piston dust shield help
 

I am at my wits end, how on earth do you make the piston dust shield/rubber stay in place on the lip of the caliper?
I think it is all on and it slips off, start at 6 o'clock, work round to 12 and the 6 pops off or the whole thing seems to slip off.

This was a 5 minute job now taking hours

macafee2

On mine (as posted in your other post) it went in easily, but then they were effectively new. Have you checked the flange is clean?

If I recall, the clip ring is encased in the rubber. Perhaps placing for a few minutes in hot water to allow the rubber to soften, and the clip ring to expand slightly.

checked the flange is clean. Did not want to heat in water as that would mean assembling wet so I heated it with a hot air gun.
My fingers are sore from pushing the seal on.

If you think hot water is the answer I'll give it a go, desperation creeping in. Rubber seems very soft, just wondered if there was a bit too much of it. The lip is not very deep.

macafee2

I honestly dont know, and as mine literally went straight on, it was uneventful, and initially I thought it was too easy. But since the outer rim is just a dust seal, with the fluid seal being inside the piston, I did not worry.

I would not use a heat gun, simply because it is dangerous to you (ie me lol), and there is a potential to melt the plastic/rubber. But if you are confident in doing that, go for it. But make sure the to heat it away from the caliper, as you do not want it to be heated at the same time (as it could expand with the heat too, negating your efforts).

If I recall on mine, (which were the 190 type, but they look similar to the non 190 type), I mounted it onto the piston, pulled the boot inside out, and then slid the piston in. Smeared red grease onto the rubber before turning it back (this was to lubricate the rubber and hopefully reduce tension on the boot as I turned it). Turning the rubber back to its correct position, the rim simply pressed into position without effort.

It was then I thought about it, it went into place, perhaps too easy. But it is only a dust seal and does not have to be fluid tight, I did not worry (nearly 3 years on now, and all seems to have held up well).

The rears were a different story though, being a bit more fiddly. The first set of seals I had, were from BiggRed, which were very tight, and tore as I slid it onto the piston. Comparing them to the Brakesint items, it was obvious the Brakesint versions, were more pliable (which is why I originally suggested you search for the company on eBay).

Make sure the flange is smooth, and doesnt have a slight piece of corrosion or dirt sticking up, as that would be enough to cause it to lift up.

i have solved this, I removed one from a spare caliper and fitted it to the caliper on the car.

Bled the brake, seems fine but will take for a test drive tomorrow.
For now the new dust cover is on the spare caliper

macafee2

I didnt realise you had a spare caliper. I would have suggested you rebuilt that one instead. It would have been much easier for you.

Ultimately though, the new seal went onto the spare easily?

And the old seal from the spare caliper went on easily to the existing caliper on the car?

I wanted to repair the caliper fitted. If the dust shield had fitted it is a "5 minute job".
I like to repair things, sometimes keep the spares as a last resort

Old seal went on fairly easily and the new seal on the spare, well, it will do.
Piston in the spare looked in good condition.

macafee2

I like to repair also, but that is essentially what you would be doing. Granted it isnt the totally original, but it is still appropriate, and accurate.

Have you considered a full refurb of the spares with a view to replace at some time. It is much easier 'on the bench' (I am sure you know this), and probably be easier to do - I wonder if this had any bearing on the seal not fitting before :shrug:

It is a satisfying task, and not difficult (as you have seen). Being on the bench too, it means you can inspect and clean them thoroughly too.

Bench, ha ha I doubt if I will be able to get to my benches this year. We are in temporary accommodation and the garage is about 1/4 the size of "mine"
I might fit a Little Tykes Red and Yellow car in but that is it. The rest of the space is fully taken and almost every time I want something we have to empty out the centre floor area to get in.

We also have a shipping container about 20 minutes away, that is also full and has to be part emptied to get to anything

macafee2