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Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:25 am

So I have a brake caliper that seems to be sticking. I am trying to get a new pair, but there are a few out there. My bus is a 79, built in 11/78, 2.0 F.I. What calipers do I need? Bus Depot lists a ATE, a GIRLING, and a rebuilt for 72 and up? Do I need to rip em apart and measure? And holy cow $99.00! Anyone had any luck with the rebuild kit?If so, was it Difficult? My local foregn auto parts co. tells me they switched production halfway through 79. Is this true?

Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:34 am

the easy way to tell ATE calipers is look at where the brake pipe screws into the caliper. if it sticks straight out of the middle of the inside area of the caliper it is ATE. if it comes out close to the top of the inside at an angle, it is Girling. either will work fine, but to change from on to the other you need to make new hard lines, the short ones from the flex hose to the caliper itself.

i think this has been covered pretty well recently but calipers should be locally available at many parts stores.

Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:43 am

Yes, you can pick up rebuilt versions at your local parts store at a lower price than $99.00.

Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:13 am

germansupplyscott wrote: but to change from on to the other you need to make new hard lines, the short ones from the flex hose to the caliper itself.
The existing lines can be re-bent if they're in good shape (non-rusty), but it's not easy or fun. Ask me how I know .. or better, ask westy78; it was *his* Bus being worked on. :lol:

Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:22 am

Are you sure it is the caliper and not the flex hose that feeds it, that is causing the caliper to stick? With the bus properly jacked up, have an assistant push the brake pedal and release it. This should cause the wheel to drag. Now carefully with a wrench, loosen the bleeder screw. Some fluid will come out. If the wheel is now easy to turn by releasing the bleeder valve, that would indicate your flex hoses should be replaced. They will swell up internally and at the same time look fine. This swelling causes the lines to act as check valves, allowing the pedal presure to apply the brake, but not to release. Happy trouble shooting.

Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:29 pm

Maybe I am losing it, but the calipers I bought from bus depot which said they were Ate's but had the brake line come out on the top of the inside of the caliper. However, the brake line on my original calipers come straight out of the calipers. What is goingon here? What is what?

Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:46 am

porschpow wrote: Maybe I am losing it, but the calipers I bought from bus depot which said they were Ate's but had the brake line come out on the top of the inside of the caliper. However, the brake line on my original calipers come straight out of the calipers. What is goingon here? What is what?

did the caliper itself say ATE or did busdepot list it that way? its been my experience that most bus depot parts substitute other brands, and they do warn you that they "may" do this- just read the fine print

Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:12 am

my post above (from '06) no longer applies because the brand new ATE calipers have the inlet on top. this is probably what you received.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:54 am

I just replaced my calipers on my '71 with ones I got from Bus Depot. I wish I had gone to O'Reilly's first, as they were much cheaper, and did not have a $75 / ea core charge.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:36 am

Yeah I called bus depot and told them my story. They will ship me the Ate's with the one's that have te brake line on the inside side of the caliper

Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:45 pm

germansupplyscott wrote: my post above (from '06) no longer applies because the brand new ATE calipers have the inlet on top. this is probably what you received.

I'm in a conundrum now with this. I got a set of rebuilt calipers from BD, and the inlet is on the top. Aside from having to redo the hard lines, here's where I'm having a problem:

Bentley says that on a late bus (mine is a '78 P27) the tabs on the brake pad retainers are supposed to be in a "down" position. Well, mine are "up". This is with the inlet positioned on the top of the caliper.

Is Bentley just wrong about this? Or should the calipers be reversed, putting the inlet facing the ground? I installed the 251-615-108 on the right, and the 251-615-107 on the left (trusting that the correct part number was in the correct box). I'm really confused...help appreciated!

Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:57 pm

i just got some reman'd ATEs from checkers. $31 each. $10 core charge.

Bretski when you get rolling again come help me bleed my brakes!

Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:01 pm

I will rotate the pistons...thanks for the suggestion, ps24ss! :D

Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:06 pm

I'm still having difficulty figuring out how to bend the hard line. I've been trying different shapes with a piece of wire, but every one I've come up with interferes with access to the top caliper bolt.

Anyone who has re-bent the lines to fit this inlet: got a picture??? TIA!

Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:41 pm

Does this help? The driver's side pic is in my gallery.

Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:46 pm

Thanks, atmellovw. I have those lines already. :D

The problem was bending new lines that will fit the new style of ATE calipers that have the inlet on the top. After a beer and several bends, this is what I came up with. I can still get to the caliper bolt...yay!

Hopefully this will help someone else down the road...