Rear brake adventures

[Wagon Wheels]

So I removed discs and pads on one back corner, not without a few curses...


This lower caliper bolt was already pretty rounded (the top one was fine funnily enough) so I managed to get some grips on it and loosen that way. I want to replace it but its stuck in position due to the handbrake assembly behind it. I couldn't see any simple way of getting it out the road. I took off the spring and the 14mm(?) nut on the back of the assembly but nothing seemed to give and I gave up on it at that point. Help?!

The outside pad came out no problem, the inside pad took quite a bit of persuading, definitely wast moving very freely at all.

Then I saw this already chewed little ****** and feared the worst but thankfully it came out fine.


The disc had a decent lip on it and was passed its best.


I managed to compress the piston back in without much fuss, which was nice.


I attempted to remove the caliper carrier/bracket, i read its an 8mm allen bit for the two bolts behind, if thats right then there must be so much crud/rust in there as there was no hope of getting the bit in. Is it definitely 8mm?


I took the slide pins out, one was like butter, the other needed an absolute hammering, can you guess which is which...


My shock is a bit crusty.


And does this spring look broken at the bottom where it sits on the perch...?


So in summary there was definitely some issues, a stuck pad and solid slider pin can not have been helping the brakes any to work well. How do I get that bottom caliper bolt out from behind the handbrake gear? If I clean the bore of the carrier bracket which had the stuck pin and install new pins would that be enough? If not, replacing it god knows how i would get it off with those hex bolts. All suggestions/comments welcome!!

Cheers

 

[Charlie Farley]

The rear pistons need to be wound back in normally.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I think I'd just get another set of rear calipers to be honest.

 

[Ricky Burrows]

I admire your commitment if I seen all that rust id just sell it lol

 

[Pie-eyedpiper]

One of my rears wouldn't wind back in last time I did my brake pads. I ended swapping for another caliper, and they weren't in half as bad a state as yours.

Just makes you wonder what other fun you're going to have with all that rust.

 

[Wagon Wheels]

I think I'd just get another set of rear calipers to be honest.

I was thinking that also after the fact, but since the piston wound back in surprisingly easily I don't think there's actually much wrong with the caliper part anyway, except that rounded bottom bolt I can't get out yet.

Cheers

 

[Charlie Farley]

I'll give you 10 out 10 for having a go.

 

[Wagon Wheels]

One of my rears wouldn't wind back in last time I did my brake pads. I ended swapping for another caliper, and they weren't in half as bad a state as yours.

Just makes you wonder what other fun you're going to have with all that rust.

I was absolutely expecting it not to budge an inch tbh. But since it went back in, makes me want to try and save it!

Cheers

 

[Donfero]

Are you sure this car didn't go for a swim?

Sent from my TA-1004 using Tapatalk

 

[Sidrick]

Christ, you'd think some of the commenters had never worked on an older car

Unclip and remove the handbrake cable to get that bolt out.

Yes, the spring looks broken from that pic.

 

[Wagon Wheels]

Christ, you'd think some of the commenters had never worked on an older car

Unclip and remove the handbrake cable to get that bolt out.

This was my first thought but I couldn't work out what was bracket and what was cable as the crusty covering makes it look like all one I'll try and do that later.

In the meantime I've put the nicer slide pin in the stuck end of the carrier bracket with a spray of break clean and it slides perfectly. So I'm assuming a good clean and regrease with new pins will work fine, meaning I don't need to try and get the bracket off to replace thankfully.

And yes I'm pretty sure it's just been left outside a lot and driven in all weather's up here with no good underseal!

Cheers

 

[Charlie Farley]

Christ, you'd think some of the commenters had never worked on an older car

Unclip and remove the handbrake cable to get that bolt out.

Yes, the spring looks broken from that pic.

There’s old and old though , B7 ‘s are not really that old though are they.
My 1994 lancruiser has done 100k miles in all weather and terrain and lives on a farm, still far better chassis cond than the op’s undercarriage.
I do all repairs to it , along with my 34 ford v8.
I am by no means a stranger to old cars etc.

 

[Sidrick]

They don't make 'em like they used to though, Rob

 

[Charlie Farley]

Exactly, all this cheap german rubbish.
Now when I was a lad...

 

[Charlie Farley]

When dealing with rusty or seized parts there is allways plan B.

never fails, but use with care..lol

 

[Wagon Wheels]

This evening I got the handbrake cable off freeing the crap bolt and destroying the retaining clip in the process. It was rusted in place all around and even when completely off, Thor's hammer was still needed to loose the cable from the bracket.



Waiting on the new slider pins to arrive with caliper bolts, that only leaves me needing a handbrake cable clip. The best I could find which I think is the correct part is 6 quid for a pair on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-HAND...-TURBO-COUPE-COUPE-80-90-QUATTRO/303463427259
Seems a bit excessive for what they are, any other suggestions before I order??

Cheers

 

[Sidrick]

Looks like N90070306. Probably going to be silly money or 1-2 since Audi probably sell them in lots of 10.

 

[Wagon Wheels]

Got everything back together yesterday, well except the brake cable clip which is in the post. Not the prettiest, but it's back to full working order. Thought I had some black hammerite lying around but no, might have made it look a bit more decent. Wonder what the other side will be like...

 

[Sidrick]

Good job, WW!

 

[UisT4]

Good job, mine weren't far off that when I got the car, took a while knocking the surface rust off with hammer and screwdriver and then went over with wire brush attachment for the drill.
Definitely worth getting some paint kn there to make it easy to clean in the future.

 

[Wagon Wheels]

Yeah I spent a bit of time with the Dremel and such doing the necessary bits where the pads seats, bolts go, etc. But the larger surfaces would need the grinder on them no doubt to get rid of those barnacles. It is probably worth doing if I can get a tin of paint somewhere this week.

 

[Charlie Farley]

B7 rear springs are notorious for breaking in that spot, I had a broken one just the same at only 35k miles, they are just rubbish quality springs.

good work on the calipers too .

 

[Wagon Wheels]

I think suspension will be up next after all brakes are done

 

[Wagon Wheels]

In case anyone is curious, i took the other rear corner apart. No rounded bolts this time, handbrake clip came right off, piston wound back easily, slide pins both moving ok but will replace them anyway. Lots of crust on the caliper bracket again, will just give it a clean up as before specially where the pads sits as that was the main issue of this side. Inner pad knocked out ok and had about 5mm left on it, but the outside pad took a beating just to get it free from the bracket, very little left on it which disintegrated as it was removed. The disc was also well past its best.

 

[Sidrick]

Looks familiar Great work!

 

[Wagon Wheels]

Passed mot last month with no issues on the rear brakes.