Hi all just thought I’d post on here to help anyone having similar problems to what I’ve had recently. I just wish I would have discovered this forum sooner would have saved a lot of time & money!
Basically it started when me & my mate decided to change the Discs & Pads on my 2007 Fiat Bravo 1.4 Tjet. Having never owned or worked on an Italian car before we weren’t aware that Fiat Bravo’s (and Stilo’s) have opposite hand threads when winding in the rear calipers, as every car we’d both worked on (and seemingly ever produced) has Right hand thread calipers on both sides.
This resulted in 2 hours of us trying to wind in the rear nearside LH threaded caliper, using a RH threaded wind back tool. After consulting a neighbor who’s an Audi mechanic, we concluded the caliper was seized, removed it from the car & tried to free it up in a vice. We stripped the caliper down to discover the piston thread was stripped & we then proceeded to rip the rubber seal trying to reassemble it. Basically the caliper was knackered & we needed a new one.
When I got home I started to research Bravo calipers & discovered the error of our ways (s**t I felt stupid, especially as I’m an engineer) regardless the caliper needed changing. I managed to source a reconditioned Bosch unit for £87.
The caliper arrived 2 days later & we proceeded to fit it to the car. It bolted on easily enough & it wasn’t until we had to wind the Caliper back in that we discovered we’d been sent a RH threaded unit. We assumed we’d been sent the wrong part. The Caliper appears to work by rotating a splined shaft when the handbrake is applied, this turns the LH thread forcing the piston outwards closing the pads onto the disc. Fitting a Caliper with a RH thread would have the opposite effect meaning the brake wouldn’t work when the handbrake is applied.
We rang the supplier; they insisted it was the right part for the car. We explained the situation so they rang the manufacturers; they insisted the caliper would still work regardless. Fiat were about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. The last phone call was to a mate who used to be a mechanic with Fiat. He said it should work in theory & the screw thread’s only purpose is to take up the wear in the pads? Its then we decided to completely strip the old caliper. Turns out he was correct. The threaded piston is spring loaded & completely independent to the rest of the caliper, its only purpose is to take up wear in the pads. The handbrake works by turning a roller bearing which forces the piston outwards applying the brake.
We fitted the RH Thread caliper & the brakes now work fine with no problems at all. It does beg the question why does Fiat go to the expense of fitting opposite hand threads to some of their cars? I can only assume it’s so people don’t mix the two rear calipers up & end up with cables & pipes in the wrong places? Indeed if u order a nearside rear Caliper from Fiat they supply you with a standard RH Caliper, and a kit to retrofit it yourself with a LH thread (the retrofit kit alone was £170, I didn’t bother asking a price for the Caliper.)
The only downside I can see is if a future owner of the car changes the pads & wrecks the caliper thinking it’s a LH thread.
Basically it started when me & my mate decided to change the Discs & Pads on my 2007 Fiat Bravo 1.4 Tjet. Having never owned or worked on an Italian car before we weren’t aware that Fiat Bravo’s (and Stilo’s) have opposite hand threads when winding in the rear calipers, as every car we’d both worked on (and seemingly ever produced) has Right hand thread calipers on both sides.
This resulted in 2 hours of us trying to wind in the rear nearside LH threaded caliper, using a RH threaded wind back tool. After consulting a neighbor who’s an Audi mechanic, we concluded the caliper was seized, removed it from the car & tried to free it up in a vice. We stripped the caliper down to discover the piston thread was stripped & we then proceeded to rip the rubber seal trying to reassemble it. Basically the caliper was knackered & we needed a new one.
When I got home I started to research Bravo calipers & discovered the error of our ways (s**t I felt stupid, especially as I’m an engineer) regardless the caliper needed changing. I managed to source a reconditioned Bosch unit for £87.
The caliper arrived 2 days later & we proceeded to fit it to the car. It bolted on easily enough & it wasn’t until we had to wind the Caliper back in that we discovered we’d been sent a RH threaded unit. We assumed we’d been sent the wrong part. The Caliper appears to work by rotating a splined shaft when the handbrake is applied, this turns the LH thread forcing the piston outwards closing the pads onto the disc. Fitting a Caliper with a RH thread would have the opposite effect meaning the brake wouldn’t work when the handbrake is applied.
We rang the supplier; they insisted it was the right part for the car. We explained the situation so they rang the manufacturers; they insisted the caliper would still work regardless. Fiat were about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. The last phone call was to a mate who used to be a mechanic with Fiat. He said it should work in theory & the screw thread’s only purpose is to take up the wear in the pads? Its then we decided to completely strip the old caliper. Turns out he was correct. The threaded piston is spring loaded & completely independent to the rest of the caliper, its only purpose is to take up wear in the pads. The handbrake works by turning a roller bearing which forces the piston outwards applying the brake.
We fitted the RH Thread caliper & the brakes now work fine with no problems at all. It does beg the question why does Fiat go to the expense of fitting opposite hand threads to some of their cars? I can only assume it’s so people don’t mix the two rear calipers up & end up with cables & pipes in the wrong places? Indeed if u order a nearside rear Caliper from Fiat they supply you with a standard RH Caliper, and a kit to retrofit it yourself with a LH thread (the retrofit kit alone was £170, I didn’t bother asking a price for the Caliper.)
The only downside I can see is if a future owner of the car changes the pads & wrecks the caliper thinking it’s a LH thread.
