bolts
Front: 90 x 1.75 x M12
Quantity: 4 per caliper

Rear: 75 x 1.75 x M12
Quantity: 4 per caliper
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One of the pairs of front calipers had been subjected to a substantial amount of heat (ie fire, not hard braking). However, the metal blocks were still in their original condition, meaning that the calipers could be restored.



To start the disassembly process, I removed the brake pads. The pads are held in place by two metal pins, which are held in place by two cotter pins.



The dust boots had been burnt away in the fire, so there was nothing to be removed. However, I could see a small groove to assist in removing each dust boot.



Once the pads were out I had to figure out how to remove the pistons. This is normally done by subjecting them to a sudden blast of air into the caliper from an air gun. I don’t have one, so tried a portable tyre compressor.

I put one of the pads back in to prevent the pistons from flying out suddenly and rolling off into some distant corner.



It turned out that the pistons on the burnt calipers were easy to remove - they just slid out.



I knew that I had to order new seals and dust boots, so measured the pistons.



For pistons that I couldn’t remove with my fingers I used a pair of multi-grip pliers.



Once I had the pistons out I could see why it was so easy to remove them. The brake seals were ash. At this point I was quite amused by the “were in perfect working order when removed” comment in the advertisement for these calipers.



Once I had the pistons out I started separating the metal blocks. Each caliper is held together by four bolts with a 10mm allen key head on each one.



Once I got the first one apart it was becoming obvious just how simple these calipers actually are. I still can’t figure out why these things cost so much.

[PhilMeUp]

There was very little left of the original seals.



Having a look at one of the non-burnt front calipers, they also had a small indent at each piston to assist with removing the dust boots.



I used a pick to pry out each dust boot.



I used a 10mm allen key socket to remove the bolts between the caliper and mounting bracket.



One of the rear calipers. In hindsight, I should have washed all of the calipers before starting this.



The bolts that hold the caliper blocks together were tight. As I don’t have a bench and vice, I used my hydraulic press to hold each caliper in place. My extendable Ampro T29771 ratchet gave me the required leverage to loosen those bolts.



For pushing out the pins that hold the pads in the rear calipers, I bought a Finkal CLP305 Nail Punch. This fits through the holes in the caliper and allows me to push the pins right through.



Getting the pistons out not the non-burnt calipers proved to be difficult. I tried using my portable tyre inflator but that didn’t produce enough sudden air pressure to push the pistons out enough. If you’re rebuilding calipers and don’t have an air compressor then consider doing this before removing calipers from the car by applying the brake pedal.



I left the pads in place to prevent any of the pistons pushing out fully, which would prevent me from using air pressure to push the others out.



For removing the brake fluid crossover pipes I tried using a 10mm flare spanner to prevent rounding off the nuts. However, it didn’t fit between the pipe and caliper, so had to use a normal spanner and risk rounding off the nuts on each pipe.



A photo of one of the brake fluid crossover pipes in place. This is how brake fluid gets from one side of the calliper to the other.



The Brembo dust boots each have their part number on them.



Because the bolts were so tight it was important to ensure that the allen key socket was in fully before applying pressure with the ratchet. Because the red paint limited this, I used a rubber mallet to tap the allen key end in far enough.



One of the rear callipers separated.



Ford started putting Brembo rear calipers on some of the BA FPVs but stopped doing so after a couple of years. This was because of the leaf spring/live axle rear end, where the axles could slide back and forth and separate the pads outward. This meant that when the brake pedal was next applied a lot of the pedal travel was taken up on pushing the pistons back out.

I’ve had Brembo rear calipers on my taxi for well over 400,000km and have never had this happen to me.

When I pulled the rear calipers apart I could then see Brembo’s solution - to put a spring behind each piston to keep it pushed out.



I also saw that I had been too aggressive when pushing the pick in to remove the dust boots. I had put holes in one of them.



By now it was really obvious that I should have washed the calipers properly before doing any of this. I recently bought a small parts washer from Radum and decided it was time to use it.



One of the part numbers on one of the burnt caliper halves.



One of the burnt calipers separated.



For removing the seals I used a right-angled pick.

[PhilMeUp]

A photo of one of the front calipers, when I was removing the crossover pipe.



Sometimes the end nuts on the crossover pipes wouldn’t loosen. As long as one end would come loose, I could then slide a ring spanner over to loosen the uncooperative nut.



I put 4 litres of kerosene in the parts washer for washing the various parts.



The mounting brackets from the rear callipers and the burnt front ones.



There minor differences in the mounting brackets between the two different front pairs, as well as different part numbers.



The other sides of the front mounting brackets.



There were minor differences in the pad retainers between the front and rear calipers.



Eventually I had broken everything down into pieces. I put small hardware parts into separate plastic bags and wrote details on a piece of paper for each bag.



Whilst dismantling everything I put all the pistons, seals, dust boots and springs into a plastic tub to ensure that none of it went missing.



I later went through it all and confirmed that I had the correct number of each item.



A Brembo part number on one of the dust boots.



The stack of dust boots before they were put in a sealed plastic bag.

Everything then got taken away to be cleaned and powder coated. I spent considerable time looking through web sites to try and find out whether powder coating or painting was the better way to go. There were numerous strong opinions favouring each option, but there were many more in favour of powder coating then painting.

For painting instead of powder coating, there is a Fiat colour called Rosso Tiziano that is identical to the Brembo red. The Fiat colour code is 199A. I tried to order a touch-up bottle from a Fiat dealer but was told that Rosso Tiziano is now too old to be ordered through dealers.



