Installation Guide

• Position the bracket to the correct mounting face on the vehicle hub Note- that the face of the bracket marked ‘DISC’ should be towards the disc.
• Secure using the supplied manufacturers mounting bolts x2 Front - x2 Rear
• Torque these bolts to the manufacturer’s recommended setting.

Caution: If using a jack - ensure the vehicle is standing on a hard, level and clean surface. Do not leave the vehicle supported using only the jack. Always use axle stands.

• If applicable, apply the parking brake.
• Raise the vehicle on suitable lift or axle stands.

• Ensure that the hub flange is completely flat and clean.
• Note that any ‘bruising’ or out of flatness will cause brake vibration.
• If necessary, prepare the hub face to remove any high spots prior to fitting the brake disc. The brake discs are handed by the direction of the grooves cut into the disc friction surfaces. They must be fitted to the correct side of the vehicle. Fit the disc to the hub.
• With the disc assembled to the hub, check that there is a minimum of 5mm clearance between the disc inner face and the lower suspension/steering joint if applicable.
• Discs should always be changed in axle sets.

Ensure that the brake pads, pad retaining pins and anti-rattle spring are fitted to the caliper.

• Position the FRONT caliper over the disc and secure to the bracket using the supplied caliper to bracket mounting bolts x2 (BSS3430X1213 M12x1.75x58.5 Cap heads). Ensure washers are fitted and do not fully torque the bolts at this stage.
• Position the REAR caliper over the disc and secure to the bracket using the supplied caliper to bracket mounting bolts x2 (BSS0080X1010G M10x1.5x50 Cap heads). Ensure washers are fitted and do not fully torque the bolts at this stage.

The caliper has been designed specifically for the application and clearances have been checked so the caliper should fit without clearance issues. In case there are any variations in vehicle specification – please check the following:

• To prevent overheating, radial clearance between the disc and caliper will not be less than 2mm in all directions.
• When the pads are fitted, the top edge of the pads will be around 0.8mm below the disc outside diameter.
• The disc must be central in the caliper within +/- 0.5mm.
• Check that the clearance between the outer diameter of the bell and the inner radius of the pad back-plate is at least 1.5mm. Use the 0.5mm shims provided to lift the caliper on the bracket or to adjust the bracket position until the caliper is correctly positioned. Fit an equal quantity of shims to each end of the bracket as required.
• Fit the road wheel to check there is a minimum of 2.5mm clearance between the wheel and caliper in all directions.
• Remove the road wheel.
• Torque the FRONT caliper to mounting bracket bolts (x2) to 108Nm.
• Torque the REAR caliper to mounting bracket bolts (x2) to 77Nm.
• Check that new pads move freely in the caliper.

• Connect the hose to the caliper. Ensure copper gaskets are fitted either side of the banjo (between banjo and caliper housing; between banjo bolt head and banjo).
• Torque the banjo bolt to the manufacturer’s recommended setting.
• Ensuring hose is not twisted, re-connect it to the vehicle, including the original fastenings to the original manufacturer's recommended torque settings.
• Check that the brake hose length allows for all combinations of steering lock and suspension movement and that the hose does not come into contact with any suspension component, the wheel or the tyre in any position.
• Do not apply any twist into the brake hose.

• Bleed the brakes in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s instructions.
• Only use DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 brake fluid.
• The caliper bleed screws must be tightened to 18Nm (cold).
• To prevent damage to any painted surface, remove any spilled brake fluid immediately with clean cold water.
• Remove any fluid in the area around the bleed screw thread and in the end of each bleed screw.
• Check the complete hydraulic system for leaks before driving the vehicle.
  

• When the brake system has been sufficiently bled and a firm brake pedal has been achieved, replace the road wheels.
• Torque the wheel nuts to the original manufacturer’s specification.
• The brakes should now be checked for correct operation by driving the vehicle, making a few light brake applications from low speed in a safe location. Stopping performance of a newly fitted brake kit will be low initially, as all friction materials require a period of bedding in before optimum performance is achieved.

Purpose: The two main reasons for bedding discs and pads in Alcon high performance brake kits are:

• To thermally condition the discs by raising the temperature gradually, thus reducing thermal shock and preventing pad material from depositing unevenly on the disc surface.
• To wear material from the pad surfaces until there is full-face contact with the disc. This may take longer to achieve than the duration of the bedding procedure but pad area contact will increase during normal driving.

