Compatibility of seals and LHM

Tony589 · Unread post by **Tony589** » 08 Aug 2011, 09:49

Hi Folks,
I have a Beetle based trike with a disc conversion, the calipers used appear to be from a Peugeot 206 rear and are not very effective due to the small piston.
The handbrake is similar to that on my Xantia HDi with a lever through the back of the caliper and it occured to me that if I could change the mountings and fit Xantia front calipers I would get much better stopping power and still have the handbrake levers where they should be.

Trouble is will LHM damage the master cylinder seals or will brake fluid damage the Xantia seals or is it both?

Are there any similar calipers (with a handbrake lever) that dont use LHM?

Thanks,

Tony.

HDI · Unread post by **HDI** » 08 Aug 2011, 10:03

Any seals intended for conventional brake fluid will be damaged by LHM but seals for LHM should be ok with normal brake fluid.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 08 Aug 2011, 10:38

Really?

That's good to hear.

I was wondering otherwise, if some outfit like Bigg Red may have been able to furnish caliper seals.

HDI · Unread post by **HDI** » 08 Aug 2011, 12:18

Seals for conventional brake fluid are a natural rubber blend which is not resistant to hydrocarbon fluids, like LHM. However, seals for LHM will be a nitrile rubber blend which resists oil based (hydrocarbon) fluids and will also resist conventional brake fluids.

Tony589 · Unread post by **Tony589** » 08 Aug 2011, 14:52

Thanks for the info folks.

All I need now is a spare pair of calipers.

Cheers,

Tony.