Why do the calipers stick?

[molineux1980]

Hi all, i'm looking to buy my first MX5, a 1.8 mk 1 in the next month, thought I need to sell my beloved Mini :-( The car i'm going to look at has been owned for 4 years, but has only covered 100 miles since the last MOT, as the owner work away with a company car. Bearing in mind that it would be my daily driver, is it likely to suffer sticky calipers? It has done 62k, and the owner doesn't know when the cambelt was changed. Should it be done around now? Cheers.

[bert11]

My mk1 is a daily and has had a sticking caliper, all part of the fun!

[NiceCupOfTea]

It happens - both my Mk.1 and my dad's old Mk.2 had stuck calipers.

[Munter]

It's something to do with the handbrake mechanism not being the best. And at some point it stays stuck "on". Could be avoided I guess by never using the handbrake before it sticks....but I'm not sure thats advised.

[MX-5 Lazza]

That's only one cause. The more common cause is corrosion - on the slide pins and on the calliper piston particularly.

[Mark-2]

A few questions

How much does it cost for the bits to refurb them?

What bits do you need?

And where is the best place to get them from?

As one of my rear calipers are making a slight scraping sound, the pads look ok so I'm guessing it might be the caliper sticking?

Edited by Mark-2 on Friday 25th June 13:10

[NiceCupOfTea]

Well I just had one replaced and it wasn't that bad - not got the receipt with me but maybe added 100-150 onto the bill including labour?

[snotrag]

It costs about £60-70 to refurb a pair of calipers (may aswell do them in pairs).

You need the seal kit, a Piston, a handful of crush washers, a wire brush, tin of hammerite, some high temp grease, and a bottle of dot 4 brake fluid.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I really cannot fathom how so many people justify paying £100 for one caliper!

Get the parts from Autolink and MX5 parts - each company tends to be cheaper on some but not all of the items, so just mix and match to get the best price. Both companies always deliver lighting quick and great to deal with.

Use discount code mx5nutz to get 10% off at autolink too.

Edited by snotrag on Friday 25th June 14:07

[NiceCupOfTea]

snotrag said:

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I really cannot fathom how so many people justify paying £100 for one caliper!

The time it would take is worth more to me than £100

[snotrag]

I guess I'm cheap labour

[NiceCupOfTea]

TBH I would be happy to give it a go but didn't realise it was binding until the service.