Splitting Calipers Advice

[Bitza]

Hi all, just wanted to pick the brains of people who have experience of splitting calipers. My gut feeling is that getting the pinch bolts undone could well turn out to be a bit of a nightmare, true or am I just paranoid. Do Brembo use locktite on the pinch bolts, hence the need for a bit of heat? and what torque settings are recommended when replacing these bolts? Also has anyone got any positive things to report on the Tiawan supplied titanium caliper pistons as advertised on ebay (this is mainly out of curiosity only). Thanks Bitza.

[Nickj]

They split really easily, getting all of the correct seals was more of a pain.
Ti bolts are fine, depends really how much you're paying for them. Tiawanese or Chinese will probably be of similar quality though anything from china can be a bit of a lottery in regards of quality though it has all improved over time.

[350TSS]

Mine did not split that easily, the bolts were corroded in and the Allen heads were soon mullered. I solved it by welding an old Allen key in and trying to get it out that way. It was still a struggle as the Allen key changed from being hard tough steel to flexible twistable steel during the welding process.
If I were to encounter the same again I would weld a nut to the rim of the bolt, effectively filling the head of the Allen bolt and the nut with weld.
This would concentrate the heat down the shaft of the Allen bolt and hopefully make it easier to get out
Agree re the seals - Ducati will not sell replacement seals so you have to find a KTM with the same calipers and buy some from a KTM dealer, although I think Powerhouse do them for Brembos

[Mr Gazza]

I've only ever done one, and then it was with some trepidation. In the end it was a piece of cake and the bolts came out very easily. No heat needed.
I'm sure I got my seal kits from Moto Rapido, if not it was Powerhouse UK.

I can't see the point of Titanium pistons personally as they don't need to be very strong, and there's not much weight to be saved as the originals are aluminium anyway.
However they should be alright as long as the seals fit, tolerances are fairly large on brake pistons and I have no problems with Far Eastern engineering.

[Capo]

I've only ever done one, and then it was with some trepidation. In the end it was a piece of cake and the bolts came out very easily. No heat needed.
I'm sure I got my seal kits from Moto Rapido, if not it was Powerhouse UK.

I can't see the point of Titanium pistons personally as they don't need to be very strong, and there's not much weight to be saved as the originals are aluminium anyway.
However they should be alright as long as the seals fit, tolerances are fairly large on brake pistons and I have no problems with Far Eastern engineering.

Titanium is a poor conductor of heat compared to aluminium. Titanium is used to reduce heating of the brake fluid

[Mr Gazza]

Good call Capo. I hadn't thought of the heat part of the equation, but then I don't really over stress my brakes in Norfolk. However on some of the steep twisty descents in the locality of Mike's Copper mine, it might be a different matter!

[Rrawlings]

I got rebuild kits for all three callipers on my evo from powerhouse was a pretty easy job to split and rebuild them just make sure everything is clean and so is the work area

[Bitza]

Thanks for the encouraging feedback, any thoughts on torque setting for the pinch bolts? Bitza

[Darren69]

Are they 8mm? if so I would guess somewhere around 20-24Nm or maybe even a bit more, but I am guessing. I'm sure someone will know the exact torque needed.

[slob]

I'd agree, probably 22-25Nm according to Pro-Bolt's generic torque chart... Brembo are not likely to readily provide this info. Whatever you do, use a bit that fits properly, Ti fasteners can be a bit like cheese when attacked with a poor fitting allen key

[uncle duke]

I split a pair of tokico six pots when I uprated the brakes on my old speed triple & amazingly they all come apart easily .Got the seals from powerhouse very impressed by them .

[Mr Gazza]

I bet Powerhouse would be able to give you a figure for the torque as they are rebuilding these all day long. If you're ordering seals from them it would be the time to pop the question.