Procedure:

• Drive the vehicle to a road that allows the following procedure to be carried out safely and within the law.
• From any speed between 60 and 100 km/h, apply light to moderate pedal effort to reduce speed by about 50km/h. Avoid coming to a complete stop if possible and accelerate back to speed. After approximately ten applications, allow the brakes to cool by driving without further brake applications. It will take approximately 200 km of urban driving to complete bed-in of the pads.

Caution: This kit must be serviced by a competent and suitably qualified person. It is the installer’s responsibility to ensure that any brake products fitted to a vehicle are suitable for the application.

• Pads should be examined regularly for wear and condition.
• Replace pads when less than 2mm of friction material remains anywhere over the surface.
• When fitting new pads, thoroughly clean the pad location faces in the caliper, removing any debris and brake dust with brake cleaner and a stiff brush.
• The protruding pistons must be wiped clean before they are pushed back into the bores.
• Discs must be replaced when the total thickness has worn below the minimum indicated on the disc or when any of the face grooves across either inner or outer face have worn away.
• If a disc shows any sign of cracking, which may occur after heavy usage, it must be replaced.
• Remember to bed-in new pads and discs as described on the previous page.

Seal replacement

As brake calipers are a safety critical part of the braking system, Alcon recommends that they are inspected and serviced regularly to ensure consistent performance. The main service item within the caliper assembly is the caliper pressure seal, although the pistons and their coating should also be inspected during a service.

Stage 1 – Soak Seals

Soak new caliper pressure seals in DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 brake fluid for a minimum of 60 minutes prior to build.

Stage 2 – Exterior Clean

The exterior of the brake caliper should be clean before attempting the removal of the caliper pistons. The exterior can be cleaned using warm soapy water, and the caliper should be dried off prior to disassembly. Performing an exterior clean will reduce the risk of dirt and other contaminants entering the hydraulic system. It is acceptable to omit this process if a post strip down wash of all components is going to be performed prior to rebuild.

Stage 3 – Piston Removal

To ease removal of the caliper pistons, a self-centring block can be used. Alcon recommend using a suitably sized block, 26mm thick, between the pistons which centres itself within the caliper using the disc pathway (see image below).

With the block inserted, the caliper pistons can be moved forward under pressure (hydraulic or air). Hands and other body parts must be kept well clear of the caliper pistons to avoid injury. In the case of using air pressure to drive the pistons forward, hands and other body parts should be kept away from escaping air.

Seal replacement

Once pistons are protruding from the caliper bores, remove the pistons from the caliper (see image below).

Stage 4 - Seal removal

Carefully remove old pressure seals and wiper seals from their grooves using a thin, blunt edged tool to prise the seal from the groove.

Stage 5 – Internal Clean

The caliper bores, seal grooves and pistons should all be cleaned prior to re-assembly. Alcohol based cleaning agents may be used.

Ensure that bores, seal grooves and pistons are completely clean and free from contamination and moisture. Care should be taken when cleaning the caliper pistons so that no damage is caused to the piston coating. If the piston coating appears to be excessively worn, then the pistons should be replaced with new or reconditioned pistons.

Stage 6 – Rebuild

Fit replacement caliper pressure seals and wiper seals into grooves ensuring that they are correctly seated. Seals should sit smoothly in the grooves and have no kinks or twists visible.

Note that the pressure seal is square in section and is fitted to the inner seal groove.

The wiper seal have a ‘v’ section and is fitted to the outer seal groove.

Apply a small amount of brake fluid to the corner radius of the piston at the base, as this will help with re-assembly. Carefully engage the piston in its bore and apply even pressure to guide it through the pressure seal. Once fully engaged with the seal, the piston should be pushed to the bottom of its bore.

DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE FORCE TO INSERT THE PISTON THROUGH THE PRESSURE SEAL. If piston does not slide through the seal, remove the piston and check seal is correctly seated, re-apply lubrication (brake fluid) to both the seal and piston corner radius and re-insert.

Where possible, calipers should be pressure tested prior to use on the vehicle.