I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Brake caliper
Our MK1 needs a new brake caliper. It was always a bit iffy then we stored her for 8 years albeit with brakes off but on the truck to get her out of storage and to ours, her handbrake was yanked on (fair enough, didn’t want her falling off!) and on it stayed.
Anyway, I was idly looking at eBay and saw I can buy a rear caliper for £45ish. Would you trust that? I thought calipers were horribly expensive so this seems cheap. Also, should I replace both? If one’s gone, should both be done? I was going to get the garage to do it but I’m having second thoughts on grounds that I like a bit of a tinker of a weekend. Any thoughts? I’ve never done a caliper before… Is it a bad idea to start now? I’m not completely stupid but probably a bit and I’m not so proud I won’t ask for help if needed… Could/should I do a caliper myself for under £50?
No, 90% on the bay of e will be Chinese weak copies, go to a good parts supplier that will deal with factory refurded units to help keep the cost down like Autolinkmx5 etc buddy.
M-m
i used ebay caliper on the front, its been fine for a couple of years. pretty simple casting, not much to go wrong. took about half an hour including bleeding
Autolinkuk list pattern calipers on Ebay, and they are 100% fine. Note, pattern calipers can’t be reconditoned. We’re probably getting to a stage where decent core calipers are running out, and time is to switch from recon/remanufactureed calipers to pattern new calipers.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure if that’s the only problem because she can’t be moved until it’s solved. Then I’ll know. She’s been stored in a good, dry, vermin free, ventilated space so I’m very happy with her condition. My plan was to see if I could whack the caliper on so we could get her to the garage for general service and overhaul. After reading the general consensus here, I’ll be giving MX5 parts a call for that rather than eBay.
Joe, if, as you say, it has been stored in a good environment, without vermin onslaughts, it sounds like you have a good chance of a successful restoration though, of course, it is to be expected that a little polishing with money will be required! It would be interesting to see a “before” photo. Good luck!
I’m just having a look at my brakes. Like yours, the car’s been standing and my discs have started to rot away. The problem I’ve found with eBay is that a lot of the sellers of MX5 parts use stock photos for parts which is absolutely useless. If I’m buying any part online, I need to see clear photos from all angles of the actual item I’m buying. Putting a picture up of a good condition part then selling a worn out part in it’s place isn’t good for business.
Steel discs dont rot away just because they have been left standing. Are they just rusty, or do they also have craters? In the first case, a bit of exercise will often cure the problem, as I am sure you know.
I agree. Ebay should have two mottos emblazoned at the top of every page:
“Caveat emptor” and “Lasciate ogni speranza voi qu’entrate!”
Count your fingers on the way out.
As far as all brake parts are concerned, i would avoid Ebay like the plague.
Just replaced the discs on my other car which had stood for several years and condition was awful. The MX5 discs aren’t quite that bad but on their way.
All four were the same, this one just the worse. The car had stood for years, the corrosion finally lifting the top layer of steel so it just flaked off. Not just my discs, a lot of owners have had the same thing.
