Subaru 4 pot Rebuild w/pics

[JayGold]

For your viewing pleasure I have comprised a step-by-step installation of the Subaru 4 pot caliper rebuild consisting of seal kit: 26297FA050 (superceded to part number 26297FA051) Thx to ncarn8 for the update

Prior to removing the brake lines from the caliper have either golf tees on hand to plug the brake lines from dripping fluid all over the place or purchase a set Dorman hard rubber brake hose plugs: https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...d=0CNUBEKYrMAQ

Step 1: Removing Calipers: Remove 2 bolts from back of caliper and brake line (optional) from vehicle, drain fluid and obtain a well lit work area with chair...you'll need it as it takes several hours to clean, inspect, and reseal the calipers.

Step 2: Prep: Wipe the calipers down removing any loose dirt, brake dust, and fluid.

Step 3: Piston removal: I did not find it necessary to pump the pistons out of the caliper using compressed air. Simply remove the dust cover clips and the outer dust covers themselves. Use 2 large flat head screwdrivers with the heads wrapped in some protective tape so that you prevent scratching or pitting the pistons and carefully pry them up with equal pressure around.

If you are having difficulty removing the pistons, chances are the inner seals are dry, damaged, seized, or contaminated by something other than brake fluid. If this is the case, try to pour a small amount of brake fluid between the piston and the piston caliper chamber to wet the seals making removal easier.



This is what the caliper should look like right before piston removal, I left one boot on for pic illustration.



Look similar?



Step 4: Carefully remove all inner piston seals with a tartar scraper/puller:

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[JayGold]

Continued:

Step 5: Cleaning/Prep: Use a small amount of brake parts cleaner on a clean cotton rag over the entire piston cylinder area, this may take a while, be meticulous. Do not use anything abrasive. Your pistons should look like this if they are not scarred or damaged. To further clean the pistons, use steel wool #0000 for surface rust or to polish them up. Before re-installation clean the pistons with some compressed air to remove any particulates. The cylinders cleaned are shown below as well:





Step 6: Assembly: Coat the entire piston just below the outer rubber dust cover with red rubber grease (can be found on Ebay) to ease the re-installation of the pistons into the bores. At this time stretch the inner rubber piston seals over the pistons and seat them in the recessed channel.



Step 7: Install the rubber outer dust covers: Carefully stretch the new dust cover into the pistons outer recessed channel (make sure it is seated properly). The piston on the left is the correct way to set them up back into the caliper housing. The right piston in this pic is an illustration just showing that the dust cover is correctly installed and seated. Once all are seated on all 4 pistons, it's recommended you pack the inner portion of the seals with more red rubber grease. This will ensure a water-free/contaminate free environment once you place the pistons back into the calipers and seat the dust covers. (This grease is not shown in the pics)

[JayGold]

Step 8: Piston Assembly: Push the pistons with solid equal force (can't stress this enough) into caliper until the dust boot is close enough to the retaining clip area to seat properly. You will exhibit some resistance when the piston meets the inner seals. (you do NOT need to push the pistons completely into the caliper housing so that it bottoms out),



Step 9: Clips: Install the new dust cover clips by laying one side of the opened end of the clip onto the boot, hold it with your fingers (or have an assistant hold it for you), then work the remainder of the clip around the caliper lip to seat it properly and if you do it at the correct angle you can let go of the end and it should snap and seat itself onto the lip of the caliper, verify that the entire clip is seated properly and not pinching the rubber boot in any spot.



Step 10: Final Inspection: Wipe off any grease/brake fluid/etc. and your calipers should look like so if you successfully followed all the above steps:




Fell free to hit me up with specific questions, this was just an outline, and I do have many more pics if you want to see them.

Good Luck!!!!
Jay

[infantsam]

Most excellent

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by infantsam

Most excellent

Those 2 words alone made this entire day worth it

[infantsam]

Originally Posted by JayGold

Those 2 words alone made this entire day worth it

Now to throw back some beers in Chicago and sarge the ladies

werd - HeineKEN's in New Jersey

[Boxologist]

congrats.

[burnera]

Sticky!

[TarmacRally]

You da man, Nice post. So you decided not to take the calipers apart eh?


sticky or DIY sticky +1

[Turn in Concepts]

submit to scoobymods.

[Boxologist]

^^^^
very highest of complements!

