[T3] Who sells these caliper kits for my 73 type 3?

[Jim Adney]

On 13 Aug 2018 at 18:52, William Jahn wrote:

>  One place think it is CSP1  only sells the entire kit the seals , bolts
> the anti rotate clips for the pistons and the lock plate. Can I re use the
> lock plate? do I really need the bolts and all I need are 2 of the piston
> anit rotate clips that are the type that secure on the piston center hub
> because the two on the right are missing. Their kit is $40 for one caliper.

Yes, the kits tend to be expensive, and I almost never replace the bolts, but I 
have them if anyone needs some. When I do rebuilds, I only replace the 
parts that are bad, so in the long term, I use less than 1 kit per caliper. If I 
replaced everything on every caliper, my price would have to be much 
higher. The part that's most often needed is the boot.

I charge $100 to rebuild a pair of calipers, but a new pair of positioning 
plates would add $10 to that. Broken bleed valves increase the cost 
significantly. New pads are extra, if needed. Then you have to add in the 
cost, and time, of 2-way shipping, so it starts to look like you could do your 
own for significant savings. The problem comes when you try to actually do 
this yourself. I've made a number of special tools that help me get the old 
pistons out. I also made dies to put the positioning plates back into their 
original shape, since they are often bent out of shape by clumsy mechanics. 
Without those tools, and the experience I've had since I did my first calipers 
in 1971, you're going to find this to be a very difficult job.

It's not just a matter of taking the old parts out and putting the new parts in.

Rebuilding a master cylinder is simple, assuming you can find the correct 
parts, but rebuilding calipers is something that stumps most people. Plus 
there is the question of what lubricants you use when reassembling.  
That makes a huge difference in how long your rebuild will stay good.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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