xantia rescue

[Scottculli]

Oh yeah just incase anybody may need to know for working on their own projects,I measured the piston size for the caliper it was 60mm

[Scottculli]

hey everyone the last couple off days ive had some time to work on the xantia and with a lot off effort,penetrating oil and a breaker bar i manged to get the calipers off the car. . ive started to remove the rust of the calipers and clean them, getting ready to strip them down . not bad coming from this .

[Scottculli]

This was something cool I found inside it’s different to the either pistons i have seen does anybody know how it works?

[Skull]

Scottculli That is a bizarre looking caliper piston, I've never had to strip my Xantia's front brakes .... ....

[white exec]

In the second photo, it's how things look if the lower securing bolt is removed, and the caliper is swung fully upwards, to access pads and to retract the piston.

[Scottculli]

Scottculli That is a bizarre looking caliper piston, I've never had to strip my Xantia's front brakes .... ....

I know right, the ones I've seen are just like a lump of metal that just goes back and forth. I think the circlip is there,and holds in the swivel mechanism that attaches it to the caliper. I was thinking of taking it apart and seeing how it works today, as it looks interesting.

[Scottculli]

In the second photo, it's how things look if the lower securing bolt is removed, and the caliper is swung fully upwards, to access pads and to retract the piston.

Yea exactly right. It just makes it easier to work on if you take it apart.

[Skull]

In the second photo, it's how things look if the lower securing bolt is removed, and the caliper is swung fully upwards, to access pads and to retract the piston.

Yes white exec but I was referring to the piston design - presumable those inner cylinders adjusts within each other during initial braking to reduce the initial brake action for a smoother operation especially at low braking effort levels

[thorter]

The mechanism is used to limit piston retraction so that the very high leverage/very limited travel handbrake can work. It has a fast thread that can be pulled out by foot brake pressure, but which does not go back (unless wound back as when new pads are fitted). There is a little backlash that fixes the handbrake travel and allows enough pad clearance.
T

[Skull]

Thanks Thorter for that explanation, that helps me understand why the Xantias handbrake are very effective!

[Scottculli]

The mechanism is used to limit piston retraction so that the very high leverage/very limited travel handbrake can work. It has a fast thread that can be pulled out by foot brake pressure, but which does not go back (unless wound back as when new pads are fitted). There is a little backlash that fixes the handbrake travel and allows enough pad clearance.
T

Thats a great explanation Thorter, while disassembling and taking a look insides, the handbrake mechanism is quite interesting.its all encased behind that rubber cap at the end, you pull on the metal L shaped rod and due to the mechanism inside the little movement on the outside creates a lot of force that can move the piston

[Scottculli]

hey everyone hows it going:-).
today the repair kit came for my calipers so i was planning on getting a thew things and using my time tomorrow to finish them. but before then i needed to buy a few supplys i was looking on some old posts saying what type of grease to use for the hand break mechanism, would lithium grease work as ive heard it dosnt react with rubber and is quite thick the only thing i can think of is if it can deal with the temperature of the calipers.as well as the is some in my local screwfix around the corner
thanks Scott.

[Scottculli]

I was wondering when rebuilding will it be all right to use just lhm as lube, as i think the is a special compound that used on regular callipers. It seems kind of silly but I thought I should ask just to be safe.

[Hell Razor5543]

LHM is also quite 'slippery', so it is a lubricant as well. For example, if you were to clean the system with hydraflush it is recommended to use it for no more than 3,000 miles, as it does not lubricate the system well. LHM should be replaced every 36,000 miles (if my memory is correct).

[white exec]

Lithium grease will be ok for handbrake mechanism lubrication.
Use copper grease on rear and edges of the pads, to prevent squeal/chatter.

For hydraulic system cleaning, Total Hydraurincage (aka Hydraflush) is no longer available, unfortunately.
Recommendation is now just to use an LHM fluid change as the cleaning measure.
(H'cage was essentially LHM plus gentle cleaning solvents.)