Changing front brakes and rotors...'96 Disco

[Lendawg]

I am trying to ignore my misfire code and hope it will go away, so I delved into the brakes and rotors today.
Problems ensued...(details follow)
-Could NOT get rotor to separate from hub. I applied lots of sea foam penetrant spray and did a lot of pounding, but no luck.
-Have one caliper piston that will not compress back into it's cylinder.
-That was just the one wheel and three hours, so I put it back together for another day.

One thing I noticed is that the heat shields (just guessing on the name) on the inboard pistons were rotted away. Are these necessary? I haven't seen them on any LR parts sites.

Thanks,
Lendawg

I am a Land Rover owner for two months now, is it going to be like this forever?

 

[discomike]

Don't ignore the code for long, you are just prolonging the pain and if you let it go it could get worse.
So how are you going to deal with your bad caliper/calipers? If you have too many miles on the truck, you will have to do both calipers.
Mike J.

 

[Lendawg]

I still have to do both front rotors/brakes (and now, calipers too). I never was able to separate the rotor from the hub on the first one I tried, so I put it back together and drank instead.

For the caliper with the stuck piston, I looked for a rebuild kit, but it was a bit confusing on AtlanticBritish, so I emailed them.
The caliper kit on their site says it covers from 87-95, but I saw the kit on other sites that says it covers through 97.
In any case, I have rebuilt several calipers and only ever replaced one (oddly enough, it was on a '90 Rover 216i that I owned in England...but that don't really count because that was actually a Honda car with a Rover badge). I am confident that some TLC and emery cloth can rejuvenate that crusty caliper.
As far as separating the rotor and hub, I put penetrating oil on it, so I hope it will succumb to my advances next time.

Lendawg
p.s. This is my first 4WD...when does the off-road fun start?

 

[RoverChic]

Today is your lucky day! I have a Caliper with a warranty! PM If you need it left driver side (LockHeed).

On the caliper with the stuck piston. Be careful the method that you use to compress the piston back in. I put too much force on mine, busted both the piston seals and the ultimate experience began. You have never lived life until you press the brakes and the pedal goes all the way to the floor and the RED BRAKE light appears on the dash. It apparently was busted when I put the tire back on however I failed to recognize it. Good Luck.

 

[Lendawg]

You may be right that today is my lucky day, as I probably won't go near the Disco today.
(I'm in the USAF, I live in base housing, and I don't have a garage...so I use the base's "Auto Hobby Shop" for a small hourly fee it's like having your own well-equipped shop. I don't know why they don't have these for civillians, you could join like a gym membership??? Has anyone ever seen one? Or is that my retirement plan? In any case, they are closed on Sunday.)
Really, are you saying you have a caliper for sale?

Thanks for the warning, I use a small c-clamp that doesn't have enough mechanical advantage to sqish a fly. My experience is that once they put up a struggle, it's better to come out for a rebuild instead of being forced back in.

Lendawg

 

[RoverChic]

Yes I really do have a caliper for sale. Make me an offer @ this point I just want to get it out of my sight. I attached a picture for your ready review.


"I'm in the USAF, I live in base housing"

Maybe I need to re-think the whole JAG thing after all? That is extremely commendable and admirable that you are serving our country despite the turmoil. Be safe.

Let me know on the caliper. Which side has the problem?

 

[Lendawg]

That is one beautiful caliper. I need a left (driver's) one, at least...I haven't looked at the pax side yet.
I attempted to PM you earlier, but do not have that ability yet. You can email me at [email protected]

Thanks,
Lendawg

 

[antichrist]

snip
(I'm in the USAF, I live in base housing, and I don't have a garage...so I use the base's "Auto Hobby Shop" for a small hourly fee it's like having your own well-equipped shop. I don't know why they don't have these for civillians, you could join like a gym membership??? Has anyone ever seen one? Or is that my retirement plan?
snip

I've seen them, but rarely. I suspect it's for liability reasons. People are so sue happy. You know, rent the shop for an hour, jack the car up with a bumper jack, crawl under, jack slips and falls on person. Person sue's shop owner because the shop owner should have known the person was too stupid to work on their own car.

 

[Discosid]

Stainless Steel Caliper Piston

Go to this site
http://www.paddockspares.com/shop/system/index.html
bottom of the FRONT AXLE section
606683S Front Caliper Piston - Stainless Steel 7.00 Pounds
Stainless pistons and you will never have this problem again.

 

[Lendawg]

Thanks for the link. Not sure what all I'm doing with the calipers, but I'm certain that as a minimum, I need to recondition them. I found the caliper rebuild kit at Paddock Spares at a great price (3.70 GBP) for the kit that does 4 pistons. On U.S. sites, they are like $15-20. The shipping was apparently free. Do they offer free shipping to the U.S. on everything?
If I decide to replace any calipers, I'm not out too much money here.