Advice needed on sticky brake calipers

[ziajka]

Hi I have mk1 1.6 eunos which this morning the drivers side rear caliper decided to stick and produce some lovely smelling smoke. Now i know im most likely going to need a new caliper but during these tough times I would prefer not to have to buy a new one. Is this a common fault and does anybody know of any cheap solutions?

Cheers

[pacoryan]

I've just changed my rear calipers and picked up a new pair for under £100 on ebay, seemed like a no-brainer, rebuild kits are all well and good if you have the time I guess,and can accept you are only postponing the inevitable.

[bluetone]

You can get reconditioned ones = get some cost refunded when you send your old knackered one back?

http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/product...

BTW, I have done both of my rear calipers over about a 12 month period - you might want to consider doing both whilst you are at it...

No, I am not connected to any MX5 parts retailer..

[GravelBen]

I suspect mine might be just starting to stick a little - occasional squeakiness after sitting for a while and fuel economy seems worse than usual Doesn't seem enough to really get hot though. Are there any easy fixes while its still at that stage?

[bluetone]

GravelBen said:

I suspect mine might be just starting to stick a little - occasional squeakiness after sitting for a while and fuel economy seems worse than usual Doesn't seem enough to really get hot though. Are there any easy fixes while its still at that stage?

You can try cleaning-up the piston(s) in-situ if they are quite rusty etc but I tried this when mine first started binding and tbh it was pretty ineffective; within a few days it was as bad as before. You could take it off, strip it down fully and you can get seal replacement kits if you don't mind putting the time in I guess but let's remember that the brakes are a safety item eh, so you might be best-off just replacing...

[Stickers]

I had the exact same problem with my Mk 1 and for a while I used to carry a steel bar in the boot to free the caliper (not just to bash in heads).

Eventually I stripped both rear calipers to find that the culprit was the cam that operates the handbrake, it had seized and the return spring was too week to do it's job........I freed up the cam, applied copperslip to the offending area's and hey presto - all was well (or so I thought).

For 6 - 9 Months or so the handbrake worked as normal until during the winter I was forced to leave the car standing for several weeks during a period of snow & icey conditions.

That was all it took for the cam to lock up once more.......I'm convinced that road salt plays a big part in this story, suffice to say I don't use the handbrake anymore for the fear of it locking up while parked on a day out - I now just park in 1st gear.

[bluetone]

Stickers said:

I don't use the handbrake anymore for the fear of it locking up while parked on a day out - I now just park in 1st gear.

Word.

I gave up using the handbrake for parking a couple of years a go also

[ziajka]

Praise the lord it is repaired. You guys were right about the handbrake, cheers. It turned out to be the handbrake lever on the back off the caliper had stuck on causing the brake to remain engaged, this was sorted by a little bit of a clean up and some copper ease. The hard job was replacing the disc and pads due to the piston being difficult to push back (without the knowledge of the hex key adjuster hidden under the 14mm bolt). This would of been a lot easier if the dick heads from Amazon had sent me the correct Haynes manual. Cheers again lads!!!!

[pacoryan]

bluetone said:

You can get reconditioned ones = get some cost refunded when you send your old knackered one back?

http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/product...

New ones on the bay at £25 each plus shipping. And some clown selling a used one for £40!!