Mistral front Brake Caliper Seals

[Mac1]

Greetings everybody,

Looking to tap into the wealth of knowledge out there please & possibly save me wasting a load of time hunting round for something that no longer exists!

I have a 1996 Mistral 2.7 TD and was in the process of fitting a set of new Front brake pads, but the caliper seals have started leaking when I pushed the pistons back.

I know it used to be very easy to buy replacement seal kits for almost any vehicle, and not for silly money. Unfortunately, the throw away mentality appears to have also hit the motor industry now, and all the suppliers I have tried say they no longer make or stock seal kits. The trend is to replace the whole caliper these days !

The only place I have found to supply seal kits is Nissan at £45 per side and a further £48 per side if pistons needed, all plus vat of course. A bit expensive I think !!

Anybody know of anywhere with a stock of seal kits, they must have all gone somewhere when all the big brake companies decided they were no longer going to stock them.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[mav]

Hello Mac1,

Have a look in here there are a few links about seals even a link from Toolbox to a company that do deal in seals, Let us know if you find what you are looking for or if you need more help.

http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=search&mode=results

 

[Paul]

Give those a try not alot they don't do!
http://www.brakesint.co.uk/

Paul

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

its probabaly not much help but the UK t2's have lucas calipers and seals for them are available from LCUK they ae on the web it might be worth comparing the caliper to a T2 caliper and taking it from there.

having said that I am no expert just offering a bit of friendly advice!

 

[Mac1]

Mistral Caliper Seals - sorted !

Thanks for your help guys, I contacted Brakes International, and sure enough they were able to help.

What a great company, they have branches in Rochdale & Bolton. They were great to deal with, know what they are talking about, nothing to much trouble and even offered advice on fitting.

I ended up getting seals to do both sides for less than half what it was going to cost from Nissan for one side.

They are well worth a call for anything brake related.

Dam thing is still pulling to left and locking left wheel under heavy braking though. Back to the drawing board............

 

[terranokid]

We have heard of this problem before try changing your front flexible hoses a lot of people have fitted stainless braded hoses.
It wont be the master cylinder as it is a funny system the front calipers are on the same circuit other cars that have a two circuit brake system have a front brake and the diagonal rear brake on one circuit and the others on the other circuit but for some strange reason we have a front and rear circuit so if there is a slight problem with one side the other side gets more pressure and causes the brakes to pull. The hoses can get damaged by the clamps that you put on when you work on the hydraulics but it can take years before it causes a problem
I take it that you have changed the pads and checked the caliper sliders

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

sounds silly and i haven't read the thread completely but!
have you tried the sliders on the oposite side to the pull?

they often stick and stop the caliper working to full efficiency and if one side brakes harder than the other there is your pull!

most people start the side it is pulling but it is usualy the other side that is to blame!

the slider can get pretty mucky and difficule to remove but wth perseverance you can get them free clean them up and away you go! you can get a spanner on the bak of each slider and work it back and forth to help free it up :wink:

 

[Mac1]

Front brakes, vehicle pulling to one side

Thanks for all the suggestions, but yep, thought of or tried most of those mentioned so far.

Wheels changed round, tyre pressures checked, both calipers stripped & cleaned & sliding freely, pistons moving free, neither side sticking on or getting hot etc.

The only thing not tried yet is change flexi hoses & check torsion bars for equal adjustment.

I even managed to get vehicle onto a rolling road and check braking force on front, both equal. So why does it dip to one side and lock one wheel under heavy braking ?

Will of course let you know if I finally solve it.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

I think you have answered your own question , i would try flexi hoses change the one on the suspect side first, usually the opposite side to the steering pull!