I later got back a box of parts wrapped up in newspaper. Time to start putting things back together.



A pair of halves from one of the burnt calipers, looking nothing like they did previously.



A pair of halves from the other pair of front calipers. Everything looked like brand new.



The inner half of one of the front calipers.



Although I had bagged and labelled the bolts, I got them back all in one bag. This meant sorting out which bolts belonged where.



I started trying bolts in different caliper holes and quickly worked out which bolts went where.



The spring clips, pins and pad retainers also looked like new.



The pad retainer bolts, bleed nipples and banjo bolts.

[PhilMeUp]

The pad retainers.



I started by putting the pad retainers back in, after sorting out the retainers for the front and rear calipers.



I had tried spreading everything out on my bed so that I had enough space to lay everything out, but it was quickly obvious that I’d have to move to my desk.



One of the front calipers. I had the pistons, seals and dust boots lined up, ready to be fitted.



The bores on the calipers were perfectly clean.



I then started putting the seals back in. I put some brake fluid in a glass bowl (easy to wash later) so that I had enough room to dip anything in. Each seal got soaked in brake fluid before going back into its caliper.



The seals were quite easy to put back in. After putting each seal back in I dipped my finger in brake fluid and wiped it around the bore to help with sliding the pistons back in.



I rolled each piston in brake fluid before fitting its dust boot. This is why I chose that particular bowl for the brake fluid.



Once the dust boot was on each piston, I dunked the bottom half of the piston in brake fluid before putting it back into the caliper. I wanted as much lubrication as possible to assist with sliding the pistons back in.



One of the pistons, before being pushed back into the caliper. I made sure that there was plenty of brake fluid in place to help with this.



After applying a bit of force to get each piston past the seal, they slid in quite easily.



I used a new dust boot to replace one that I had previously damaged by not being careful enough during disassembly.



To make sure that each dust boot was properly seated around the top of each piston, I held the dust boot with one hand and then rotated the piston with my other hand.



The halves from one set of front calipers. There were then ready to be bolted back together.



One pair of front calipers, bolted together.



Then it was time to put the crossover pipes back on. The spacer foam had been cut off each pipe, so I put each foam back on.



Now that the crossover pipe nuts were clean I was able to get them done up quite tight with a normal spanner.



One of the crossover pipes in place.



Two completed calipers. I’ll put the brake pads in later on.



The various mount brackets also came back looking like new.

[PhilMeUp]

Both pairs of front calipers reassembled.



I’ll be selling these, so will leave the decals off until they get fitted to a car. I bought replacement decals on eBay but haven’t put them on yet. There are four options:
- Put decals on and then clear powder coat the calipers. However, there’s the risk that the heat from powder coating will damage the decals.
- Put the decals on and then clear coat the calipers with an aerosol can. However, this could result in the same discolouring that happens when the clear coat on Brembo calipers burns off or fades.
- Put the decals on but not coat the calipers at all. This means that a high pressure washer will blast the decals off, but the decals can be easily replaced whenever required.
- Leave the calipers as they are and don’t apply any decals.



For putting the bleed nipples back in I used a six-sided socket to ensure that I didn’t damage them.



Putting the banjo bolts back in. I’ll be putting new copper washers on later.



The rear calipers before reassembly.



It was a bit challenging at times to fit the seals into the small diameter bores but everything went together fairly easily.



The rear calipers reassembled.



The inner side of one of the rear calipers.



The outer side of one of the rear calipers.



One of the front pairs had 40mm and 44mm piston, and the other pair had 36mm and 40mm pistons. However, both pairs had the same part numbers on their respective halves.

If you’re going to fit new seals and dust boots to a set of Brembo calipers then it would be worth confirming the piston diameters before making any assumptions on what sizes to order.

This is the inner half of one of the non-burnt calipers.



The same part number, on the inner half of one of the calipers that had been burnt.

[barnz]

Your the man as usual Phil. I think its about time you got your own sub forum for all the excellent guides to go in. They are a cut above the rest and deserve it.

Edited 12/05/15 11:37 PM by barnz

[arronm]

Nice work Phil.....

[Bellato]

Awesome write up!!

So from a $$ point of view if you can get your hands on some worse for wear calipers is it worth buying them and getting all this done or just buying a new set? How much did it cost all up if you don't mind me asking? Wouldn't mind getting some crap condition brembo's and doing this to save money, plus I want a unique colour not red so kill 2 birds with one stone

[PhilMeUp]

Awesome write up!!

So from a $$ point of view if you can get your hands on some worse for wear calipers is it worth buying them and getting all this done or just buying a new set? How much did it cost all up if you don't mind me asking? Wouldn't mind getting some crap condition brembo's and doing this to save money, plus I want a unique colour not red so kill 2 birds with one stone

For the powder coating and cleaning/plating of the various hardware I paid $50 per caliper (ie $300 for all six calipers).

If you can get some calipers looking very secondhand for the right price then this is definitely worth doing.

For the burnt calipers I bought a complete set of new seals and dust boots. For the other calipers there wasn't a problem with the existing seals and dust boots so re-used them.

I did three pairs of calipers at once. Doing one pair on its own will be very easy - no confusion with which bolts go where, etc.

These are the decals that I bought for the four piston Brembo calipers (front and rear use the same decal):

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251921375224

From this store:

http://stores.ebay.com.au/hotlookstickers

[FiftyOne]

Any idea what Brembo did with the 6 piston option in terms of piston sizes phil?  I figure if anyone would know, you'd be a pretty good start