Is200 Front Brake Calliper Repair- Is It Easy?

[davidrose55]

After a couple of months of putting up with what appears to be a sticky front brake piston problem, I have decided to purchase a Repair kit consisting of seals,etc. (A friend of mine thinks that it should resolve my problem). Has anybody performed this task, and is it a reasonably straight forward job?

[davidrose55]

I am surprised that my post has gone unanswered, especially with the wealth of knowledge spoken of on this site. I simply wondered whether anyone had used the repair kit, and whether the task was reasonably straight forward?

[Gord]

I am surprised that my post has gone unanswered, especially with the wealth of knowledge spoken of on this site. I simply wondered whether anyone had used the repair kit, and whether the task was reasonably straight forward?

I have never done one, but from what i have seen of the front calipers, it should be easy to do :D hope this helps

[Rikos]

Taking the caliper off is easy so i imagine repairing shouldnt be a tough task.

How much was the repair kit and where did you get it from?

I wouldnt take to mush offence that the post went unanswered people may have just missed the post or the people that viewed it didnt know what to put down and so just left it.

[davidrose55]

Taking the caliper off is easy so i imagine repairing shouldnt be a tough task.

How much was the repair kit and where did you get it from?

I wouldnt take to mush offence that the post went unanswered people may have just missed the post or the people that viewed it didnt know what to put down and so just left it.

£60 + VAT from Lexus in Norwich.

I didn't take offence about the initial non- response, it was the fact that some 60 people had viewed it which surprised me

[Rikos]

You do find that some times, i've had threads which have done that and it is a little strange but someone will always come along in the end :D

Let me know who you get on with the cailper repair and if it solves the problem as i may have to do this also.

[davidrose55]

You do find that some times, i've had threads which have done that and it is a little strange but someone will always come along in the end :D

Let me know who you get on with the cailper repair and if it solves the problem as i may have to do this also.

Intend to tackle it on Saturday. Will keep you posted....

[golfvr6]

Hi There,

I have had issues with my brakes for seems like forever!!...I replaced the front discs pads and rear pads - which was great for a round a week - and then all of a sudden I get a squeal everytime I apply the brakes and a slight grinding noise. The performance of the brakes - is'nt that bad in fact - its pretty good - but its son annoying the engine is so quiet - and it should be such a composed car that the squeal drives me insane!...

So I managed to source front lefthand side Caliper from the states - its a remanufactured one from an IS300 - which I believe should be the right one for my IS200. ( Well I hope so!)

It cost me £32 inc Postage... so I thought may as well...looks like in good condition - but will see when I get it...

With regards to removing and re-fitting, I believe it should be relatively straight forward Remove the two Caliper bolts - disconnect the hose, making sure not to get any fluid on to hands/body work etc... then a case of regreasing new and replacing.

After speaking with a few ppl - the hardest thing is bleeding the brakes - but I figure I may as well get the brake fluid flushed changed and replaced and bleed the brakes.

And while I'm at it - may as well get some Mintex Discs and Pads on... Which brings me on to another thing...it really does not pay to purchase cheap parts - the quality is poor and it really is false economy!!...

Sorry to put you through all of the above!...lol!

Let me know how you get on with the Caliper Change - I'll do the same!...

All the best

[Kiriyama]

I didn't take offence about the initial non- response, it was the fact that some 60 people had viewed it which surprised me

I was one of those 60 and as it happens, I'm having the same trouble with my brakes but I've left it with a mechanic friend so as the only answer I could give you would have been 'dunno', I figured I'd skip this one :P

[davidrose55]

I didn't take offence about the initial non- response, it was the fact that some 60 people had viewed it which surprised me

I was one of those 60 and as it happens, I'm having the same trouble with my brakes but I've left it with a mechanic friend so as the only answer I could give you would have been 'dunno', I figured I'd skip this one :P

I have the taken front brakes apart and installed the new seal kit. One of the F/N/S pistons was just about seized in. When it came out I cleaned it up as it was slightly pitted on one side. The front brakes are now like new. I can certainly feel the difference in how free the car is since installing the new seals. It was worth the hassle of stripping both sides down. The seal kit was £69 inc' VAT.

[sparkystav]

Glad you sorted it lad.

Was it pretty simple to do or was there instructions? Just for people doing it in the future.

Stav

[davidrose55]

Glad you sorted it lad.

Was it pretty simple to do or was there instructions? Just for people doing it in the future.

Stav

There were no instructions, however I simply went by what a number of people had said. The hardest bit was bleeding the system at the end. At least I know what to do next time.

1. Nip the flexible brake fluid hose up with a pair of molegrips

2. Undo the 2 bolts to release the calliper

3. Undo the flexible brake hose bolt to the calliper, in order to take it off completely.

4. Remove the pistons, and old rubbers from the housing. (mole grips required to turn end of piston)

5. Clean up the old pistons, and piston housing in the calliper

6. Refit pistons, new seals and clips. Remove brake carrier sliders, clean and fit new rubbers (small one at one end in recess, and the other in larger rubber at the bolt end of the slider)

7. Loosley bolt calliper in place, loosen bleed valve

8. tighten bols

9. Bleed brakes. (2nd person required to pump brake pedal) then tighten off bleed valve.

Have used the car a couple of times since completing the task, and she appears so much better, but then again one of the F/N/S pistons was virtually seized in.

