I haven’t seen a write-up with pictures on this topic, so I figured I’d do one since I recently did this on my w123.

When you are faced with a leaking brake caliper or perhaps a stuck brake caliper, there two options you can do to fix the problem. One option is to buy a rebuilt caliper. The other option is to reseal or rebuild your existing calipers with a caliper repair kit if your caliper is not too corroded or physically damaged. While the former is over 100 dollars for each of the front calipers. The latter is 20 bucks per ATE Caliper repair kit. http://catalog.peachparts.com/item.wws?sku=W0133-1633803&itempk=76449&mfr=FAG&weight=0.25
I feel a much better choice if you have the time and ability to do so. Also, do both sides to avoid braking unevenness and for the reason if this one is leaking, the other would most likely follow.

The first thing I did was to remove the caliper from the car. The process is just like with any other brake job with the added step of disconnecting it from the brake line. Since I am replacing the rubber brake lines, I loosened the old line first at the base of the caliper and then I cut it right off leaving a bit of rubber hose near connector. (I’ll explain a bit later).


Here is a shot of the leaking caliper with the Caliper Repair Kit.




Here is a shot of what is in the repair kit.
Two O-Rings, Two dust covers, and two heat shields.




To remove the pistons from the caliper, first make a note of each of the pistons position. I then placed my adjustable wrench with a rubber covered handled in between the two pistons (you can use what ever works for you) as a stop guard. Next I use compressed air (source from an air compressor or a bicycle pump with an adapter) to pop the pistons out by placing my air gun in the cut brake line and shooting compressed air into the caliper.




The pistons will come out with a lot of force, so be careful of not having fingers in the way. Also, Make sure you have a catch pan to capture any brake fluid coming out of the pistons and having gloves to protect your skin is helpful.




After the pistons are positioned towards the middle of the caliper, you can use a pry bar on the ridge of the piston to the pry them out. Work it in a way where you don’t bind them. Any slight binding would get them stuck. You might have to push one piston back in a bit to get the other out.






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1983 123.133 California
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