Front brakes on xantia

[addo]

I use a rubber-safe high temperature synthetic grease on sliding portions of brakes. Pretty sure you can also use Würth CU800 as it's made with a high temperature synthetic base also. Have seen some OEM assemblies with a PTFE grease on slider pins. It lasts well.

[handyman]

Use a High Temperature grease for the sliding bushes. You wouldn't want it to melt & get on the pads, would you? I use a HT grease Land Rover use on diff & driveshaft assemblies as its also 'waterproof' . Not cheap but works really well. If you want some, let me know.

You dont need to lubricate the caliper pistons to wind them in, as they should be covered by a 'rubber' dust shield. These can deteriorate over time, allowing dirt to get onto the caliper piston & stop it moving correctly.

H

[KP]

Mike if you have the time spend £26 and get a caliper rebuild kit and redo all the seals and strip them down.
They will be ultra smooth moving then and when it's all apart any rough edges can be sanded down easier

[handyman]

If you get a caliper rebuild kit, make sure its for the Activa, as the bushes & dust seals for the sliding pin are a different size to other Xantias. Not sure they are available as a pattern part and they are NPF at PSA.

H

[KP]

That depends. the S1 Activa had its own calipers, the s2 however shared them with the 2.1td and v6...

IMO if your going for a rebuild just get the V6 setup as others have recomended. i just got some calipers and will be getting them stripped, painted and new seals at some point as well as some nice shiney new pipes and discs/pads

You dont say which one its for so sorry if this is for the v6/s2

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Unless you've actually got a seized piston its not worth doing it if it ain't broke like they say don't fix it.
the sliders will attract road debris, pad dust and grit if you lube them to much a squirt of Wd 40 will suffice to get them moving the sliders should be pretty shiny and polished under the rubber dust covers.
Don't skimp on price when replacing your disks and pads it really affects the braking efficiency of the xantia
I bought a cheap set of vented disks and cheap pads and regretted it ever since I'll be paying a bit extra for Bendix pads next time around if the chepos haven't damaged the disks from being to hard. softer pads mean longer lasting disks and better braking performance.
I should know better.