[Rob]

Is the kit for both sides or just 1?? and its just the seals and not pistons also??

[davidrose55]

Is the kit for both sides or just 1?? and its just the seals and not pistons also??

Its just the seals and clips, and comes packaged for both sides. Does not include the pistons. I must admit I was abit surprised at the price bearing in mind there are a total of 10 replacement rubbers and 4 metal clips!

[Motsey]

Is the kit for both sides or just 1?? and its just the seals and not pistons also??

Its just the seals and clips, and comes packaged for both sides. Does not include the pistons. I must admit I was abit surprised at the price bearing in mind there are a total of 10 replacement rubbers and 4 metal clips!

how do you know if you need to replace these bits, i think i may have a similar problem

[sparkystav]

One brake will be hotter than the rest, juddering under braking.

Stav

[Motsey]

One brake will be hotter than the rest, juddering under braking.

Stav

yes mine judders when breaking but not tested if its hotter tho will do tomorrow going to work > is it also the cause to my stearing pulling sharply to one side(towards left i think) when stopping

[sparkystav]

Sounds like the problem mate

Stav

[davidrose55]

One brake will be hotter than the rest, juddering under braking.

Stav

yes mine judders when breaking but not tested if its hotter tho will do tomorrow going to work > is it also the cause to my stearing pulling sharply to one side(towards left i think) when stopping

I first realised that I had a problem whilst travelling to work one morning. I pressed the footbrake and felt a massive judder from the front nearside wheel. When I jacked the car up later that day I could hardly turn the F/N/S wheel. When I took the wheel off we found that the bottom piston was virtually seized in place. Managed to free it up with the use of some GT85 (WD40) mole grips and some hard work. I knew that the piston would seize again, so I went for the seal kit. Rather be safe than sorry, and have it come back and bite me in the a**e at some point!! :tsktsk:

[Motsey]

One brake will be hotter than the rest, juddering under braking.

Stav

yes mine judders when breaking but not tested if its hotter tho will do tomorrow going to work > is it also the cause to my stearing pulling sharply to one side(towards left i think) when stopping

I first realised that I had a problem whilst travelling to work one morning. I pressed the footbrake and felt a massive judder from the front nearside wheel. When I jacked the car up later that day I could hardly turn the F/N/S wheel. When I took the wheel off we found that the bottom piston was virtually seized in place. Managed to free it up with the use of some GT85 (WD40) mole grips and some hard work. I knew that the piston would seize again, so I went for the seal kit. Rather be safe than sorry, and have it come back and bite me in the a**e at some point!! :tsktsk:

i drove to work this morning and touched each calliper and neither was warm, anyother way to tell >> when i painted the calliper i noticed when i was spinning them it was free almost all the way round but got hard on 1 bit could this be a buckeled disc rather then a calliper /pistern issue?

[Motsey]

ok its confirmed my front drivers side calliper was seized, when i opened it one of the round things(i have been told its a pisten lol) wouldnt go back in without loads and loads of force, hammer and other stuff but then when i pressed the brakes again same happened > repair kit ordered

Mine drove heavy but not enough for me to notice(i must be silly or somthing), had a slight juder when breaking not really bad tho

[PCIronmike]

Hi Lads , I have done this repair to loads of cars (not a Lexus tho) the principle is all the same , I,m glad you got it sorted but I'd be concerned about the pitting on the piston , its probably the cause of the seizure , the chrome shell has been penetrated and will be open to corrosion , this in turn will cause the piston to seize in time , I know its more expense but it really would of been worth replacing the pistons on both fronts , the use of mole grips on the hoses is a bit rough as its possible to fracture the reinforcing of the hose with the squared edges on the grips this can cause the hose to fail and you may see a bulge occuring on it so check it out , proper hose clamps do not do this as they are rounded ( cheap as chips from your local Partco ) .

The warning about Brake Fluid is also warranted , I remember a test back in my apprentice days on the most flammable fluid in a car , believe it or not its the brake fluid .

Regards

Paul. :D

[Lochie]

It's unlikely anyone read these old threads, I'm going to repair my front caliper too. I'm just wondering which grease to use on new seals? Online manual says “Lithium soap base glycol grease” :duh: seems this type not available freely. can any one advice?

[Fazerboy]

Just to add to this ...

Same problem O/S/F Caliper seized

Replaced (new) at Cost of £75

Seems the more cost effective option

[dazz32]

Just to add to this ...

Same problem O/S/F Caliper seized

Replaced (new) at Cost of £75

Seems the more cost effective option

Where did you get the calliper from mate..?