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Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: Zoid on 11 May 2004, 20:55
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My 1990 8v failed mot today, one of the rears calipers has seized again, mechanic said there was smoke coming off the back wheel as he was driving back from the mot station :'(
He reckons it's not worth spending the money on the labour to strip down the old ones, and instead better off buying new ones or upgrading.
Phoned up c&r they told me either late mk3 or mk4 calipers, both are the same price, they said the mk3's are more durable but the mk4 are lighter being alloy but do need replacement rear hose kit.
What would be the best to go for, Mk3's or Mk4's, any pro's and con's?? Also I've been told there are earlier and late spec Mk4 calipers, if so what are the differences and which ones to go for?
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hey zoid! :D
sorry to hear about the mot, but thats life man!
id go for mk3 calipers personally.
do you live in notts then mate? ???
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Yeah I know, it's just all coming at once, the exhaust also needs replacing, and the front tyres will need doing shortly, and I've only just paid out for new front calipers, and all other parts needed to upgrade to 256mm front brakes.
Why do you think the mk3 rears are better, both have internal hand brake mechanism?
Oh and I live on the south coast.
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Hello mate,
Go for mk3 calipers 94 onwards.
These will be a straight swap for the mk2 ones, i believe you need some modding to fit mk4 ones.
If you can get a couple of calipers, i can fit them for 50 quid and bleed them, if you are interested ;)
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VR,
mine need doing aswel. What kind of modding is required?
?40 for mk3 recon ones sound good?
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Mk3 94 onwards calipers (internal handbrake mech) are a straight swap for mk2 gti 88 onwards (10th letter of chassis code K).
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you can save yourself 130 by simply sorting out your existing calipers, its only the handbrake rachet pinion on the calipers that is seized
take of the rear wheels
disconnect the handbrake cables
knock the rachet pinion out about 1/2 inch
rub down with wet/dry until smooth again
spray bucket loads of wd40 in around it - let it seep in
smear in grease
knock rachet back in
reconnect everything and give it a good working on the handbrake lever
also, replacing the rachet springs with ford granada items will also help as these are stiffer springs so have more recoil
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Hey Gambit
One of my rear calipers was sticking slightly so I followed your advice yesterday (disconnecting handbrake, knocking out rachet pinion, wd40 & grease etc).
However when I came to knocking the rachet pinion back in it seemed to be in a slightly different position. I wasn't able to put the bolt that holds the return spring back in without the handbrake being on (if you know what I mean). I then repeated what I had done on the other caliper and blow me it did exactly the same! I've had to leave the return springs off now in order to use it. Has anybody else experienced this???
Toby
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I'd go for fixing your old ones as Gambit says. With my Audi rear calipers, which are almost exactly the same, it was just one of the sliders that had siezed........only took about half an hour to get it all sorted ;)
A lot cheaper than new calipers
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The previous owner told me for the last 2 mot's the rear calipers had seized, so this is the 3rd time!
My mechanic said it's not worth me spending the money on his labour to strip them down, as they will seize up again, instead either go for new or second hand set.
Think I'll probably go for a set of new mk3 rears and have done.
btw golfvr6 thanks for the offer to do the work for me.
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When you remove the spring and lever stop bolt and work the hand brake lever to free it, it can over adjust the mechanism. To get around this, rebuild the linkage and wind the piston in enough to get the calliper back on and let the auto adjuster in the calliper take up the play.
Steve.
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Cheers Steve I will try your suggestion at the weekend, you may have saved me some money (thought I was in for a couple of new calipers).
Hey Gambit should I be looking for any particular age or model of ford granny at the breakers to rob the return springs off???
Toby
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here's the Ford part numbers for the granada springs
6 141 147
6 141 148
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The previous owner told me for the last 2 mot's the rear calipers had seized, so this is the 3rd time!
My mechanic said it's not worth me spending the money on his labour to strip them down, as they will seize up again, instead either go for new or second hand set.
Think I'll probably go for a set of new mk3 rears and have done.
btw golfvr6 thanks for the offer to do the work for me.
i'm going against the grain here.
if the calipers have done this twice before - they should be heading for the bin and not the car.
buy new calipers. although the rear brakes dont do much work in comparison to the fronts they shown themselves to be defective and it aint worth taking the risk for a few quid.
tin
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I need to replace my rear callipers too. I've had my existing ones cleaned out and lubricated before, but they've seized up again.
At higher speeds I get a continuous high-pitched squeal from the back end, although strangely only when I'm accellerating.
I'm going to have mine replaced with mk3 ones as the cleaning trick is clearly a short-term fix.
When I bought the car the same rear calliper had created so much heat that the wheel bearing had started oozing grease! Lovelly! A bit of a swine to clean off your wheels too!
Its a J-reg, 1991 registered, so I guess I'm looking for new late-model mk3 callipers, pads and discs yeah??
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Hi, I'm reviving this thread from the dead a bit, but what does the ratchet pinion look like? I'm going to attempt this fix on monday, and my brake knowledge is pretty poor.
Cheers,
Dom
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The cam type adjuster is the part the cable slots onto. Just leaver it out about 3/4 of an inch with a screwdriver & use fine wet & dry paper with WD40 on the exposed part of the mechanism. I used plenty spray copper slip & knocked it up & down until I could move it by hand.
I've had to do this for the last couple of years for the MOT & keep thinking I'll need to replace them but they've always worked okay & passed without any problems.
The Ford Granada springs mentioned above are a good upgrade but you can't get them from Ford anymore as they're now discontinued.
If you find a late 80's Granada (MK 3) they're the ones you want. And they're also the same on the Sapphire Cosworth as that's what mine came from. Much harder to fit due to the strong tension of the spring but well worth the trouble.
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Still can't find this f**king rachet pinion! I've been aimlessly knocking things with a hammer for half an hour now :(
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You won't be able to "see" any ratchet as it's inside the cast calliper body. Have a look at the following link :
http://www.oneilcastro.com/A2Bentley/SU02/ch7.2.1.html
The arrow pointing at the actuator lever??? This is the part you want to leaver out & do as described in my last post.
Hope this makes more sense.
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sweet, cheers.
Will have a go tomorrow.
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Had the same problem for an MOT a few years back. Eventually bought a new one from GSF. But at the MOT time I resorted to more direct measures. Worked a treat - passed.
(http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/the_flying_elvi/Illustration_WD40.jpg)
(http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/the_flying_elvi/rubber-mallet-hammer--2lb.jpg)
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I wouldn't use WD40 anywhere near my brakes.....
If you get it anywhere near the pads I'd think about changing them.