Thought this might be worthwhile seeing as I spent so long trying to figure out how to do this . Probably a no brainer for more experienced people out there but if you have not done it before this might be usefull .
I'm only going to show how to get the dust boot on - the rest of the job of replacing the seal bleeding the brakes etc should already be 2nd nature to anyone attempting this .

Here is my damaged dust boot - this is the 3rd one i've had go like this - i'm putting it down to stones in the caliper but if anyone else has any ideas on it i'd like to hear them.

 

It's a good idea to put a plastic bag over the brake master cylinder before disconnecting any brake lines - stops the flow of oil by creating a vacuum in the reservoir



Pic below is the key to the proceedure - this is the only way you can get this boot on . Stretch the boot over the end of the piston and pull the boot forward so that the lip that locates in the caliper is at the top (of the picture shown)

 

Now you have to put that lip into the caliper - ease it into the area you cant get to first (the part obscured by the casting) . Then when the lip is in place all the way around - slide the piston into the caliper .

 

Small tear in the boot and then get the brakes good and hot. Happened to me more than I would have liked at track days. Cause of the rips can be various.

 

Nic ethat is something for someone new to brake calipers to know

 

A great DIY, yeah, I know, from 4 years ago.

Another reason to need this is to replace the seal inside the caliper if the brake is dragging. I did not know that seal was responsible for retracting the piston as well as keeping the fluid in. I just did the two front ones and it made an incredible difference. Parts were $12 including shipping. They were a bit hard to find. Mine came from http://racepages.com. Lots of places stock the rear kit, but not the front.

And, that is the ONLY way to get that damn boot on. And, even then, make sure it fits in the piston groove right. It should look all nice and organized when done.

And, if you use compressed air to get the piston out, like the manual says, BE CAREFUL, use the block of wood to catch the piston and start with only 30 or so psi.

 

Holy Thread Resurrection!! BATMAN!

And yes a great DIY.

 

No, the dust boot seal is only that. It is not responsible for retractping the piston etc.

 

Dust seal is not responsible.

The square cut seal inside is. The one in there was still sealing, but very hard. The new one was soft. Both sealed fine, but the new one seems to work like I read about. And, as soon as I replaced it, the piston suddenly retracts. supposedly there is a tiny bit of shear flex, and that is all it takes. Give the rotor a spin and it will go around a few times. Before, no.

And yeah, a multi year resurrection, but good data. And, not a bad maintenance tip for those of us at 100,000+. I was set to write up a DIY when I found this one. Somehow searching did not find it before I did the work. I checked one last time before I posted and found this one.

"brake caliper rebuild" did not find it, but searching on just "caliper" found it and 239 other threads.

"brake caliper" got several hundred, about 25% associated with painting the damn things, a few bemoaning no rebuild parts, and MISSED this thread, despite the title.

So, there are rebuild parts, Brettus shows how to do it and the stuff I added above just might make it show up better for searches...