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Shimming Break Callipers

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Scotsman

Scotsman

Jedi Hopeful
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I am in the process of rebuilding the front break callipers on my 59 TR3. Do these need to be shimmed, and if so where can I find out how. Shims were attached to the bolts but on the outside of the callipers (between the head of the bolt and the break calliper) where I cant see they served any purpose. Unless it was to store them for the future.
Thanks in advance for your input
 
I may be missing the 'proper' way, but I've used those shims to simply center the rotor in the caliper. Just add/remove shims to get the rotor in the middle and you should be good to go.
 
That's it as far as I know, just get the rotor centered. If you don't, apart from possible uneven pad wear, you may be unable to fit one of the new pads in there -- it's a pretty close fit even with the rotor centered.

One trick that might help if you have several shims (I did) and you're trying to maneuver the caliper and line up everything for the bolts:

I tied the shims to the caliper with dental floss through the two bolt holes. Floss is strong yet thin enough not to interfere with the bolt going through. Once the bolts are in place, cut the floss and pull it out.

Shims are available but I also made a couple from thin sheet metal (easier if you have one to use as a pattern).
 
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Good tip about the dental floss, I'll try that next time.

One point that might not be obvious, the rotors do move slightly relative to the calipers as the spindles flex in hard corners. If the disc is too far off center, it may rub on the caliper only when the spindle flexes. That said, I left out the shims last time, and at least as yet have not seen any indication of the rotors rubbing.
 
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