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Ouch on the seal kit. Perhaps you could gently mention this to your local factor and see if you can't wangle future discounts. After all, having someone local is handy when you need a bit right this second And it's true, you French will indeed cook anything!
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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Well... I had to try at three different shops before I found one who even knew where to get those rebuild kits. I started asking around Friday afternoon, and finally got them today (found a place who could get them ordered yesterday, and they arrived this morning). I discovered they were available on the interwebs yesterday evening, so really I should've checked it out last week before asking various shops for it. I'd have received them sooner and paid a third... On the plus side, a complete brake rebuild for €150 is still not that bad. Pistons were good, bores were good, I could have done much worse indeed.
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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... And I have. One of the threads decided to strip itself. It was the last thing to bolt on, I was really cautious, and I f***ed it up. Now I have to either get it repaired, which will be incredibly hard since there seems to be absolutely no engineering shop anywhere in this f***ing country, or find another caliper to take its place. Which will undoubtedly be expensive, in bad shape, and take a month to find. I'm really, really fed up right now.
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The Doctor
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 3,441
Club RR Member Number: 48
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1989 Maserati 222 The Doctor
@thedoctor
Club Retro Rides Member 48
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drill, helicoil kit, job jobbed and a happy Clement
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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I've never done this and I don't really fancy trying for the first time on something as sensitive as brakes Not to mention I'll have to order a suitable drill bit, a set of taps, and the helicoil kit itself. I'm sure I'll have to resort to it soon when I realise I can't find a suitable caliper for less than €300 though.
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teaboy
Posted a lot
Make tea, not war.
Posts: 2,079
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Bummer! What thread is it, M10x1 ? Why don't you get a helicoil set and do it yourself? helicoil kitBe careful not to drill too far and damage the seat. EDIT to say that I was very slow in typing and the Doc beat me to the punchline.
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Last Edit: Oct 3, 2014 17:32:02 GMT by teaboy
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,243
Club RR Member Number: 146
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1989 Maserati 222 vulgalour
@vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member 146
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These things are sent to try us. If even I can do helicoiling I'm sure you'll have no bother with it. Like everything else, take your usual careful approach and it should be good. If it's any consolation, this is exactly the sort of thing that can happen to anyone, even people that have done loads of calipers, it's all to do with the fact they're made out of cheese.
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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Thanks for the support guys, it really helps I'll see if I can find someone local who has a Helicoil set and could help me do it. Sourcing another caliper that would do the same thing might not be the best thing, especially since this one is otherwise fine. I'll keep you updated as soon as I make progress with this, but this week-end will be free of car work...
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Just had a quick search on eBay italia, and these came up, looks like it's a German listing that found its way onto the Italian eBay. The description says for a Maserati 222, might be worth a punt? m.ebay.it/itm/261101086975
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Why is it always the last bolt/nut/screw that gives the problem. Perhaps one of our engineering student members could do a study? Good luck with getting it sorted Clement.
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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Well... I had to try at three different shops before I found one who even knew where to get those rebuild kits. I started asking around Friday afternoon, and finally got them today (found a place who could get them ordered yesterday, and they arrived this morning). I discovered they were available on the interwebs yesterday evening, so really I should've checked it out last week before asking various shops for it. I'd have received them sooner and paid a third... On the plus side, a complete brake rebuild for €150 is still not that bad. Pistons were good, bores were good, I could have done much worse indeed. Never mind the frustration of a stripped thread, pat yourself on the back for having such a clean oven.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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These kits are much better than helicoil. You can get a small kit that includes the drills bits and the driver. Very strong repair, I've used in all kinds of applications. www.timesert.com
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Last Edit: Oct 4, 2014 15:18:31 GMT by nmretro
1987 Alfa Milano/75 1979 Alfetta Mille Miglia 1976 Alfetta GT race car 1970 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 Rallye S 1968 Fiat 850 spider
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The Doctor
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 3,441
Club RR Member Number: 48
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1989 Maserati 222 The Doctor
@thedoctor
Club Retro Rides Member 48
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timeserts are indeed better, but helicoil kits are more easy to find, that's why i mentioned them.
Don't worry, the first time i did a repair like this, was on a Rover V8 engine block, where i stripped 1 of the threads for the headbolts.
Scary, but a 60 euro repair kit is still cheaper then a new/reconditioned calliper (or engineblock in my case). It's no use as it is now, if you manage to get the thread fixed, it is, if you don't, it's still no use. In my opinion you've got nothing to loose except for the money for the repair kit.
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Those brake calipers look to be almost the same as the early ATE Volvo 240 brake calipers, for non-vented discs.
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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Thanks all for the suggestions! Worst case scenario, I have found someone nearby enough who has a spare set of calipers he could sell me for €60 (or even sodablasted for €80). He also has helicoils and I'm trying to negotiate help with putting one in. Timeserts do look really nice, though I'm not sure I'd really need the extra strength. I've looked at the Volvo calipers and although I couldn't find front ATE calipers for 240s there are TRW calipers for cheap enough, with 38mm pistons (mine are 40mm). I'll look into bolt spacing and suchlike, but it could also be a solution. And it looks like a very good lead for a vented disc brake conversion later on
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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By luck there was someone just a few miles away whose number I had been given on the basis he's into old cars and used to be a mechanic. I decided to give him a call, he invited me over to show him the mess I'd made and see how we could work something out. It appeared he's a retired garage owner who's been a mechanic for 50 years, restores various Simcas now (including one that's unique in roadworthy condition), and he showed me his collection and workshop. I did not regret coming over, just for that His first step was to see if what I had could be saved or improved without resorting to butchering the caliper. He re-tapped the caliper in the existing size to clean up the threads, re-died the screw maintaining the brake line in place, and then had the brilliantly simple idea of swapping the two lines. By pure luck I had brought the two lines along with the caliper, and it appeared that there was enough thread left to make this solution work! On each side it's an average thread with a bad one, but that's better than two average and two bad it seems. He sent me on my way with some mild thread lock which has the advantage of reducing the stress on the threads by not having to tighten the screws too much, and making the assembly fluid-tight. I'm waiting for the thread lock to cure a bit then I'll go fill the system with fluid and bleed the brakes! Hopefully everything works as it should. I put everything back together by assembling the hard lines and the caliper first (so they screw nicely in without any pressure on the threads, and then caliper and spindle, then hard lines to soft lines. This last assembly is less likely to fail imho, because you're not screwing something into cheese-like pig iron but instead threading a nut onto the soft line's steel end which is a lot more robust. I'll use the same method when I do the rear brakes. Take the caliper off along with its hard lines and disassemble them on the bench, no pressure, lots of access. Then put them together on the bench again! Lesson learned.
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Glad to hear you've found a nice cheap solution!
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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Good news, hope the fix works out.
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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Thats great news man! Free/cheap fixes rock
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No substitute for experience, glad you got it sorted.
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