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Hi, my Stilo started to make this dull sound when I start driving. It continues for a few more meters and then stop. I think it's the break calpers. Is there any way to rebild them?
Thanks
Thanks
Technical Sticky brakes
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Technical Sticky brakes
The calipers that stick most often are the rear ones. If they're sticking, you will feel that the handbrake is floppy (without any resistance).. or that there is a little resistance but the rear discs feel really hot even after a half a kilometer.
I had smoke coming off my pads one time.. so don't test it by sticking your finger on the disc... it'll burn your hand off... just touch the caliper near to the pad and you will get the idea. If one disc is much hotter than the other one, it will prove that something is wrong.. but otherwise rear discs and calipers should stay quite cool. If you can feel heat on your face and smell burning then it's too hot.
Rebuilding the calipers is possible... but you need to dismantle the calipers and fit a repair kit. These cost about €20 from memory, whereas a refurbished (like new) caliper costs about €50 if you search.. so it might be easier to just replace the whole caliper. It'll last another 5 years without any trouble.
But before you buy anything, also remove the sliding pins (front and rear) and check that they move freely and "loose" in the caliper. If they're sticky, take them out, degrease them (and the holes), smooth out any rust marks with sandpaper and then refit them using brake grease. If your pins are *very* rusty and look nasty.. then you can buy new brake pins (a pair for each caliper) for around €10. They come with new rubber bellows and grease.
While the caliper is out to check that ^ also make sure the pads are not sticking in the caliper. Remove them (they should drop out easily). If they're tight or jammed, then poke them out and use a file to remove any rust or bubbles from the back-plate, where i fits into the caliper slides. They should be a nice fit.. not rattling but not jammed tight either.
Change the pads if the backing plate is too deformed or corroded. Brembo pads fit well. Cheaper pads fit less well (I usually have to file them down a bit to get them comfortable in the caliper). Use copper grease around the lugs, so that they don't corrode straight away.
The caliper pad slides ("springs") used to be stainless steel but pads manufacturers are sending out mild steel ones now. If yours are all there (4 per caliper) and stainless steel, just clean them with your mate's toothbrush and some degreaser. If you have mild steel ones, or yours are bent/loose they will make the pad jam, so get new ones if they can't be saved using a wire brush etc. New pads come with new spring/slides.
If one front caliper is sticking but the caliper looks okay, then it could be a knackered brake hose (they start to fall apart internally and cause a blockage which acts like a valve). You'll need a new hose... but this is less likely. Look at the caliper hardware first.
Ralf S.
I had smoke coming off my pads one time.. so don't test it by sticking your finger on the disc... it'll burn your hand off... just touch the caliper near to the pad and you will get the idea. If one disc is much hotter than the other one, it will prove that something is wrong.. but otherwise rear discs and calipers should stay quite cool. If you can feel heat on your face and smell burning then it's too hot.
Rebuilding the calipers is possible... but you need to dismantle the calipers and fit a repair kit. These cost about €20 from memory, whereas a refurbished (like new) caliper costs about €50 if you search.. so it might be easier to just replace the whole caliper. It'll last another 5 years without any trouble.
But before you buy anything, also remove the sliding pins (front and rear) and check that they move freely and "loose" in the caliper. If they're sticky, take them out, degrease them (and the holes), smooth out any rust marks with sandpaper and then refit them using brake grease. If your pins are *very* rusty and look nasty.. then you can buy new brake pins (a pair for each caliper) for around €10. They come with new rubber bellows and grease.
While the caliper is out to check that ^ also make sure the pads are not sticking in the caliper. Remove them (they should drop out easily). If they're tight or jammed, then poke them out and use a file to remove any rust or bubbles from the back-plate, where i fits into the caliper slides. They should be a nice fit.. not rattling but not jammed tight either.
Change the pads if the backing plate is too deformed or corroded. Brembo pads fit well. Cheaper pads fit less well (I usually have to file them down a bit to get them comfortable in the caliper). Use copper grease around the lugs, so that they don't corrode straight away.
The caliper pad slides ("springs") used to be stainless steel but pads manufacturers are sending out mild steel ones now. If yours are all there (4 per caliper) and stainless steel, just clean them with your mate's toothbrush and some degreaser. If you have mild steel ones, or yours are bent/loose they will make the pad jam, so get new ones if they can't be saved using a wire brush etc. New pads come with new spring/slides.
