powdercoated calipers with brass bushings

[cali-ti]

ok ... looks like i'll have to throw it in my photo gallery or something. way over my attachment limit and i'm not figuring out how to imbed an image

dammit, even in the gallery they're shrinky-dinked

link to gallery pic

[1996 328ti]

Brass bushing bad for the street since they will be getting dirty.
I installed them and had one seize on me because I made it too tight.
They now live in my tool box.

You powder coated the piston?

I need to figure a way to add a link to the gallery right from the side profile box.

[cali-ti]

doh ... too bad nobody responded to tell me that the two previous times i asked.

how long before they seized? what do you mean by "made it too tight"?

i had the exposed lip and inside of the piston powdercoated, yes.

[1996 328ti]

They seized the first time I applied moderate brakes. Unfortuantely I was 50 miles from home and had to drive another 5 hours before returning.
It was MY fault I am told that I made them too tight. My pins did not come with instructions so I tightened the pin like I would any other. I think it was too much. The threads aren't as long. I think the concept of them is good. The down side is there is no protection to the elements. I don't know anyone who is running them on solely on the street. I'm sure they work because I can see slight nicks in my stock guide pins, I assume from hard braking.

Edit: I changed the gallery setting to allow images 1000x1000.

[cali-ti]

pins attach to the brake carrier so i don't see how making them tight would cause that. hmmm. i used 400 grit sandpaper inside the sleeves on the calipers to remove some paint that spilled into there when they powdercoated so the brass bushings slide/turn freely. the pins should be a fairly tight fit inside the brass. the part of the guide pin closest to the brake carrier is normally exposed to the elements anyway, the only part the rubber bushings would appear to protect would be the hex key end (protecting them from junk coming in that side).

i had ordered the rubber bushing kits (but only 4 guide pins) before i decided to order the brass kits so i basically have both here. now the question is, do i try the brass?

thanks for your input steven, better to know before i install them.

anyone else tried these on the street?

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by cali-ti

pins attach to the brake carrier so i don't see how making them tight would cause that. hmmm.

No idea either. I can't get the pin out of the brass bushing. I had to unclip it and pull the whole thing out. The guide pins stick out pretty far once installed. The rubber bushing covers it all up.

BTW- Just by replacing the rubber bushings makes a big difference in how easy the guide pins slide.

[cali-ti]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

I'm sure they work because I can see slight nicks in my stock guide pins, I assume from hard braking.

Edit: I changed the gallery setting to allow images 1000x1000.

were these the guide pins you were using with the brass bushings? if so, i'm not using the brass! no way they should nick the guide pins and i could certainly see where that could cause a binding issue. if not from the brass bushing, how are they getting nicked?

what did you lube the guide pin/brass bushing with when you installed them? were the brass bushings tight in the caliper (like tight enough you had to pound them in or use a significant amount of force to get them installed) or did they slide in and rotate easily once in the caliper? where did you get your brass bushing kit from?

thanks for increasing the max size in the gallery

[96cali]

Please be sure to post pics when they're installed. They look freakin awesome! Where did you get them done? Did they do the cleaning and masking? How much $$ did it cost?

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by cali-ti

were these the guide pins you were using with the brass bushings? if so, i'm not using the brass! no way they should nick the guide pins and i could certainly see where that could cause a binding issue. if not from the brass bushing, how are they getting nicked?

what did you lube the guide pin/brass bushing with when you installed them? were the brass bushings tight in the caliper (like tight enough you had to pound them in or use a significant amount of force to get them installed) or did they slide in and rotate easily once in the caliper? where did you get your brass bushing kit from?

thanks for increasing the max size in the gallery

I used the guide pins that came with the kit. You can't use the stock BMW pins. The nicked pins I am talking about are my current stock ones. I don't recall if I used lube. They seemed to slide in very easily. I bushings went in pretty easily although I had to tap them lightly because of some dirt buildup I guess.

[cali-ti]

well, just for safety and longevity, i'm going back to the stock rubber bushings in my case, the pins slide in LESS easily with those. i wouldn't mind trying the brass at some later time (like when i have another car to rely on if the ti is down for maintenance).

thanks for the heads up steven. i'll report more, with pics, once i get things rolling. spent last night cleaning up some of the old guide pins and getting the rubber bushings installed.

96cali, i got them powdercoated at motorsport powdercoating in delavan, WI. detailed costs were as follows:

brake calipers: $35/each
brake carriers (brackets): $15/each
pistons (cups - tops/inside ONLY): $5/ea
sandblast & strip: $30

i know there was a fee to bring in the paint because they didn't have the anthracite i wanted, then taxes, etc ... total was just shy of $300.

[L84THSKY]

Hey Eric

Glad you made a nice set of pics on your LSD install. I hate hearing all this talk about how an install went, with no pictures.

Was the issue with grinding on the diff more related to the finned cover, or would a 6 cylinder diff with a standard cover require grinding? I'm approaching this whole swap with kid gloves. Not even considering it till I find the diff I want, and have ALL of the facts, can't afford down time.

Does that shim you made work good? Did you make a trace template for it, I would like to make some too, when I do the swap?

About these brass bushings, I bought a new front and rear set from a guy on this site. haven't installed them yet. These coated calipers that you installed, these are for the front....correct?

I would like to get a definitive answer on these brass bushings, before I put them in. I'm waiting till I need to replace my pads to do that swap.

Thanks
Eric

Originally Posted by cali-ti

well, just for safety and longevity, i'm going back to the stock rubber bushings in my case, the pins slide in LESS easily with those. i wouldn't mind trying the brass at some later time (like when i have another car to rely on if the ti is down for maintenance).

thanks for the heads up steven. i'll report more, with pics, once i get things rolling. spent last night cleaning up some of the old guide pins and getting the rubber bushings installed.

96cali, i got them powdercoated at motorsport powdercoating in delavan, WI. detailed costs were as follows:

brake calipers: $35/each
brake carriers (brackets): $15/each
pistons (cups - tops/inside ONLY): $5/ea
sandblast & strip: $30

i know there was a fee to bring in the paint because they didn't have the anthracite i wanted, then taxes, etc ... total was just shy of $300.

[cali-ti]

as you read, i've decided not to use the brass bushings for the time being. i would like to revisit them in the future and will keep all the parts for that purpose.

i got a used set of e36 325/8 calipers and a used set of 318ti rear calipers. blew out the pistons with compressed air in the hose inlet (put a piece of wood on the other side of the caliper to protect the piston when it SHOOTS out), then finished disassembly and took all the parts to the powdercoater. this way, i'm putting completely rebuilt and powdercoated front and rear calipers on at the same time (along with all new parking brake parts, pads, rotors and hoses). getting the old parking brake cables out is another story which i'll post at a future time. it wasn't pleasant, but we developed some good tools/strategies for overcoming the obstacles

i'll reply to the diff related questions in the thread where i posted the pics to my gallery.

[cali-ti]

L8, i asked my shop about using the brass bushings. he said they need to be tended too fairly often (more maintenance intensive). how often do you want to be getting under your car to check/lube your guide pin bushings? if you're like me, you want to do the job and then be done with it (knowing that it's done right). thanks to steven's warning/info, i'm sticking with stock rubber bushings (see updated pics in my gallery post rebuild, complete with new hoses and speed bleeders).