Time Saving Tip

[richyb66]

If you want to save yourself about 3 hours. Don't completely dismantle Sierra rear brake calipers when you overhaul them. The circlip on the retainer for the handbrake mechanism spring is nigh on impossible to re-fit.

 

You can't easily compress the spring with the retainer and then fit the circlip. 35 years of working on cars has taught me not to read manuals - wish I had now, the Haynes manual warns of the difficulties and that there's a special too for the job (as always).

 

First caliper took about 2 hours to do but I managed the second in about an hour. However the smugness was short lived as I looked at the shiny new caliper on the bench and then saw a washer that I'd omitted to fit under the spring.

 

Guess what I'll be doing mostly tonight?

[fry61]

Lots of time saved here then -- sierra DRUM brakes on rear.

[Kerry]

You didn't see the washer because of man vision, a woman would have seen it immediately, that's what Sharon tells me.

[theduck]

Oh bother...

[megadodo]

I had to take mine apart as the the handbrake lever seals were leaking and to pull the lever out you have to take out all that mechanism behind the piston. Oddly, the first one I did only took an hour once I'd worked out how it it went together and devised a method of compressing everything enough to get that bloody circlip back on. The second one however took bloody ages. I just couldn't get the balance between force and dexterity right and had to walk away from it for a couple of hours at which point it went back on first time.

I would agree that unless the lever is stuck or the seal is leaking don't remove it.

[richyb66]

Refitted the washer last night, took me about 15 minutes so I've obviously developed a technique. I removed the spiral nut from the piston and used that together with a 15mm radiator tail and olive to compress the spring and then fitted the circlip with pliers and a bit or persuasion with a thin screwdriver.

 

The thing than would make the job easier would be a really decent pair of circlip pliers where the front end of the pliers is about 50mm long but thin and robust so they don't flex. The set I've got have interchangeable tips, a short reach and flex like a b@5tard so aren't really much use.

[kevin the chicken]

The thing that I find that makes putting things back together easier is don't p*** about with it in the first place. Works for me when I remember.

[Bob Tucker]

A few digital camera pics before I start

[Guest 2b cruising]

A few digital camera pics before I start

 

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[tractor]

I always find that if you have a few bits left over that's good cos I can add them to my odds and sods draw