Rear Caliper rebuild?????

[damian1978]

Hi all, I have a 2007 Vectra CD-ROM which I am planning to rebuild the Calipers on. I assumed it would be straightforward as I’ve done this before on Vectra B’s I’ve owned.

so, I’ve ordered new seal and piston kits, sliders etc etc. But I’ve now realised that the rear Caliper pistons have some kind of internal components for the handbrake which I would need to remove and install in my new pistons, as the new pistons don’t come with this installed.

I've never worked on this type of Caliper before, although I am a pretty competent experienced home mechanic.

My question is..... are these relatively easy to rebuild or am I likely to be fighting with it for hours?!

Has anyone here done this job and could offer any tips or advice?

Thanks in advance!

[autov]

I have done 6 of these rear calipers we have 3 z19dth. Personaly i would buy brand new ones it's quicker and easier than stripping cleaning and rebuilding with the seal and piston kits the cost difference is probably £20 per caliper. The hard bit is if you want to replace the handbrake mechinisum ( spelling) seals it's not easy i did make a tool but even then it's a b-----d of a job.Everthing else is easy and no different to other calipers. IF you have a estate there is a trade seller on ebay with 1 or 2 reconditioned ones but only one side and done by Brake enginnering . I managed to get one for £15 delivered a bargain i would have bought the others but we have only got the 1 estate model.

[damian1978]

I’ve seen a couple of pictures of the handbrake macanism, and it looks as much of a pain as you describe. To be honest, if I hadn’t already ordered the seal and piston kit then I would just buy new ones. I do like to repair/restore where possible but this sounds like it could well not be worth the time and hassle. It’s a hatch I have. Maybe I’ll have to send the parts I’ve ordered back and go for the new calipers instead.

thanks for the reply!

[autov]

I'll try to repair anything it comes from having little money early in my life , but i have now some cash to spare and sometimes it just is not worth the trouble. I do have a bit of yorkshire in me at times. LOL

[ryandmay]

I have just rebuilt my rear calipers and swapped over the internals of the piston as mentioned above. The component that is held in with the spring inside the piston has a rubber seal on it and when I was replacing it, it could go on 2 different ways, one of which didn't look right, it sort of stuck out a bit more. I refitted it the way that looked right and sort of followed the shape of the piston component, It felt like a real nice fit going in whereas the other way, it would have took a lot more persuasion to get it to go in. Have I done this right ? I don't know why I'm doubting it because it's all working OK, I'm just having issues getting the air out of th system fully.

[CLUB04]

I replaced both rear calipers on my old Vectra before it died last August. I have both sat in my shed not being used if they are of use to anyone. They are a little dirty, but as the ones on my newer Vectra are in good condition and working, I don't need them, plus I plan on the larger brakes at some point as the small standard ones aare no good for a 2.2, I keep cooking them!!
As I say, if they are of any use, let me know, they are cheap