If one front caliper is sticking but the caliper looks okay, then it could be a knackered brake hose (they start to fall apart internally and cause a blockage which acts like a valve). You'll need a new hose... but this is less likely. Look at the caliper hardware first.
Ralf S.
Last edited:
see my thread here
https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/476244-rear-calipers-bargain.html
i thought i done well at 72 for 2 rear calipers
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Brake...979315?hash=item287d9aa7b3:g:8KgAAOSwhJNc3xNQ
but i was quickly bested and looks the better deal with all the extra parts
here
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Brake...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
i would never suggest trying to rebuild when complete calipers are so cheap.
https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/476244-rear-calipers-bargain.html
i thought i done well at 72 for 2 rear calipers
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Brake...979315?hash=item287d9aa7b3:g:8KgAAOSwhJNc3xNQ
but i was quickly bested and looks the better deal with all the extra parts
here
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Brake...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
i would never suggest trying to rebuild when complete calipers are so cheap.
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Thanks guys. Brake pads and rotors should be fine, last owner changed rear brakes two years ago and I changed front last year. I will take a look at the pins.
If I were to buy a new calpers, is there any chatch? Or can I just buy the cheapest I will find? I found some Kamoka brand for 35 pounds here, but they can go up to 70 pounds a piece for a TRW (+ I would have to return my old calpers for some reason).
If I were to buy a new calpers, is there any chatch? Or can I just buy the cheapest I will find? I found some Kamoka brand for 35 pounds here, but they can go up to 70 pounds a piece for a TRW (+ I would have to return my old calpers for some reason).
It's a bit "do you feel lucky?".
I bough some cheap refurbished calipers on t'internet.. some geezer put them on his car for its MOT but it failed on a load of other stuff so he broke the car. One was a Bosch body and the other had a smooth body, not a pimpled finish like the Bosch one...but both had been rebuilt by the same firm, so for refurbished calipers, whoever made the body originally doesn't matter.
After 6 months the smooth body started playing up. The caliper worked fine but the handbrake on that caliper stuck on. I had to release it by getting out of the car and pulling the arm on the caliper back.
TRW will take a caliper someone provides and do the same... dismantle it and throw out the internals, then clean/soda-blast and probably re-anodise the body, then stick all new seals and moving parts in it. It's essentially a new caliper but with a body that is "old" (although looking at it, it will look new).
The cheaper part is the same but it may be not re-anodised, just soda-blasted and rebuilt. The components will be cheaper so they may pack up sooner than the TRW components.
You return your old caliper so that TRW has a source of old bodies to recycle. The cheaper brand, if it does not ask for an old caliper, must be manufacturing them... so again, think of the quality of a caliper that costs less than one that is rebuilt from a used body... although to be fair, dismantling and refurbishing may itself be more expensive than making a new one from scratch.
But generally you gets what you pay for. A refurbished cheap caliper will last two years easy (unless it packs up like one of mine did) and you may not intend to keep the car any longer than that. A TRW one is probably going to last twice as long.
Ralf S.
I bough some cheap refurbished calipers on t'internet.. some geezer put them on his car for its MOT but it failed on a load of other stuff so he broke the car. One was a Bosch body and the other had a smooth body, not a pimpled finish like the Bosch one...but both had been rebuilt by the same firm, so for refurbished calipers, whoever made the body originally doesn't matter.
After 6 months the smooth body started playing up. The caliper worked fine but the handbrake on that caliper stuck on. I had to release it by getting out of the car and pulling the arm on the caliper back.
TRW will take a caliper someone provides and do the same... dismantle it and throw out the internals, then clean/soda-blast and probably re-anodise the body, then stick all new seals and moving parts in it. It's essentially a new caliper but with a body that is "old" (although looking at it, it will look new).
The cheaper part is the same but it may be not re-anodised, just soda-blasted and rebuilt. The components will be cheaper so they may pack up sooner than the TRW components.
You return your old caliper so that TRW has a source of old bodies to recycle. The cheaper brand, if it does not ask for an old caliper, must be manufacturing them... so again, think of the quality of a caliper that costs less than one that is rebuilt from a used body... although to be fair, dismantling and refurbishing may itself be more expensive than making a new one from scratch.
But generally you gets what you pay for. A refurbished cheap caliper will last two years easy (unless it packs up like one of mine did) and you may not intend to keep the car any longer than that. A TRW one is probably going to last twice as long.
Ralf S.
