Advice on Mk4 rear caliper upgrade

[davidwatsonok 0]

A little help would be great thanks.

 

My C failed its MOT yet again on the crappy Girling rear calipers. I've been reading on here that you can fit Golf Mk4 ones with a new hose. Could you guys in the know please advise me of the best places to acquire these parts ? I have seen the calipers at GSF for £62. Is that good, or is there a better price ? Where can I get the right hoses from ? Are these VAG only, and if so, does anyone have a part number ? I believe these are £23, but is this each, or a pair ?

 

Any help graciously appreciated.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You can get the Lucas alloy rear calipers from many places and around £60 sounds about right. Try Ford aswell as the Focus uses the same calipers.

 

I would use MK4 pads from VW as they're very good and new discs and bearings is a good plan too - VW SKF bearings and Brembo plain discs from GSF - a great combo all in all and really sorted my pedal out.

 

Hoses - speak to Stealth or C&R Enterprises, a pair of goodridges required - approx £25 (for the pair). Either place will know the hoses very well indeed as it's a common conversion.

[davidwatsonok 0]

I've just contacted GSF and Europoarts, and the Mk4 calipers are exchange items. This bumps up the price by £20-30 each side as they won't accept the C calipers back, they have to be the same Mk4 ones, although I could plead ignorance and just pop them in the box and hope they don't check them. Alternatively I could get some from a scrappers.

 

Thanks for the advice on Stealth/C&R re the Goodridge hoses. I need new fronts anyway, so maybe a complete package will sort it out.

[Trig 0]

I'll be doing this in the not so distant future as well. Is it worth it/acceptable to fit larger discs on the back?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If you can find a bigger diameter disc with the same offset, PCD and centre bore - and will also fit onto a VW stub axle with standard taper bearings.....then yep, it would just be a case of making a carrier to push the caliper further out. Longer handbrake cables and brake lines would also be required..... probably not worth it tbh.

[Ice White Socks 0]

I'll be doing this too- this might sound obvious but I have never heard anyone mention it here before- if you are colouring the calipers red when you make the change then get the MK4 anniversary ones as they come ready red!

 

They might be a tenner or so more expensive- but a tin of hammerite and some non-ferrous primer will come to more than that :D

[buttles 0]

Kev, just phoned VW about Mk4 rear calipers and they listed several types. Do you know the part No. for them? Ta

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Sorry mate, no.

 

Try a 1999 TDI or something.... you don't want the later ones for vented discs.

 

Or call Stealth as they know which ones to use.

[Ice White Socks 0]

Yes my dealer had a few part numbers for the calipers as well for these- I thought they were all the same?

[buttles 0]

Ok.......also saw your post about the Audi ones. Ta

[davidwatsonok 0]

I've just spoken to C&R. They do the full kit for £330, which includes all the hoses and new pads. They stressed that if fitting Goodridge hoses to the rear caliper, you must also fit them to the front, and the hoses that goes around the rear subframe. On the plus-side, they will take your old Corrado Girling crap as exchange items, bringing it down to £270.

 

Another option they suggested was to fit Mk3 calipers, which retain the original hoses and pads. They can do this for £265, with £60 return from the old ones meaning £205 total. They said they have never had a Mk3 caliper fail, unless somehow damaged by external forces.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Good old C&R, LOL! MK3 ones do fail, as do MK4 ones.....it's just that they got progressively better at resisting seizure with each evolution....but they're still not perfect yet.

 

I ran just goodridge hoses at rear on my car (with standard hoses everywhere else) for 2 years and was fine....so that's another crock.... they just want to sell you 6 hoses instead of 2.

[Geo 0]

Just go into a scrapyard and get a pair of calipers off a scrapped Mk4! £330 is crazy money!

 

Buy calipers in a scrapyard for £60 or so for a pair, £25 for the braided lines off C&R and then discs and pads from GSF.

 

I thought you had to use Mk2 pads as the Mk4 pads have too much meat on them because the Mk4 disc is thinner than the Mk2 one. You also have to use your own carrier, not the Mk4 one.

[davidwatsonok 0]

Agree in principal about the hoses, but at £270 I think it's not too bad. GSF & Euro want IRO £65+vat for their calipers, plus the pads, plus the fact that they won't exchange, so there's another £20-30. I'll also need the conversion hose at £23, and I'm unsure if this is per side. For the complete upgrade I can't really fault C&R. My only dilemma is that once my C gets through its MOT it will be sold, so I am loathe to spend any more than I absolutely have to. For the moment I may well stick with just unseizing the Girlings.