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by TarmacRally

You da man, Nice post. So you decided not to take the calipers apart eh?


sticky or DIY sticky +1

Hell no I even was told to disassemble the two halves by the local garage owners down the street so that I could have access to remove the pistons (not necessary, obviously), but when they asked why the standard calipers were not enough and gave me a funny look, I thanked them for the advice and ran home to pop the pistons out by hand.

***For the record, these calipers were purchased overseas and were previously on a 1998 WRX Type RA. Note the condition of the pistons and cylinders when contemplating your next rebuild***

No need to use a compressor, needle nose plyers, wrenches, or disassemble the caliper front from back half.






Thanks guy's, this is not something I would like to do every year, but my calipers needed some TLC.

[TarmacRally]

Originally Posted by JayGold

Thanks guy's, this is not something I would like to do every year, but my calipers needed some TLC.

Yeah, you gotta give a little love to your breaks. They're the ones saving your life.

[Samurai Jack]

Originally Posted by infantsam

Most excellent

I agree. Excellent write-up & pictures.

[Legacy777]

Very nice!

You didn't happen to take any measurements of the piston diameter did you? It'd be nice to confirm the piston diameter info I got from the factory manuals.

[BIGSKYWRX]

Thanks so much Quick question I bought a caliper rebuild "kit"- curious if the kit (as listed at subaruwrxparts.com) is enough to do one caliper or two? I'm thinking I'll need another "kit".

Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

[jamesfacts]

What issues did you have that made you want to rebuild your calipers?

[infantsam]

Originally Posted by BIGSKYWRX

Thanks so much Quick question I bought a caliper rebuild "kit"- curious if the kit (as listed at subaruwrxparts.com) is enough to do one caliper or two? I'm thinking I'll need another "kit".

Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

I think Murphy's law says that if you expect enough for both you'll only get one - if you only have one leaking caliper you'll get enough for both and never have to use the others until one day after you can't find them anymore.

[US2JDM]

Originally Posted by BIGSKYWRX

Thanks so much Quick question I bought a caliper rebuild "kit"- curious if the kit (as listed at subaruwrxparts.com) is enough to do one caliper or two? I'm thinking I'll need another "kit".

Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

Yeah, one kit per caliper. Just count the seals, 4 = one caliper.

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by Legacy777

Very nice!

You didn't happen to take any measurements of the piston diameter did you? It'd be nice to confirm the piston diameter info I got from the factory manuals.

No I did not take any measurements, perhaps someone looking to rebuild soon could do it and add I can add it to this post.

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by BIGSKYWRX

Thanks so much Quick question I bought a caliper rebuild "kit"- curious if the kit (as listed at subaruwrxparts.com) is enough to do one caliper or two? I'm thinking I'll need another "kit".

Thanks again for taking the time to document this.

From www.subaruwrxparts.com website:

Seal kit: 26297FA050

Subaru 4 Pot Rebuild Kit
Cracked piston boots? Popped out a piston? Run lots of track days? Then this rebuild kit is for you! Contains parts to rebuild the seals on one set of non-Brembo 4 pot calipers- 8 piston seals, 8 piston rings, 8 piston seal retainers, and a packet of grease.

Price:$25.00

This is the complete kit I used to rebuild both calipers.

[US2JDM]

Nice write-up and pics, Jay. The only thing I'd do differently is use brake parts cleaner instead of the WD-40 (as it evaporates and won't leave any residue).

Good job.

-Milan

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by americanyouth

What issues did you have that made you want to rebuild your calipers?

After tracking the car at Gingerman Racetrack in MI, I started to swap my race pads out and noticed the outer dust boots were melted and torn open. I figured it was time to replace them and inspect the calipers which I had never cleaned up since purchase from overseas 3 years ago.

[MBPEJ20]

awesome writeup and pix! thanks

[JayGold]

Originally Posted by US2JDM

Nice write-up and pics, Jay. The only thing I'd do differently is use brake parts cleaner instead of the WD-40 (as it evaporates and won't leave any residue).

Good job.

-Milan

Funny you mention that, I couldn't find the cleaner, it was stashed in the garage somewhere, so I just sprayed a bit of WD-40 on a clean rag and wiped the cylinders clean, then used a dry area of the rag to further wipe the cylinders until I was satisfied.

Thanks for mentioning this.