I am in the process of rebuilding my rear brake calipers and I have 2 questions:

1. the caliper pistons have a circlip and some other stuff inside of them - is it worth trying to take them apart to inspect and clean or don't bother?

2. am i risking damaging my parking brake mechanism by using brake cleaner to clean the inside of the caliper? are there any seals in that section of the caliper that will be damaged by brake cleaner? i was following eric shea's tutorial but he doesn't say anything about it. just a concern of mine.

thanks!

bump.

I don't bother to remove the retraction mechanism from within the pistons. I do flush the pistons with rubbing alcohol and brake cleaner, then blow dry with compressed air. The rubber seals are okay with alcohol, not sure about the brake cleaner, so I don't use it on the rubber parts. There is no rubber within the pistons.

Once the calipers are taken apart the only seal left is the one for the e-brake lever. I used brake cleaner on mine and blew them out as soon as I could...

What is the deal about using alcohol for cleaning brake calipers? I have seen this mentioned in various places, in particular the Ate rebuild booklet that comes with the kits. Is brake cleaner a bad thing to use on brake parts (seems silly given the name)???

I believe it has to do with the effect a harsh chemical may have on the seals..

Good to know that after the fact... Somehow I doubt alcohol will cut thru the sludge in the bottom of the inside caliper half where the adjuster sits though.

QUOTE (jkeyzer @ Sep 7 2005, 10:27 AM)

Somehow I doubt alcohol will cut thru the sludge in the bottom of the inside caliper half where the adjuster sits though.

It does'nt clean for crap. When I rebuilt mine I had Eric Shea walk me through it and he said that using brake cleaner is fine as long as you don't let it soak in the stuff for any long period of time.

He also said to NEVER use carb cleaner...

Ah-ha. I found this online (so it must be true):

...Clean the pistons and bores with methyl alcohol (methanol), brake cleaner or fresh brake fluid. Do not, under any circumstances, use petroleum-based products such as WD-40 or gasoline or lacquer thinners such as turpentine.

Never use any petroleum lubricant on brake components. The olefins within such lubricants will distort brake system seals and significantly reduce component life.

So I guess brake cleaner falls into the same class of chemical as alcohol as far as the seals are concerned. It's probably a good idea to be sparing anyway.