General Stilo 1.6 rear brakes - help please

[Paul Simon]

I've been attempting to change the rear pads on my sister's 53 reg 1.6 Stilo (only about 40k miles) over the past 2 days. It's turned into a nightmare, and I'm hoping to get some advice here.

First of all, I'm aware that the caliper piston has to be turned while applying pressure, that the offside needs to be turned clockwise and the near side needs to be turned anti-clockwise. I've been using the Draper cube shown here at post #17 .


Here's what I've done;

1. Safely raised the rear of the car (handbrake off, wheel nuts loosened) and mounted on axle stands.

2. Loosened the handbrake cable and unfastened the cables from the handbrake mechanisms on the calipers.

3. Removed the 17mm bolts securing the caliper to the hub and removed the pads from the caliper.

4. Removed the brake discs.

5. Re-attached the brake caliper (to hold it in place whilst using the cube).



and what happened;


Offside
1. Initially, I couldn't get the caliper (with pads still inside) to come off the disc, so I left it and went to work on the near side.

2. I returned to the offside, and found that the handbrake mechanism was seized, so applied Plus Gas, hit it a few times and worked it free. The caliper then came away from the disc (confirming that the handbrake mechanism had indeed seized).

3. I then used the cube to wind the piston in clockwise. It was very stiff, but the main problem was that the rubber seal around the piston wasn't sliding on the piston's groove as I turned the piston (I tried turning the piston in the opposite direction to free it) and it has twisted itself off the piston, and that's where I left the job today.


Nearside
1. The caliper and pads released from this side with some persuasion, but not easily.

2. I lubricated the handbrake mechanism attached to the caliper and it was free.

3. I wound the piston in anti-clockwise with the cube reasonably easily.

4. As Deckchair found, I needed 40mm (minimum) to get the caliper and pads back onto the disk. The piston stopped winding in at 36mm. I tried winding it back out a little (came out easily) and then back in, but no, it wouldn't go any further in, again leaving me with a clearance of only 36mm. I even tried reattaching the caliper with the inside pad inserted to check that there wouldn't be sufficient room to get the outside pad in. That's where I've left the nearside.


Can anyone help?

 

[jackwhoo]

Have you been supplied incorrect pads (too thick) for the car?

 

[Paul Simon]

I doubt it. The pads and disc thickness add up to exactly the 40mm Deckchair suggested in this thread https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/278240-changing-rear-brake-pads.html?p=2827445

It may not be foolproof but I got them from an online supplier that requires the vehicle reg number.

 

[Ralf S.]

When you finished winding in the pistons, did you leave the piston aligned so that the slots in the "iron cross" (on the piston) are lined up with vertical, so that the pimple on the back of the pads can slide into one of them?


Ralf S.

 

[Paul Simon]

I've been back to have another go today (the car is at my mum's as I don't have a drive).

Near side, I've been a numpty, and you can all have a laugh at me

I borrowed my mum's knitting ruler, and I'd convinced myself that the scale started on the left edge like an engineering ruler does; it didn't, so when I measured 36.5mm it was actually 36.5mm + the bit from the edge, which was at least another 5mm.

I've fitted the pads, disc and caliper back (dry so far just to check it all fits) and they're fine. I'd be interested to know what order people have fitted the caliper and pads. I fitted the pads into the caliper before re-attaching the caliper, not as Deckchair suggested.


Off side
The piston seal has sheared off, so not sure what to do about that. There seem to be quite a few threads on here suggesting people haven't been able to re-build the caliper once they've taken the piston out.

Thought I might try these

https://www.bcs-automotive.co.uk/

but would prefer to take it somewhere local, then I could re-fit it same day.

 

[Mytheroo]

i'd say it depends on the state of the piston and bore, which kind of depends on how many miles its done with a bad seal.

You can get a seals kit I expect, or just the missing seal if you're confident the piston and bore are fine. Or, just get a new/refurb....though i've not done this and can't know if a new cheapie is any good compared to a more expensive OEM refurb.

 

[Artermis]

In my experience whilst I have previously disassembled and rebuilt rear calipers for the Stilo it's entirely not worth the misery and suffering of trying to do so.

I found it to be a messy, awkward and time consuming job that just wasn't worth my efforts - although at the time I had no other options to hand.

Personally I'd just go for a second hand / recon caliper and be done with it. It's far easier swapping out a caliper than having to rebuild it.

By all means if you've got more time and patience (and possible some better tools) than me it might be worth your efforts. For me though, if I hit rear caliper issues, I just order another one off eBay or something

 

[Paul Simon]

Thanks Artermis. Interesting that you've done it and say it's not worth the hassle. I imagine getting all those rubber parts and the piston back in would be fiddly.

 

[Paul Simon]

I've been back to have another go today (the car is at my mum's as I don't have a drive).

Near side, I've been a numpty, and you can all have a laugh at me

I borrowed my mum's knitting ruler, and I'd convinced myself that the scale started on the left edge like an engineering ruler does; it didn't, so when I measured 36.5mm it was actually 36.5mm + the bit from the edge, which was at least another 5mm.

I've fitted the pads, disc and caliper back (dry so far just to check it all fits) and they're fine. I'd be interested to know what order people have fitted the caliper and pads. I fitted the pads into the caliper before re-attaching the caliper, not as Deckchair suggested.


Off side
The piston seal has sheared off, so not sure what to do about that. There seem to be quite a few threads on here suggesting people haven't been able to re-build the caliper once they've taken the piston out.

Thought I might try these

https://www.bcs-automotive.co.uk/

but would prefer to take it somewhere local, then I could re-fit it same day.

Just for info, BCS above have quoted £55 for their cheapest 'Unseize and Repair' service, so that idea's out considering recon calipers are around £60 on ebay.

 

[Ralf S.]

Life's too short to faff about rebuilding calipers. Just fit a new (recon'd) one;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-REAR...383652?hash=item4d681f9b64:g:NfEAAOSw~vpaFqvu



Ralf S.

 

[Paul Simon]

Thanks Ralf. That ebay listing actually says it's new, not recon surprisingly.

 

[Ralf S.]

Even better then.

I've put re-conditioned calipers on my Alfas 155 and 145 and also on my Stilo. It's the only way I've found to pass the MOT when they get tired.

A rebuild improved my 155 ones by 20% but it was still only a borderline pass and failed again the year after... so after that I decided it wasn't worth the aggro'.

Having said that, all the calipers I replaced were original factory jobs... over 12 years old and all of them past 130,000 miles, so I can't really complain.

The only "oddness" was that one of my replacement Stilo calipers was marked "Bosch" and had a pimply finish.. whereas the other was smooth and unbranded... but since they fit behind steel wheels and hub-caps, nobody is going to notice they don't quite match.... if anyone really would notice anyway..


Ralf S.