Replacement brake pistons?

So the other day I started what I'd convinced myself would be a cake walk project - replacing the front brake pads. Unfortunately, its turned out to be anything but. I won't bore you with all of the pains but the core problem at the moment are the pieces of the damper rusted into the pistons themselves (3 out of 4 are stuck - yes, I'm still on wheel number 1). Tonight I removed one of the pistons, hit it with PB blaster, heated it multiple times with a propane torch and then attempted to use a screw-out kit on the screw head to break it loose or at least get the screw out. Instead, I twisted the head of the screw off. I've since re-bored the top of the damper with the larger screw-out and managed to get it in there really, really tight. I'm hesitant to put the piston itself into a vice, but instead inverted the assembly and put the screw-out bit into the vice and tried turning the piston with a strap wrench. It is rock solid and not budging. I've seen a few people drill them out, tap and then press it out - which is definitely something I'll try if I have to. But, honestly I'd rather just throw some money at the problem at this point and get past it. Is anyway aware of a source to buy replacement pistons? I see some on PartsGeek.com ( http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...er_piston.html ) but since they're not genuine, I figured I'd see if anyone has found them elsewhere or has experience with these. Thanks in advance! Charlie

Propane won't do it. I used out acetylene or map gas to heat it. I drilled holes in the dampener . heated everything. chill dampener with water or wd 40. it took some work but no vise or vise grips required. just use physics

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Thanks for the info! I'll see if I can borrow an oxy-acetylene setup tomorrow and give it a shot. Did it just fall out eventually once you shocked it enough? Also - I don't know how deep the piston cavity goes - is there risk of accidentally drilling into the piston once you get through the damper or is there a gap?

Charlie, Have you priced 'good used' complete calipers from a no-rust location? Ask Woody if he has any with the same part numbers as yours or Interchangeable? A better source than EBay but that is always an alternative if Woody can't help you. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-2000-20...BVoV4A&vxp=mtr

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I definitely have considered it. At the moment the calipers themselves are great - it's just these damper plugs and the nut for the brake line that are giving me trouble. Pardon my ignorance - but who is woody?

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if the plug is stuck flush with face of the piston there is an air gap, it is easy to drill, mark your drill bit so you don't drill to far. I'm trying to remember how I did it. may have been with mapp gas, much hotter than propane.

Get them from racing brake . You're probably going to need new boots as well. Not sure about the seals. Call them and they will get you exactly what you need. The steel pistons are way better IMO. Here's my thread on caliper rebuild. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-gt2-...ld-thread.html I didn't have any issues with the damper/heat shields. I'm actually a little surprised you can't pull them out. Bummer! Do you have any pics? -td

Headed to see Woody this morning! Stupid question, any downside to just leaving the dampener plug in the piston?

Agreed- Send it to Racing Brake! They did a great job rebuilding my calipers, and communication the entire way.

Here is a pic of the first piston I've removed. Regarding the question about leaving them in. From what I've read, it would work just fine - may lead to some noise. But, I'm stubborn and figure if I'm going to do it, I want to do it 100%. It would bother me.

Did heat work? I've got three in a set of TT calipers I bought (for my Cup upright project) and can't resell because of them.

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Heat from a propane torch has proven ineffective. I have a friend with an oxy acetylene torch so I was going to give that a shot this evening. However, after coming across Racing Brake, I think I may just order 2 sets of the stainless pistons and call it a day. I'm about to remove the second caliper to see if the damper plugs are stuck in it as well - if they are, I'm just replacing them all. Too much of a headache, I'd rather be driving.

Quick update. I removed the pads from the other side and 3 of 4 damper plugs are rusted in on that side as well. So, I've decided time and frustration levels exceed the cost of replacement and just ordered two sets of new stainless pistons from Racing Brake. Thanks so much for the recommendation. They'll be there tomorrow, so fingers crossed everything else goes smoothly. Also - I did take a more accurate measurement of the rotor thickness. They're 33.48mm. So, just over .5mm wear and still well above the 32mm minimum thickness.

Awesome, thanks for the contribution and I will stay toned in case this ever happens to me. Got a brake job in the near future.

Quick update - the new pistons from Racing Break came today. They look pretty sweet. However the opening on the face is larger diameter than stock and therefore they will NOT work with factory dampers. This is clearly by design, but worth noting - especially if you're buying parts ahead of time. I'd only opened one of my 4 damper packages so luckily I'll be able to return a few and at least salvage some of the cost. Naturally, nothing can be easy and the driver's side brake line nut is now rounded and won't come loose. I have a replacement line on order. The passenger side came off easily and I have 2 of the 4 pistons replaced. Its a piece of cake once the caliper is off the car. A word of caution - and others have said this - but its worth repeating - BE CAREFUL with the compressed air. Start with low pressure and increase it slowly - when the piston reaches the seal it pops out quickly - sometimes violently! Wear protective eyewear, keep your fingers clear!!! Mine weren't coming out with 20PSI so I turned the compressor on and was letting it run while I tried to get it out. It got to 60PSI before I realized it and the piston came out like a bullet, ricocheted off a cabinet and flew across the garage. It happens fast, even if you're expecting it and being careful. I was very, very lucky nothing was damaged. Be careful and go slowly!!!

Skip the dampeners. They are worthless. Lol, those pistons are crazy when they come out. I used several different sizes of blocks of wood to keep them from coming all the way out. But they slapped the wood so hard when they popped that you couldn't help but flench. One trick I learned on RL is take a pair of vice grips and clamp them down on your flare wrench after it is on the nut. It helps get the tough ones loose without stripping. After they strip, then it's just the vice grips.

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Oh wow. I wish I'd thought of or had known about the vice grip + flare wrench trick. Thanks! I am going to give it a shot, there may be enough left for it to work.

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Agree, none of these (below) either. These are the common questions from customers, what are those things for, can I rebuild the calipers w/o them? What Caliper part is this? RB caliper components are made with proper material (seal and boots*), the pistons are machined from one solid stainless steel bar stock and surface is chrome plated with mirror finish and tight tolerance that can provide very smooth movement of oil seal, cut down the heat transfer, and never corrode like aluminum pistons. Fewer parts, easy to install, and after rebuild your calipers will perform better (w/o needing those extra components intended to correct/improve) and last much longer than original. *Blue boots is specially made for higher temperature applications (track/race)

Those are the factory backing plates. Most people just discard them, they are not really needed. They are supposed to reduce squealing and have adhesive backing on the side that goes on the brake pad. The large top one is for the fronts, the disc ones are for the rear. After awhile the adhesive breaks down and the pads move around anyway so they are sort of pointless IMO.