I've been suspecting a sticky rear caliper for a while with poor fuel consumption and my suspicions were confirmed correct today where I felt a pull to the left and an extremely hot disc.  The cost of new is nearly £200 and although there are some used on ebay, I am thinking I could be in the same position again with a used one, so I am contemplating trying one of the overhaul kits like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231416521654

 

Has anyone any experience of them?  Are they any good and if so and I get the caliper removed by my mechanic mate, are they relatively easily taken apart and lubricated etc? 

 

Thanks in advance

Adam

I have just replaced my n/s/f caliper on my 2008 vrs & i paid £43 for mine,i replaced both my rear calipers earlier this year & i paid £160 for both rear calipers. That repair kit may work,i guess it depends on the condition of the piston etc. The piston in my n/s/f caliper was very corroded. 

Thanks.  Did you get them new and painted for that price?  

The rears were brand new & came painted red,the front one was brand new but painted gold as it was dealer only to get a red one! i got them from euro carparts (a friend works for them). im not to fussed about it been gold as it was more important to me to get the car back on the road asap,i may paint it red in the summer. 

Sadly I need green to match the rest of the car but they don't seem to be available on ECP or on eBay.  I could paint a silver ECP one but the paint is hard to locate as Hammerite have discontinued the colour!  I will definitely be trying an overhaul first, but maybe just get it lubricated first, especially as I'm not even sure of the piston size at present (choice of 38mm or 41mm, think it is ithe former as per the red ones on ECP).  Thanks for your response.

No problem,my pal did ask me if mine were red or green at the time so it may be worth a phone call to see if they still do green,i was quite alarmed at the corrosion of the piston,my car is 6 years old & has covered 60k,the caliper was fine then one day on a drive to leeds it got very hot & was binding badly,i replaced it the next day,ive never had to replace brake calipers on any of my cars never mind one thats only 6 years old with 60k on the clock. Im hoping the o/s/f isnt going to do the same soon! 

Parts required: seal kit ~£22 from VAG

Specialist tools: Caliper piston wind back tool(optional).

Unscrew the two caliper mounting bolts and remove pads.

Move the caliper up and rotate it so it's piston is accessible away from the disc and temporarily secure with the upper bolt which then gives you something secure to work with instead of a floppy part.

Slowly depress the brake pedal and check on the position of the piston, you want to catch it just as it is pushed free of the caliper.

Once it's free gently clamp the rubber brake pipe before the caliper (locking pliers) to prevent fluid loss.

Recover the piston and remove the dust and fluid seals from the caliper.

Thoroughly clean the piston and caliper insides using brake cleaner, old toothbrush, toothpick or small screwdriver, be careful not to score the caliper bore.

Inspect the chrome surface of the piston, a few small pits are acceptable, sharp edges will need dressing with a fine file.

If it looks like a teenager's face you probably should get a new piston, although those on a tight budget or keen sense of diy could probably make a good piston by filling large pits with epoxy or similar filler.

Once you are satisfied everything is serviceable, give everything another good wash with brake cleaner and allow to dry.

Fit the new fluid seal in the caliper and lube generously with clean brake fluid if you don't have the special seal conditioner that comes with new seals.

Fit the dust seal to the piston and offer it up to the caliper, refitting the seal properly in the caliper recess can be a guddle with a small screwdriver or similar but be gentle and persevere, wiggling the piston around as you work it in.

Once it's in position and ready to be screwed back in, crack the bleed nipple a couple of turns then use the wind back tool or large pipe grips to wind the piston fully back into the caliper, it can be a bit fiddly to get it started, use inwards pressure whilst turning it, but once started it should screw in easily.

Remove the caliper from its temporary fitted position and reassemble it correctly with the pads, ensuring the relative surfaces are clean and copper greased.

Remove the brake pipe clamp and bleed the caliper as normal.

An easy 1 hour job at little cost.

Thanks for this, very helpful.  Fingers crossed its not overly corroded..

I  bought new ones from big red 200 the pair the rear calipers are a crap design on octavia,mine would not wind back in and were solid. The problem is the hand brake is also using the calipers as well , so i will replace my rear pads when half worn in future.

These calipers have only done about 60k. I swapped the originals for vrs ones 18months ago when I needed new discs, deciding to uprate the brakes at the same time. I was lucky to find a vrs being broken with less than 50k so am pretty disappointed the caliper is sticking. The originals had over 100k and no such issues..

Sadly I need green to match the rest of the car but they don't seem to be available on ECP or on eBay.  I could paint a silver ECP one but the paint is hard to locate as Hammerite have discontinued the colour!  I will definitely be trying an overhaul first, but maybe just get it lubricated first, especially as I'm not even sure of the piston size at present (choice of 38mm or 41mm, think it is ithe former as per the red ones on ECP).  Thanks for your response.

Brake caliper specialists, you will find them on facebook. They do full recon and painting or sell the paint kits.

Thanks for that. I will look on my missus' account.

I managed to get away with just a seal kit on my rear calipers on my tdi. The problem was caused by the aluminium body of the caliper corroding and this corrosive coating causes the piston to tighten up in the bore. I took of the caliper and did the work in a vice after first pumping the brake pedal to push out the piston till it was loose enough to remove by hand. The piston itself cleaned up fine with some polishing emery and the caliper casing cleaned of corrosion around where the dust seal fits. Obviously keep the dirt out of the internal area and reassemble with new piston seal lubricated with brake fluid and dust seal - as said above by Micmac - using a piston wind back tool, a bit fiddly but ok once you have got the piston back on the thread. Overall a simple enough job for a home mechanic with great results for not much cost. Once refitted and bled they worked perfectly and when the handbrake was released the wheels spun freely without binding.

Big red do every colour imaginable even pink.

I'll pass on the pink until I pass it on to the missus...