27/01/10 - Expensive mistake!

Some of you may have seen my plea in the forum for help re-fitting the small rubbers onto the sliders on the front brake calipers. I spent nearly 6 hours trying to fit them, if you were watching my webcam experiment last night you would have seen me in the garage trying to get them fitted for the second evening.

It got to the point where I was in despair. I have fitted and re-fitted these little rubber boots on many occasions without any issues at all. I have done it on all the cars I have ever owned and I clean and fit them on the Jimny many times a year. So why have I had all the trouble this time?

Darrell on Difflock has kindly provided the answer. I have liberally coated the sliders with Copper Grease to keep them lubricated, I thought that Copper Grease was the best thing to use in the brake area. Mistake!!!

Apparently you should never use oil or petroleum based greases next to rubber components. The oils cause them to swell and soften, to the point where they don't fit, they have expanded so that they will not fit inside the ends of the slider casing (the whole caliper has been removed from the car and put into a bench vice to try and help me!)

 

And its true, looking at the Jimny manual it states:

"Apply rubber grease to bush
outer surface. Rubber grease should be the one whose viscosity
is less affected by such low temperature as  4°C (40°F)."

So I need some new boots. Nowhere around here does any form of Caliper refurbishment kits, www.brakesint.co.uk do them but it would work out at over £70 to do both sides. Suzuki sells the boots (55201-86040) for £5 each - and you need 8!! So thats £40 down the drain :(

And I have invested in a tub of....

This is the proper stuff! available on the Internet from the MG Owners Club, not quite sure what their ordering system makes of "Suzuki Jimny" when I had to input "Vehicle Type" :)