Rear brake caliper/handbrake questions.

[Topdownman]

My handbrake on my 2004 car is performing very badly and after jacking up the rear I discovered that the drivers side rear wheel turns easily by hand with the handbrake on. The previous owner told me he had replaced the hand brake cables so I assume they are OK so am guessing the auto adjuster has seized on this side. The brakes seem to work fine when driving. It has done 50000 miles.

Having read the "how to" for rebuilding the calipers and all the other posts I can find it is clear to me that this job is beyond my skills and with the MOT up in just over two weeks I don't have much time to sort this out!

I am planning to take it in to my local garage for them to do the work but am thinking it will be cheaper if I source the parts first and tell them exactly what needs doing as I have read about people spending a fortune on garages changing one bit after another before they get the job done.

My questions then are;

1. Should I buy two refurbished calipers like these, one BCA3466  and one BCA3467?

 m http://brakeparts.co.uk/#page=parts&pag ... 8+ROADSTER m

2. Will I also need any of the other related parts shown on the same web page or are these included with the refurbished caliper?

3. Does it make sense to renew other parts while the job is being done?

4. Do I need to get one of the special Toyota auto adjuster compressor nut part no. 09756-00010 to help the garage out too?

5. Do I need to give the garage any other instructions other than to fit the new calipers or is this going to be obvious to them?
 
Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers.

Simon.

[Andys-N20]

If you pay a garage to do it they should be able to do it without instructions, it is after all their profession.
When doing a job like this it's always good practice to replace bolts etc... for what they cost.
I'm sure someone will be along soon to recommend a recon company. I have heard good things about bigg red before.
Maybe rebuilding the callipers yourself may be 'beyond your skills' but fitting already reconned ones should be some what easy. If it was me I would get some good recon ones and fit them myself and save paying £45 per hour (plus VAT). Knowing that if I had any issues the helpful people on the club would pull me out the muck  s:D s:D  .

[normanh]

Before forking out its worth checking the handbrake adjustment first - underneath the centre console. Slacken the cable right off pump the brakes several times then readjust until the lever locks the brakes at around 5 to 6 clicks, I reckon that might fix the problem.

If your replacing calipers you wont need a wind back tool as the pistons shouldnt be retracted yet, not sure what Toyota tool you are refering too? Might be worth replacing the flexi brake lines or even upgrading them all to steel braid ones,

Norman

[locobuilder brian]

The tool referred to 09756-00010 is available from Toyota from for about £5 but it's only used in dismantling/assembly of rear calipers, not in normal adjustment  but a piston wind back tool is required £20ish from Halfords etc.
Regards Bri e

[Topdownman]

Thanks for the replies.

I did read about slackening off the handbrake adjuster and pumping the brake hard so have tried that, its hard to say if that has helped as I haven't tried jacking it up yet to see if I can still turn the wheel by hand but it doesn't feel hugely different on a steep hill.

I probably didn't really explain my questions/concerns well, because I don't know how the handbrake adjuster works in relation to the caliper and if  having a reconditioned caliper fixs the hand brake adjuster or if the garage could just refit a seized adjuster to the "new" caliper and not actually fix the problem? This was what I meant about telling the garage what to do and if getting the special tool mentioned would make it easier for them to dismantle as I have been reading about using angle grinders (I definitely got lost trying to follow this when I read this and knew this was not a job for me to attempt!). Is another option to get an overhaul kit instead of reconditioned calipers?

If I am getting any bits then it makes sense to get them all rather than have the garage have to get some too.

I hope this clarifies the questions a bit?

[normanh]

Cant see why you would need the windback tool on a refurb caliper the piston I would expect to be fully depressed inside the body. Personally I would look at the refurbed unit rather that doing a rebuild - and I am very mechanically minded.

Are you totally sure the cables have been changed as when I got my 2 it had just passed its 1st test and 5 weeks later one sized up solid needing a new one been fine since other than the odd tweek with manually adjusting the handbrake before the MOT. I was lucky my friendly dealer changed it under warranty.

Norman

[Jandaw]

Think you are jumping the gun here.
Without doubt the most common reason for poor handbrake operation is a sticking caliper.
Lubricating the slider could resolve your problem.
The hidden pad will most certainly be worn more than the outer one, but replace as a set.
I wouldn't consider buying new calipers before trying the above.

[Andys-N20]

Check the rubber boots on the handbrake cables. This will help confirm how new the cables are. If they are perished, dirt works it's way in and moisture.
You can disconnect the cables at both ends easily enough and move the cables by hand, this will eliminate the cables.
With the cables disconnected you can pull the lever that the cables attach to on the back of the caliper and observe if the piston moves at all. You would have to drop the caliper off to test this
Recon calipers should be so free you can turn them with little effort. I know someone at work with a newish car and he used to turn his with pliers.

[Topdownman]

I have just got the car back from the garage and they have replaced one of the handbrake cables and just cleaned up and lubricated the adjuster so wasnt as bad as I was fearing. I hope this one lasts longer than the one they took off though!

Thanks for the advice, if I had got the calipers myself, they still wouldnt have fixed the problem!