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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Rebuilding Calipers


Hello all, the saga of my braking system continues and has taken so long that my previous thread has dropped off the bottom!

If you remember, I have been struggling with bleeding the brakes after a rebuild. To cut a long story short, I managed to track down the problem to the front drivers side caliper. With further investigation, the seal between the two halves of the caliper had failed, and this is where the air was sucking back in, and brake fluid weeping.

I dived in, have replaced all the seals. Went to Haynes to check the torque I should do the bolts up to and was met only with the info that the calipers should not be separated under any circumstances!?

Why should they not be separated? What have I missed that makes it such a no-no? Surely it's just a little rubber ring that needs replacing and it came in the refurb kit I had anyway?

What torque should I re-tighten the bolts that hold the halves of the caliper to? And I imagine they will need loctiting back in?

Sorry for the long post, thanks for the help...
Mark

MarkH1

Tight. i did the same years ago, never had any problems.
Brad
B Richards

v tight but not f tight, say about 40 lb ft?
David Smith

I did mine 5 years ago - no probs.
Shawn

I did mine in '99

no problems since then

there is a torque setting stated for this job and new bolts are required because they are stressed when torqued they say:

I quote...

"NOTE.--- Unless it is absolutely unavoidable the calliper should not be separated into two halves. In the event of separation becoming essential, the fluid channel seal, the clamping bolts and lock plates must be renewed when re-assembling. Only bolts supplied by (Austin-Morris) Service division may be used. On reassembly these must be tightened with a torque wrench set at between 33.5 and 37 lb. ft. (4.9 and 5.1 kg. m.)

Ensure that the calliper faces are clean and that the threaded bolt holes are thoroughly dry. Make certain that the new fluid seal is correctly located in the recessed face before assembling the two calliper halves."

End quote from an official workshop manual.

BMC/Austin-Morris/Leyland Cars publication AKD 4021

Be careful and if possible source the proper bolts, I found mine at a BL spares shop but there must be thousands still around.

HTH
Bill

I'm also one of those who has done this, 5 or 6 years ago, with no problems and my Frog is a daily driver. And I torqued them about that tight.

Martin
M.E. Dabrowski

This thread was discussed on 20/10/2008

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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