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Earl

Earl

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It's taken me a couple of weeks to find this site, and I'm glad I found you. I'm starting a project with my two teenage boys to revive my 61 TR3-A after 25 years in the garage. The engine was taken out 25 years ago, the front fenders taken off to find rust, and the interior removed to repare the floorboards. Current condition, new floorboars, rust repaired, new inner fenders, frame sanded and painted. Currently trying to get the brakes working. New read brake cylnders. New caliper pistons, rebuild kit installed in calipers, rebuild of brake and clutch master.
The rebuilds on the calipers resulted in leaks, still working on why. Can't get the dust boot to stay in cylander when trying to insert the piston. Does anyone have a detailed write up on doing a caliper rebuild?
Thanks
 
Have you found the Vintage Triumph Register yet? www.vtr.org. They may have some of the info you need, although I am sure that some of the folks that hang around this site will add their two cents.

Good luck!
 
[ QUOTE ]
...Can't get the dust boot to stay in cylander when trying to insert the piston...

[/ QUOTE ]

I will try to describe the technique that works for me...

Have the bleed screw in place. Assuming you have both pistons removed, reinsert one temporarily (just to close off that side). Prepare the opposite side with the internal seal and the dust boot in place. Position the piston to be installed on top of the dust boot with a piece of wood between it and the opposite piston.

At this point my assistant (wife) blasts air into the hose fitting of the caliper. For this I have a small airgun rigged with a short length of quarter inch irrigation tubing that fits snugly into the brake line hole. You do not need a lot of pressure, just enough that the dust boot tries to inflate a bit.

I (she is holding the caliper and running the air) use a little tool (made from a length of 12 ga solid copper formed into a hook with the end of the wire rounded) to ease the boot around the piston. It really 'wants' to go on because the piston is blocking the flow of air exiting the caliper thru the boot.

As soon as the boot has puffed around the circumference of the piston, cut the air... you're ready to insert the piston. The opposite side is a similar process.

First one we did like this took a couple of tries and a couple of minutes to pop the boot on. The 4th one took about 3 seconds.

Generous use of brake assembly lube will help the process quite a bit.
 
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