With these calipers we have adjusters to contend with. These inner adjusters are held in with this clip:
I mentioned the dental tools. Use a straight pick to remove the clip by prying it inward toward the adjuster screw then upward. Tip; hold your thumb over the adjuster end. When the clip lets loose it loves to fly across your shop and hide under something, somewhere where you'll never find it (yes, we have extras but don't do it... you don't want to wait to get these back together.) Once the clip is out, twist the adjuster off the worm gear while pulling it up. There's a seal on this adjuster that needs to be replaced. There's a little "sausage" as I like to call it that sits in the back of the adjuster. It's actually a small push-rod that goes against the arm and pushes the adjuster outward when the handbrake is engaged. Make sure you get it out at this time:
Now on to the outer adjuster. This is fairly straightforward but... there's a little clip on the shaft that prevents this 17mm nut from flying off. You can just make this clip out in this photo, it also likes to fly across the garage:
I thought I mentioned dental tools right?
I like to use two to get this clip off. Here's the tip; one pick sits stationary on one end of the clip while you "flick" the other end of the clip with the other pick. Once the clip moves just engough STOP. Put your thumb over it and use the straight pick to get between it and the adjuster. Now finish the job. Best to do this with the projectile path facing your belly ("get in me belly"). If it flies it will bounce off your six-pack abs and hopefully be easier to find.
Here she is...
Next you simply spin off the 17mm nut. Sometimes they stick with that clip galley there. If that happens, use this version of the "Special Factory Tool" better known as ViseGrips and a 5mm hex.
With the nut off you can still turn the adjuster and get the piston out. If the piston is tight, you can use a plastic mallet and tap the adjuster down (do not do this with a regular hammer) and then use the hex to crank the adjuster back up again. Repeat that about 3x and the piston will be out without damaging your adjuster. Once it's out, pull the adjuster and yank the seal:
Here's a shot of the internal adjuster mechanism and a grundgy piston. What you're seeing here is old, old brake fluid that has clumped and turned black like tar:
Next yank all the seals from the caliper bores:
Once all of the caliper 1/2's are torn down and all of the seals are out you're ready to take them to a local plater for a fresh coat of zinc. I've actually had the finish on the calipers tested and ATE used zinc (common misconception is cad).
There's a few questions that will come up here so let me answer them; Eric, shouldn't I take that handbrake arm out? Well... no, not unless you're having a problem with it. A problem woud be a buldging wiper seal (from too much brake cleaner etc.) or if it's currently sticking or hard to move. That would mean there's some rust in the wiper seal area. The arm does not have anything to do with the fluid integrity in your caliper, the seal on the inner adjuster does that job. The seal on the arm is just a wiper seal. If it's working OK the plating process won't harm it. If not, kits are fairly expensive at $39.00 but... we have them. Eric, how do I remove the arm if I deem necessary? I like to cut the welch plug with a Dremel and a carbide blade. ONLY cut the plug and not further as you'll dig into the arm. Once you cut/notch it then stick a large flat blade screwdriver in the plug and mangle it out. There's a clip in there. Remove that and the arm will slide out.
*IMPORTANT* Before you leave your calipers off at your plater, let them know that the cable attachment pieces in the handbrake arm are potmetal. I actually tied warning labels on both of these to let them know. They will then babysit them in the acid path so as not to ruin the potmetal.
Next we'll dig into putting them back together. Here's a teaser:
Linear Mode
