{"id":5607,"date":"2023-10-01T21:02:27","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T10:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/?p=5607"},"modified":"2026-01-24T14:59:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T03:59:30","slug":"should-i-split-a-brake-caliper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/should-i-split-a-brake-caliper\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I split a brake caliper?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"451\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-5609\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/brake-cal-s-1.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/brake-cal-s-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/brake-cal-s-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/brake-cal-s-1-768x433.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">How to pull down and <br>re-assemble brake calipers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Most two-pot brake calipers are simple mechanical devices designed to firmly clamp a rotating brake disc between two friction pads, or brake pads&#8230; which provides the friction and stopping power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All brake calipers at some point in time will require servicing, which requires a complete pull down, a thorough clean, and close inspection for any wear and or damage, and replacement of seals, and perhaps corroded caliper pistons. (Stainless steel pistons are the best.) <br><br>But alas, you&#8217;ve been told by superior beings &#8220;DO NOT&#8221; under any circumstance dismantle the brake calipers. Why?<br>The video below will help dispel that myth.<br><br>After the caliper unit has been removed from the car and placed onto the workbench, we can begin to dismantle each caliper &#8220;one at a time&#8221; so as not to mix the parts up, and end up putting certain bits back in the wrong place thereby creating a miss match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, instead of writing a lengthy piece on the pull down and re-assemble process, we created a video to help the DIY mechanic to confidently dismantle a pair of front 12 SP brake calipers and re-build them to as new condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brake-Caliper-Pulldown-1\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/869798756?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caliper featured in this video is a 12 SP and we assume it is a Girling type.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Working on brake calipers does not generally require special tools, (apart from a good torque wrench.) Most DIY home workshop mechanics would be able to carry out a pull down, rebuild, and replacement of the brake caliper seals, and then be able to torque the high tensile bolts up to the specified torque figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are interested in a thorough restoration of the Lotus elan rear brake calipers <a href=\"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/rebuilding-restoring-lotus-elan-rear-brake-calipers\/\">then jump to this page.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most two-pot brake calipers are simple mechanical devices designed to firmly clamp a rotating brake disc between two friction pads, or brake pads&#8230; which provides the friction and stopping power. All brake calipers at some point in time will require servicing, which requires a complete pull down, a thorough clean, and close inspection for any [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-about-the-lotus-elan","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5607"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5998,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5607\/revisions\/5998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elantrikbits.com\/lotus-elan-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}