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Re-Building Front Brake Calipers - Question!

Mike_Mac

Mike_Mac

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2.2 CTDi EX
Recently I decided to refurb my spare standard front brake calipers, just to have them ready in case I ever needed them. I've refurbed quite a few sets of brakes before, so wasn't concerned. I also got OEM Honda refurb kits as I don't like the quality of aftermarket ones.

All was fine until I tried to secure the rubber boot in place at the mouth of the bore. Most boots use either a lip, or a clip to secure the boot to the bore, but the Honda solution seems to be to have it 'pressed' into place around the lip of the bore and then retained by friction! However the bottom ring of the boot just won't pop into place. It will engage on one side, but then no matter what you do will not pop down around the whole circumference (IYSWIM!). After 90 minutes of trying, with both calipers, and both boots, I gave up before I lost the plot and grabbed a lump hammer!

Has anyone done this before and got any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? The mating surface at the lip of the bore has been thoroughly cleaned and prepped, the boots are brand new OEM Honda, so I can't see what else I can do! I've checked on Lings and there definitely isn't a clip - it should just pop into place, but doesn't!!

Anyone got any ideas?
 
Cheers Matt, but that's not the issue (although my solution to the problem you had is for me to stretch out the boot, while my wife inserts the piston into the bore - works a treat! Boots that use cir-clips are much easier though.)

The problem I'm having is that, as you can see from the picture below, there is just a single lip at the mouth of the bore for the boot to be secured on, and it seems like the boot is meant to stay on with friction, as there's no cir-clip with the kit, or shown on the exploded diagram on Lings, but instead there appears to be something like one within the structure of the boot itself...


But, when you try and press the boot onto that lip it will not 'pop' over the lip, but will always have a section that won't engage - as below...


I have tried it with and without the piston and in every way possible, but it just won't go on. I may just see about returning it to Honda, as I'm increasingly thinking they're defective in some way.

Interestingly, the aftermarket kit appears to use a less sturdy boot, but secure it with a cir-clip, which suggests to me that they too had issues with replicating the Honda setup - I may order one of them and see how I get on.
 
Hmmm. I see your problem!

Without a groove in the caliper body I'd imagine it would just pop off the first time the piston moved forward. Unless it's a mega tight fit and then you'd not be able to get it on in the first place.

Oh yeah. I see...

I'd suggest some king of glue, but if you've bought Honda and it's not in the box I doubt that's the answer.

Does something fit under the chamfered lip inside the bore? Though I can't see how that would work without interfering with the piston travel.

Hopefully someone will be along who has done fronts and knows the secret...
 
Matt said:
Hmmm. I see your problem!

Without a groove in the caliper body I'd imagine it would just pop off the first time the piston moved forward. Unless it's a mega tight fit and then you'd not be able to get it on in the first place.

Oh yeah. I see...

I'd suggest some king of glue, but if you've bought Honda and it's not in the box I doubt that's the answer.

Does something fit under the chamfered lip inside the bore? Though I can't see how that would work without interfering with the piston travel.

Hopefully someone will be along who has done fronts and knows the secret...
Click to expand...
Glue might be the answer - if the boot was able to be fitted over the lip in the first place. there's also no other lips inside the bore of any sort. The Type R Calipers I did at the same time were fine - I just think these are a really crappy design TBH - never had an issue like this, and I've re-built plenty of calipers before!

If nothing's forthcoming here, then I'll just get the A-M kit with Cir-Clips, but it's really annoying me now! :D
 
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