Rear Brake Back Plates.... again!

[scotty73]

Nope, original bearings.

Kinda makes sense to do them dont it.... It's not my money i'm spending here though is it.

[DaiRees]

Right, bearings ordered, £36 each from my local motor factor.

Total so far... £258.86.

Anyone fancy taking a guess at what the labour's gonna cost?

[scotty73]

Seeing that price i think i'll be painting my back plates before long, who you having to do it?

[DaiRees]

Keith's Motor Repairs on the Goat Mill Road.

[DaiRees]

Oooh, new bits!


I'va also cracked under the strain and ordered new Mintex discs, pads and handbrake shoes.... Damn this job is getting expensive....

[scotty73]

Thats a good 80 to 90 spondolies more then?

[DaiRees]

Thats a good 80 to 90 spondolies more then?

£68.60 on ebay

[scotty73]

Thats good going i was looking at a set last week i think it was £78 and i dont think it was mintex (also off ebay)... i followed what looked like a lost 406 up the heads of the valley to asda roundabout earlier it wernt you was it?

[jasper5]

Oooh, new bits!


I'va also cracked under the strain and ordered new Mintex discs, pads and handbrake shoes.... Damn this job is getting expensive....

I can see why these are expensive Dai, they seem to have the caliper mounting built into the backplate assembly.

No wonder you can't buy aftermarket ones.

Good idea doing the discs/pads/shoes at the same time Expensive, but worth it in the long run if you intend keeping the car a while.

[DaiRees]

i followed what looked like a lost 406 up the heads of the valley to asda roundabout earlier it wernt you was it?

Nah mate, I've been down the valley today, back home now though..

[DaiRees]

I can see why these are expensive Dai, they seem to have the caliper mounting built into the backplate assembly.

No wonder you can't buy aftermarket ones.

Good idea doing the discs/pads/shoes at the same time Expensive, but worth it in the long run if you intend keeping the car a while.

I was a bit surprised to see those fairly heafty castings attached to the back of the plates too mate, as you say, no wonder you can't get after market ones.

Point of interest here: the bloke in the dealer had the part number up for back plates for models with rear drums first, and he reckons they're discontinued and can no-longer be sourced (scared me for a moment 'till we realised he had the wrong ones!! ). Dunno whether that means that they don't rot like the disc version, or that if they do rot you have to scrap the car??

Anyway, more new bits....

[DaiRees]

Right so the old bus has been in the garage all day, and it's still there

Firstly she needed new hand brake cables, the old ones were a bit knackered but more importantly they just weren't going to come out of the back plates intact and in any kind of re-usable condition .

Then, when the job was nearly finished and the mechanic rang again to inform me that I have a stickng caliper . Nipped up for a look and it is indeed knackered, explaining both the unevenly worn and scored disc, the excessive brake dust on that wheel recently and the small yet noticably drop in economy. Actually I'm pretty certain that this has only happened since the back plate failed, but I can't see how that alone would cause the caliper to sieze

So a service replacement caliper is on order which will push the parts spend over the £400 mark , with labour costs still to come tomorrow

Anyhow, I'm glad I'm replacing the whole lot in matching pairs but my assumption that because the one back plate was rotten the other one must be in a similar state turned out to be bolox. While anything left of the offside plate was lost in the removal process leaving just the casting, the nearside one is in remarkably good nick. There's a bit of surface rust on the inside but a wire brushing and a coat of hamerite would see it fit for several more years of service... So if anyone finds themselves in need of one, give me a shout!

[jasper5]

It's a pity you live so far away, Dai, I can refurbish brake calipers for very little cost.

Just done my son's Micra front calipers, cost me £2 to repair them, they were stuck on so tight the brakes were smoking when he got back from a 150 mile motorway drive recently.

[DaiRees]

It's a pity you live so far away, Dai, I can refurbish brake calipers for very little cost.

Just done my son's Micra front calipers, cost me £2 to repair them, they were stuck on so tight the brakes were smoking when he got back from a 150 mile motorway drive recently.

I asked Keith about refurbing it and he said that service exchange parts are the way to go, thought it was a bit odd but haven't had the pleasure of fiddling with brakes for years so you have to take advice eh? As long as it's back tomorrow and isn't stupidly expensive I'm not too bothered, just want it right

[jasper5]

It's a pity you live so far away, Dai, I can refurbish brake calipers for very little cost.

Just done my son's Micra front calipers, cost me £2 to repair them, they were stuck on so tight the brakes were smoking when he got back from a 150 mile motorway drive recently.

I asked Keith about refurbing it and he said that service exchange parts are the way to go, thought it was a bit odd but haven't had the pleasure of fiddling with brakes for years so you have to take advice eh? As long as it's back tomorrow and isn't stupidly expensive I'm not too bothered, just want it right

This is one of my pet hates....I hate it when people say just stick an exchange one on, nobody bothers to repair anything these days

All it needs is to pump the brake until the caliper piston pops out, clean the piston up, scrape the rust off the inner surface beyond the inner seal, blow out or spray brake cleaner inside the caliper, wipe it all clean, smear some rubber lubricant on the inner seal and the piston (the £2 cost) slide the piston back in and bleed the brake...half an hour tops for an experienced mechanic.

Anyway, I hope you are back on the road as soon as possible.

If anyone wants to try doing what I do, remember I have 42 years experience working on cars....don't touch your brakes if you are not competent.