Brembo refurbishment
 

I started with the replacement of front discs and pads today but ran in to the problem of getting the new (Brembo) pads into the stainless steel pad guides. I had previously had problems 18 months ago with stuck pads and the current (Textar) replacements were also jamming when I took things apart to look at the potential causes of brake judder. I temporarily solved things with the textar pads on the old discs by taking 0-5 - 1mm off the sides of the pad backing plate which allowed them to run free. However, I dont want to do this with the new pads and discs and close inspection has shown that there is a build up of corrosion behind the s/steel guides which reduces the tolerance to an extent whereby the new pads won't fit. Unfortunately I cannot extract the torx head bolts (apparently they are held in place with Loctite) and so my conclusion is that I need to get the calipers refurbished professionally. I have been recommended by Big Redd (who did a good job on my rear calipers - but dont do Brembos) to try Pro-Calipers - a Brembo specialist who do a full re-furb including splitting the caliper. They are a bit pricey (approx £450 inc paint coating) but do use Brembo seals/bleed screws etc and use re-manufactured s/steel guides if the current ones are distorted. Others I have contacted are around £250 but dont do full split (whihc can be a problem I understand) and possibly dont use OEM seals.

Any advice/recommendations?

Im in the same boat

Can't believe BiggRed, named after the Porsche big red Brembo caliper don't do Brembos !? Who'd have thought....

I previously used a company in Nottingham - brake Caliper painting or something similar I think , but have heard mixed reviews since (my Boxster calipers they refurbed still working well FWIW)

Points to note:

1, yes, the torx bolts are extremely tricky to get out, and require the caliper splitting to get proper access to them. I would not trust anyone who thinks they can do a proper job on these calipers without splitting them

2, the balance pipes will need replacing when they are split. They never come out intact.

3, genuine Brembo seals are half the price from Audi that they are from Brembo specialists! Audi also do a full kit including pistons.

4, splitting the caliper can be a challenge because the steel bolts can seize in the alloy housing.

5, these calipers must have genuine Brembo bleed screws as they are much better machined than any of the aftermarket tat, and have a special anti-corrosion coating.

6, none of my calipers (4x) have needed new spring plates. 90% of the problems with these calipers are caused by those stupid stainless plates corroding away the alloy underneath them and then pushing the spring away from the caliper body so the pads get stuck.

7, Even I accept that properly painting brake calipers is a specialist job. The last 'special bake-in-the-oven brake caliper paint' I bought isn't even resistant to brake fluid!

8, you can buy the pad retaining pins and springs aftermarket, but not from Audi. Not sure about Brembo - I've never found them if so.

Sadly all of these points make the calipers one of the big-ticket items on the D2, but at least done properly they should be good for another 10+ years.

It's Brake Caliper Specialists in Nottingham. They made a right mess of my rear calipers, although they'd previously done a good job on my front ones (although they took much longer than they said).

Thanks for the responses: Brake Caliper Specialist have just emailed a quote - ignoring that on the online input form I put down just for the fronts so it came to £563 (after 20% discount!) for all four! They also promise a plethora of further discounts if I pay TODAY! That puts me off anyway.

All the points raised by Mikkijayne were addressed by Pro-Calipers when I questioned how/what they did so I and they were the only ones who state that the split the caliper and fit Brembo bleed screws - others use standard stainless steel which would obviously react with the aluminium body (like the spring plates!) - so I get the feel that they do know what they are talking about. With regard to splitting the calipers, Bigg Red stated that that's the reason they dont do this and farm it out to Pro-Calipers as they have the skills and techniques to do this.

I tried clearing out the corrosion behind the steel springs as they have obviously been distorted by it but to no effect. They (Pro-C) stated that they try to re-use the springs if at all possible but if they cant they use locally made springs as Brembo dont provide them as spares!

I used Brake caliper specialists once never again - both calipers were leaking where they have torn the seal when reinserting the new pistons. Couldn't be even bothered to reply to email I sent afterwards.

Thanks for that. +++

Thanks, that's them. Did a fine job on the Boxster calipers but these are monobloc so don't suffer the same issues as ours.

Definitely sounds like Pro-Calipers are the ones to go with then, although I'm not a fan of powder coating.

I have now completed the refurbishment and refitting of the front calipers with new Ferodo discs and Brembo pads. Pro-Calipers did a great job and the calipers look good. Havent got around to bed the discs/pads in yet as the car went immediately into the garage for MoT! (not good news on other counts). The old discs were badly and unevenly worn (the outsides looked good but the inside faces were less than 50% in proper contact with the pads with large ridges at the edges of corrosion. This was, possibly, the cause of shuddering. The calipers were showing signs of corrison around the s/steel pad holders and most of the seals were distorted/damaged. The corrosion forced the pads out and had been the cause of brake overheating/ stuck pads before. I hope that all this is now in the past especially as the rears calipers were refurbished 15 months ago.

Good to go! - and now stop +++