MTec Brake Discs & General Brake Related Questions

[gookah]

Cheers Pete, looks brill in that colour.

Last question, I promise.... should you use clear on top to 'seal' everything in. Read different things online so not sure what to follow.

No laquer on mine and I pressure wash them without issues so far

 

[t-tony]

@Faheem I said this paint covers well didn't I? This is how much I used to coat the disc hubs and I used a little this afternoon.

Tony.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Not strictly relevant but I fitted Meyle Platinum discs (the 325mm conversion thread's on here somewhere) back in May, and they still look shiny on the bits that normally don't. Some kind of magic finish, have stayed silver so far, guess that's why "Platinum". Not grooved or drilled, couldn't see the point of fitting bigger discs if there are grooves/holes machined into them.

 

[t-tony]

Grooves shift water to aid braking in the wet and the holes are for better cooling, they do make a difference, Honest.

Tony.

 

[Mac_Gaz]

A pot of blue calliper paint from eBay and some MTec discs made a difference on my 2.2

 

[t-tony]

View attachment 64856 View attachment 64857 View attachment 64858 A pot of blue calliper paint from eBay and some MTec discs made a difference on my 2.2 View attachment 64856 View attachment 64857 View attachment 64856

Looking good Gaz!

Tony.

 

[Faheem]

Sorry guys, been away for a couple of days.

@t-tony that paint certainly looks excellent value for money! But this supposed "magic" coating mtec offer for only £15 for two discs or £25 for all four is extremely tempting!

As I'll be painting all four calipers and changing all four discs I'm thinking of redoing the seals and pistons on the rear calipers as well, at the moment there is nothing wrong with the seals and no fluid leakage - the calipers aren't sticking either. Is it a good idea to replace the seals and pistons as preventative maintenance (given that they're probably 20 years old) or is it best to leave the seals as they are.

 

[t-tony]

If they've not been replaced at that age it would make sense the change all seals to me Faheem.

Tony.

 

[buze]

I'm also going to embark in 'brakes' pretty soon, so interested in the discussion!

So far I think I will refurb the caliper and paint them. Also change the hoses -- do you guys have suggestions for a hose set? 'braided stainless' returns dozens of choices!

What about the backing plates, same paint (well different color) as the calipers?

 

[Dickymint]

I had the Mtec coating on my disks on the Alfa and 5 years of abuse and 50k later the paint was still on there so yea it worth the extra , I painted the callipers on my new daily driver a pearl Vauxhall metallic black and looks nice but not boy racer ish

 

[Faheem]

Purchased a set of rear calipers from a breaker in Northampton which will hopefully allow me to carry out the restoration without making the zed immobile.

I got the calipers for fairly cheap but they're in awful shape. The piston does move in and out smoothly so that's always good. They'll be getting new seals and pistons anyway.

My main issue at the moment is the level of corrosion on the calipers and brackets.

I spent a good couple of hours sanding away using all sorts, sand paper, dremel with a sand barrel attachment, wire brush, wire wheel etc. The amount of corrosion on there means that it's really difficult to get it as clean as I would ideally like for them to be before paint goes on!

I'm considering having them sand blasted. But need to know how much that would set me back? Also as I'm getting new pistons and seals should I be worried about damaging anything else when it goes to get blasted? I've removed all the bits from the calipers but kept the piston in place for now which should prevent the inside from getting damaged.

Bleed nipple on one of the rears is also seized and stripped. Tried using a vice grip to remove the nipple but wouldn't budge. Also tried putting it in a vice and twisting the caliper. All sorts of lubricants have also been applied It's not moving! Suggestions?

 

[t-tony]

I would try give the bleed screw several sharp taps with a hammer mate the grip it in the vice, but, try to tighten the screw before trying to unscrew it. Also if you're putting new seals in it would do no harm to heat the area around the screw as well.

Tony.

 

[Faheem]

Thanks mate. I've tried wracking it with a hammer but haven't had any luck with that. It's a non standard bleed screw as I don't recognise it having compared it to all the other calipers. I'll try some heat later on

 

[5harp3y]

No harm in having them blasted as long as the bore doesn't become marked

See if you have an aqua blasting place nearby or sofa blasting as it's a bit kinder

Calipers take forever to get nice if they are corroded

 

[Madtoady]

I also went with mtec discs with the silver coating and EBC Red Stuff pads. After fitting I gave the calipers a good clean and paint.

Very happy with them so far and would definitely recommend them to others.

 

[buze]

Took me a while to clean mines (front). I even passed the holders on to the bench grinder to 'smooth' them down. I'm not even finished, since I want they to look /REALLY/ good, I'm taking my time...

I yeah eurocarparts sells refurbed calipers and you get money back when giving back yours... anyone does that? I have the same problem @fahem when I dont' want to get the car off the road when I refurb the back ones...

 

[Faheem]

@buze I'm not too sure about refurbished calipers as I've never had to buy a set so wouldn't be able to comment on the quality of them. But if they've used OEM calipers I can't see it being a problem?

Second hand ones on eBay go for silly money, I bought mine for £50 but I have seen a set of 4 go for less:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/182816674789

Typically though you're looking at spending around £80+ for a pair of used rear calipers...

I'll call into a few places tomorrow and see how much they charge for sand blasting two calipers.