mismatched rear calipers - asking for trouble?

[boost monkey 0]

Hi team,

 

Just realised the two calipers I have to put on my rear beam are different: a girling and a lucas.

 

Are there any issues with using one of each caliper or should I really have a matched pair?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon.

 

[Supercharged 2]

Lucas /Girling = same company...

 

The actual castings and type of caliper (hand brake mech) look the same so you'll be ok as long as they are both 38mm pistons (some MK2 golfs use 34mm)

 

As long as your happy they are mechanically good then i'd use them but keep an eye out for some MK4's

[boost monkey 0]

Cheers Steve, that's the answer I was looking for! Can get on with scrubbing up the Lucas now. In a non gay way.

[coolrado 0]

from that photo the hand brake mechs look different, the girling is pivoted on the side and the other pivots on the back, also the brake hose comes in at a different angle so you may need different hoses for them. I'm always a bit iffy about mismatched brakes or suspension components even if they are the same spec, have you not got any scrappies local to you, as you can get the mk4 style calipers from a ford focus and a couple of other cars.

[Yandards 0]

Looks like you might have a 'mk 3' rear caliper and a 'mk 2' item there. They are a big no for a mixed pair.

 

Are you replacing the seals on the piston or just painting them up? Seal kits are available from VAG for a reasonable price and well worth doing.

[boost monkey 0]

I will be doing seals on them yeah, I have a set ready for the other caliper.

 

The dirty lucas came off the Plum, it's in good nick so i'm painting / resealing and putting it back on. It does have a strange looking white plastic stop on it which the handbrake mech hits at the limit.

 

The clean girling came off the 92 K plater I cut up in April, it worked fine too so it has already been painted and resealed!

 

Yan, what should I look for on the calipers, which one do you think is the mk3 item and which the mk2?

[boost monkey 0]

Pics of the george:

 

 

 

 

[boost monkey 0]

Just sprayed up the carriers and had a :pale: moment.... are the carriers the same?

 

I'm guessing/hoping so!

[boost monkey 0]

bump

[Lufbramatt 0]

mk2 rear calipers had a dirty great spring on the outside of the handbrake mech so theyre both mk3 items, evidently they just revised the casting at a later date. the carriers will be the same so dont worry bout that.

 

the calipers on the back of my passat came off a 1995 mk4 passat and look identical to the dirty lucas caliper you have, complete with the nylon stop on the handbrake mech. i would use them both tbh

[boost monkey 0]

they can't both be mk3 items, both sets came off corrados! The black one must be mk2 spec, with the spring on: I removed it to paint the body.

 

Also, I can't use both mk3 style ones because the other one of each kind of caliper were fubar, so they got binned.

 

Looks like i'll be hunting for another mk2 / girling item then :|

 

cheers for the help though.

[Lufbramatt 0]

ahh sorry, didnt realise you had taken the spring off! so yes the black one is a mk2 spec one.

 

I have a spare set of mk2 spec rear calipers that were on the passat originally- i take it you'd need a drivers side one? will happily post it up for the price of the postage.

[boost monkey 0]

no probs! tbh, I had forgotten that I need to put the spring back on! :nuts:

 

you do? wow, that's mighty kind :salute: are they girlings?

 

Yes you're right with me needing the drivers side: the brown lucas is the drivers side one off the plum that I was hoping to re-use.

 

Do you want to drop me a PM and we'll sort something out? :grin:

[was8v 0]

Lucas = Girling = Bendix

 

Same company - they just branded different things at different times. I wouldn't worry if the calipers otherwise look the same, your car must have had a replacement at some time.

[boost monkey 0]

cheers was8v.

 

Didn't make it clear:

 

the girlings (now black) came off the moonlight I scrapped in april. Unfortunately the drivers side had seized so i binned it.

 

the lucas' are form the plum; the passenger side was FUBAR so i binned that one, and kept this one.

 

I would think that they are interchangeable as they're the same company and they're both type 38s but I could be wrong.

 

In talks with lufbramatt for getting another OS girling at cost :salute: