Rear brake caliper

[evdama]

I have one handbrake actuator occasionally sticking.

Has anyone stripped one down successfully or is it just worth shelling out for a new pair of calipers.
 If that was the case I'd really want to renew the disks and pads at the same time but these haven't got to 50 % wear yet.

Lots of money for a fixable issue ?

[jj9]

Yes I've stripped & repaired a few on my own vehicles but I'm not sure I would advise it unless you have nothing better to do and you like a challenge as new ones can be had for £30 - £40 each from automotive stores on ebay. 

To strip the caliper you will need a good pair of long nose circlip pliers to remove the internal circlip that hols the handbrake mechanism inside the caliper, this can be tricky to remove & double tricky to reinstall.

If fitting new calipers I see no reason to replace the discs & pads if they still have plenty of life left, the calipers will work just the same.


The video in the link below is a rebuild of a VW rear caliper, the procedure is the same on the Berlingo caliper so it will give you an idea of what's involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHPX8lEHFKs


.

[evdama]

Yes I've stripped & repaired a few on my own vehicles but I'm not sure I would advise it unless you have nothing better to do and you like a challenge as new ones can be had for £30 - £40 each from automotive stores on ebay. 

To strip the caliper you will need a good pair of long nose circlip pliers to remove the internal circlip that hols the handbrake mechanism inside the caliper, this can be tricky to remove & double tricky to reinstall.

If fitting new calipers I see no reason to replace the discs & pads if they still have plenty of life left, the calipers will work just the same.


The video in the link below is a rebuild of a VW rear caliper, the procedure is the same on the Berlingo caliper so it will give you an idea of what's involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHPX8lEHFKs


.thanks that's useful info.
Once you factor in an extra hour of your life and the hassle factor then a new component suddenly becomes very cheap....

[jj9]

. . . Once you factor in an extra hour of your life and the hassle factor then a new component suddenly becomes very cheap....

An hour if it goes well    . . . also add that you'll more than likely need a repair kit of seals which averages £10 and  replacement calipers look better & better.

If you look at the video in the link, at time 11:00 you can see the shaft sticking out of the caliper, you can also see a circular part which the guy fills with grease, the circular part is the housing to hold the weather seal, as you can see it's partially corroded away, this will compromise the efficacy of the seal so a rebuilt caliper that is corroded like in the video may only last a year or so.


.