Edd W

service kit - new seals?
One of the dust boots on my drivers' side caliper has a small split which has alowed moisture in which has caused the piston to become a bit sticky. I freed it off but I really need to remove it to give a proper clean up but there is no point unless I have a seal kit and cannot find one.

NJA642

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-C5_A6-.../OEM/ES248954/

this?

probably can find other sources if you search the part #

Edd W

Thanks, I will try to cross-reference that part to a UK/European supplier. Ecs want $32.95 just for shipping which seems excessive.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Get the seal kit from the dealer. Almost same price as ECS and no shipping. Get the ES#5418 part from ECS unless you can find the audi part number...my dealer says no such thing.

You can grease the slide pins and just plug the lower slide pin collar with the missing cap with a blob of RTV silicone...ask me how I know this.

Otherwise you have to remove the caliper mounting bolts to get to the torx50 bolts holding the slide pins, remove the slide pins, and replace the collars/caps with the ES#5418 parts. PITA...just add grease and plug with RTV silicone. OTOH, you ARE removing the caliper to replace the seals and dust boots so you might as well replace the ES#5418 collars.

BTW...the failure mechanism for the collars appears to be a swelling and inability to hold the cap due to contamination with CV joint grease/lube when the CV joint boot fails.

Gerry

I bought a set of seals from the dealer a year or so back. I did have to order them. Are they not still available there.

Edd W

Thanks, useful info - the sliders and pins are all pretty much perfect - I have never had a CV joint boot failure - I replaced them both before they failed about 18 months ago.

The problem is that one of the piston protection boots has a small nick in it which has allowed mointure in - I think I may have done it when removing pads which were stuck in the bracket at some point.

It seems we, as in UK, have different faults than the US cars - possibly due to differing climate and driving conditions. Mine has no oil leaks at all - at 64k, and things like the vacuum hoses which are common failures on cars over there, seem perfect too.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Moisture itself isn't so bad unless it's corroded something. Is it corroded so bad the piston sticks? Otherwise I'd try just cleaning the boot with some acetone on a rag and then sealing the nick with RTV silicone. Let the silicone set overnight before reinstalling the brake pads.

Edd W

The piston became a bit sticky so I freed it off and it seems OK now but I want to remove it for a good cleanup and check for corrosion. I do not really want to do this without having the seal kit as I know it will need new ones.

If it is corroded inside the caliper body or the piston itself then I will have to find a replacement caliper. There are a few around on Ebay etc...

Just Me

light rust can be sanded.

Seal kits are $25 from ECS tuning (whcih seems a lot, but is way less than a caliper)

G

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Shipping is not cheap at ECS. Try your stealer first.