RE: Splitting calipers

["Henrik Hasager Johansen" <hjohansen@domain.elided>]

Dana,

I have rebuilt a number of calipers, and taken them apart against the
usual warnings, so far no problems. I have had the car on a track and
have about 20k miles on rebuilds... I ain't that big a deal, just know
that cleanliness is the issue when doing this. Brakefluid is a terrific
cleaner and use gloves....

I go the o-rings from Alfa Parts in Berkeley, but my guess is that any
Alfa shop would have them. As far as I remember you need to for each set
of halves.

Just my two cents

Henrik Johansen
Copenhagen, Denmark

-----Original Message-----
 I have a set of Brembo front brake calipers from a Milano that I want
to
install on an early 105 car with the small Ate brakes.  I've been told
the
Brembo calipers will "bolt right on" after removing a solid spacer that
was
needed to accomodate the Milano's vented rotors but makes the caliper
too
wide for the unvented rotors used on the 105.  While looking for parts
to
rebuild the calipers, however, I saw a warning in the IAP catalog to the
effect that one should "never" split the two halves of the caliper
apart,
which I would need to do to get the spacers out.

Now, I don't believe everything I read in catalogs, but I've also read
on
the Digest that caliper rebuild kits don't include an o-ring that fits
between the halves of the caliper.  I'm wondering, then, if this is why
IAP
warns against disassembling calipers and how likely they are to leak if
I
take them apart and put them back together again without a new o-ring.
If
someone has found a generic substitute for the o-ring, I'd be interested
and less inclined to worry. 

Thanks,
Dana
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