frozen caliper pistons, how do I get them out??? Options

[Lou W]

You have a very late rear caliper. 75 or 76. I hate those clips. Looks like you've got it tackled but for future referrence, I use a pick and a small blade screwdriver. I use the pick to pull up the corner and slide the screwdriver under the clip and pop it out.

Does the handbrake arm come out? Yes. You will have to destroy the 25mm welch plug to do it though. We don't mess with those unless there's an obvious problem. Repair kits for that section alone are $49.00 from your favorite Ferrari vendor (read: more than a decent core is worth).

If you're insistent then here's what I do: Take a dremel with a carbide cutoff wheel and etch a notch "just" through the surface of the welch plug. The end of the arms is on the other side so... just enough to cut through. Get a large screwdriver and peel the welch plug out. Take the small clip off the end of the arm and the arm and rubber seal will slide right out. You may be able to reuse the seal if it's not in bad shape but... if it's not in bad shape, what the hell are you doing all this for? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

Seriously... you may be able to reuse it if you find a 25mm welch plug. PB Blaster touts itself as a seal restorer. It's actually a seal sweller. A small bit of PB plaster on a cloth to clean off the seal should make it work but, make sure you get it in the groove and put back together asap.

This is good info for those having a small adjuster o-ring leak. A little PB blaster on that area may swell the seal just enough to fix the problem. Any fix like that should be viewed as temporary but...

I think I'll hold off from removing the lever, do you think I will run into any problems effecting the E-Brake ability by powdercoating with the lever in place? I know you have powdercoated calipers, but did you do any with the E-Brake setup intact?

Lou, you didn't say you were trying this trick on the 914 rear calipers. It is a bad practice to just use hydraulic pressure on 914 rear calipers alone. It is far better to use the adjusters along with pressure. Adjust a little , then force a little. You can permanently damage adjusters by using pressure alone.

No (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) the rears came apart the correct way, no hydraulic or air pressure was used.



Note to myself: even though you may have "tinker time" available, next time just ship them off to Eric. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Eric_Shea]

Good call on the handbrake arm. I rarely find the need to replace those (and they're not causing any leaks).

I'm not a fan of powdercoating. What are you trying to make them look like?? There's Brembo covers available on eBay! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

The seal should be able to take the heat of powdercoating but the only one's I've powdercoated we did remove the arms just in case. Also, the powder would effectively go everywhere and bind the arm when is cures. All of the openings should be plugged (bleeder, piston bore, Arm bore, fastener holes, fluid input, etc...) When you remove the (9 or more) plugs it leaves ridges all around. Not a clean installation in my book.

I would encourage you and/or anyone else reading along in the comfort of their humble abode not to powdercoat your calipers... do the right thing and plate them. There's a guy down there in SloCal that does them cheap...

[Lou W]

I was planing to do them in dark grey, the covers on e-bay are red (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


Thank you for taking the time to respond. I now realize that it makes more sense to have them plated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)