Should brake calipers be changed in pairs?
 

I have recently replaced one sticking front brake caliper. It was an original so 16 years old, and i replaced it with a fully refurbished one.

After fitting it I bled just that side.

A road test shows the car pulls up straight so no issues there but Under heavy braking from speed I feel the ABS kick in on the side with the new caliper.

This tells me that the new one is potentially applying a stronger braking force than the other side. As far as I know ABS only works off the wheel sensors, so it cant be a bleed problem on that side.

Should I have changed both sides? Should I have bled both sides?

I assume the 75 is basically no different to any other vehicle so ,based on experience of my Outlander, no you don't need to change callipers in pairs. As for bleeding, yes you probably should.

I was thinking it is about 2 years since i changed the brake fluid so maybe on the unchanged caliper it might have deteriorated a bit. I will give it a try.

I initially assumed the problem must be to do with the side i have worked on, but in this case its probably the case that the new side is now in better shape than the other so is working better.

Worst case i will have to finish refurbing the caliper for the other side and change that as well.

Did you change the pads at the same time? If so, then pads should be change on both sides. Second there may be a case for the other caliper being a little stiff compared to the new one, I'd certainly check that it's moving freely on the carrier and slide pins.

I kept the same pads, but have just completed bleeding the other side and this has cured the problem.

That's good to know, glad it's worked out ok. Thanks for the update.

I would always do all four. It's barely any more work once you've got all the tools out.

Time was at a premium. I must admit that doing all four is in the plan, but the first one was urgent as it was sticking.

Plus the caliper for the other side was still fizzing in the electrolysis bucket at the time. Glad to say that bleeding both sides had everything back to normal.