[Supercharged 2]

I didn't think the mk4's were exchange anymore as all they were getting back was the old mk2/3 ones that were no use... I bought mine from C&R at GTi inters 2 /3 years ago and they weren't then, also I'm sure people have got from GSF recently and not had to pay a surcharge - try VW...

 

Also MK4 calipers do fail like any other, they are just less prone to handbrake mech seizure - this is why I'd stay away from second hand ones unless they are very low mileage and havn't been sitting in a yard for over year with old fluid in them...

[buttles 0]

Took the plunge and went for new calipers from VW (Had to sit down though). Stealth recon ones from a Mk 4 1.8 GTI are the ones and the part numbers match those of a Mk 4 Tdi. These are the part Nos but I haven't got them yet so I will tell you next week if they are correct. RH Side-1J0615424F. LH Side-1J0615423D.

Stealth will be getting hoses some time next week.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I thought you had to use Mk2 pads as the Mk4 pads have too much meat on them because the Mk4 disc is thinner than the Mk2 one. You also have to use your own carrier, not the Mk4 one.

 

MK4 discs are 9mm thick and Rado/MK2 discs are 10mm thick. VW made the discs thinner and the pads thicker to increase the brake servicing intervals....long service intervals sells cars. At the same time, most of the MK4s had the 288/312s, which also have thicker pads and also 3mm thicker discs.

 

There are 3 pads available for MK2/3 & 4 rear calipers and each pad is 1mm thicker than the next, with MK4 being the thickest. Late MK3 pads was thought to be best for MK4 calipers on 10mm discs, but I've found the MK4 caliper jaws are plenty wide enough to get MK4 pads over 10mm discs - without crimping the piston seal on the pad, so I just use MK4 pads and it's perfect. Dunno why VW didn't do that, but it works!

 

If you use MK2 pads in MK4 calipers, it creates a long pedal - on the VR at least - whereas MK4 pads give an excellent pedal. There is a curious relationship with the rear brakes and pedal travel/feel that I can't explain, but MK4 + MK4 is the way to go. Those and the 312s are superbly good, excellent feel and modulation.

[STORM 2 0]

Took the plunge and went for new calipers from VW (Had to sit down though). Stealth recon ones from a Mk 4 1.8 GTI are the ones and the part numbers match those of a Mk 4 Tdi. These are the part Nos but I haven't got them yet so I will tell you next week if they are correct. RH Side-1J0615424F. LH Side-1J0615423D.

Stealth will be getting hoses some time next week.

 

So what was the damage from the stealership for the new rear calipers?

[gaz the geezer 0]

i`ve recently replaced my rear calipers on my `93` vr6 and i paid £41.80 +vat per caliper ( exchange ) from a company called Kimber friction ltd in Southampton, if your intersted you can contact them on 02380 226577.

[davidwatsonok 0]

To summise...

 

GSF/Europarts are...

£95 +vat (£30 refund on exchange, which may not be possible) each side

£25 for just rear conversion hoses, Goodridge from C&R

£20-40 for pads

 

Total £235 (£276.13)

 

C&R...

 

£270 +vat for calipers, pads and all 6 hoses (£317.25), £40 more for a complete set-up.

[chubbybrown 0]

SO the valver is going to need its first change of discs and pads and I already have the calipers fitted.

So what is the best choice for a valver?

[buttles 0]

STORM2..........£88+ each. I won't need to worry where they came from. I have new pads and disks anyway so will try just the calipers and see what the pedal is like. If horrid will put Mk 4 pads in.

[STORM 2 0]

Just got a quote from the stealership for £220 for rear calipers only :-( I'll have to look for reconditioned calipers - best price thus far - £40+VAT each

[Supercharged 2]

STORM 2, get another quote - they quoted for new ones not exchange I think...

[jezzaG60 0]

I did this conversion a little while back. I picked up some calipers off ebay from a skoda fabia vrs. I used mk2 pagid fr pads, pedal feel is fine you just have to make sure you wind the caliper out to a close fit before putting it all together.

As i already had goodridge hoses all round and i'm a tight arse i made some little adaptors which let me use the original hoses.

 

I now have a handbrake which locks the rear wheels with 2 clicks!!! Something i have never had in 10yrs of gti/corrado ownership!!!!

 

 

i got a little carried away considering all i needed was 1 new caliper!!!!!