tasman

Michael awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

997gt3north

Think I will try and add some info to this tread as I'm sort of going through this.

I decided to get 2 new rear calipers as the my rears were in very bad shape after getting a little too hot and after 4 years of hard work - I am going to be completely rebuilding them after see that all the parts can be apparently got through Porsche Motorsport.

That said, I ordered 2 new rear Yellow calipers - as an fyi, the rear calipers are very slightly different for 2007-8 and 2010-11 but the 2007-8 cars now have a super-ceded part number which is the 2010-11 part - so all 997GT cars use the same rear calipers now 'in the system'. I thought I would show a picture of the old vs new design - it comes down to how thee pad holders (those cylinder metal things) are attached to the caliper. Interesting that they changed this as this part you wonder why?

New Caliper (notice the bolt design)


Old Caliper (no apparent bolt but there is a tiny pin above it that works in combination)



On to my 2 new rear Calipers and something that slightly pisses me off and may actually affect people here to some extent. The calipers, both updated part numbers, come with 2 different types of 'ceramic' pucks. The color is the obvious difference (yellow and brown) but the brown ones do not accept the retaining clips that I recently got from Orbit Racing - the brown ones the internal hole is not deep enough for the clips to be inserted. It would be interesting to know from what color other GT car's rear pucks are? Does anyone have these brown ones?

The New Caliper with Yellow Ceramic Pucks and inserted retaining clips


The New Caliper with Brown Ceramic Pucks (and no clips)



Also interesting and irrelevant to this thread but my shop replaced the GT2 bar's rubber bushings which were totally disintegrating - thought this was kind of weird - so if you are hearing any rattling, you may want to look at your sway bar rubber bushings.

deputydog95

Can I have your old rear ceramic pucks? For whatever reason I have none back there.

997gt3north

Thank you for the reminder (I will answer your question in one moment),

I decided to go with a completely new calipers for a few reasons - I couldn't find 8 replacement pucks that i needed for the rear, I wanted to get back on the track as the season is coming to an end and I was going to need time to do a proper thorough rebuild of the rears as they definitely need it.

If you read above correctly, I need 8 new pucks - 4 were turning to complete dust and the other 4 are about to turn to dust.

What I find INTERESTING is that the pucks that turned to dust, are the pucks on the outside of the caliper and the outside of the caliper has also discolored far more than the inside of the caliper - i.e. the retrofitted brake ducts from the 2010 car onto my 2007 are preventing the extreme over heating that the outside of the caliper is facing. I find this to be somewhat amazing as the outside of the caliper, that is getting lots of airflow through my very open Volk TE37 rims, seems to be running significantly hotter than the side of the caliper that is closer to the engine & exhaust but is getting the airflow from the air ducts.

This has been one of my assertions for a long time - that heat is actually somewhat overwhelming the rear calipers / pads / pucks / the entire rear system. Given the size of the rear tires we are running, given the very high rear bias on 997s I would conclude that 997s should have come with a bigger rear braking system (i.e. 6 piston caliper, larger pads, maybe even larger rotor) - I suspect we will see this on the 991gt3 - ie a 6 piston much larger rear caliper / larger pad and a 380mm rotor.


So, long answer, my pucks are toast - otherwise you could have them.

Michael Russell

Hello DeputyDog --

1) The kit is shown on my invoice as listing for $289.43, Sunset here in Beaverton, OR sold it to me for $206.71
Luke in the parts department is whom I have been dealing with. He has been great, and very responsive. Even calling me back when I left him a message (SHOCK!). Their number if you want to call them is 800-346-0182 (no affiliation)

2)I am sure I could re-use the original pucks, but there was no option to order the kit without either the pistons or the attached pucks. All I really wanted were the inner seals, but that wasn't an option.

3) See above.

4)I'd have to pull my rear wheel off, and I'd be happy tyo do so, in fact I plan on rebuilding them as well. However I wont be home for the next week and a half, so im afraid I cant help right now. Sorry about that.

Best of luck
Michael

deputydog95

I was actually talking to suncoast yesterday. They're here in my backyard. Oddly enough, you can buy some of these parts a la carte if you know where to look in the pet.

Thanks for all the great information in this thread.

The rears should have pucks I've discovered. Either mine disintegrated or some shop took them out and never put them back in. Either way I'm going to have to replace them.

Michael Russell

DeputyDog --

If you could get individual part numbers for the various pieces and post them that would be great, instead of having to buy the entire kit.

Michael

woodyTPA

I was performing routine brake service on my recently purchased 2007 c2s. When I went to remove the damper plate, the forward plate piston cylinder was fused into the caliper piston hole. I removed the caliper, blew the piston out, and attempted to extract the piece of damper. It is fused into place. I discussed the problem with the tech supervisor and service manager at my Porsche dealer Reeves in Tampa. They see it occasionally. They R&R the caliper instead of rebuilding. Then per some posts on Rennlist, I called Zeckhausen Racing who has the seals and aftermarket pistons. They referred me to Brake Warehouse, who rebuilds all types of calipers, including PCCB calipers. They referred me to Paragon Porsche parts to obtain original Brembo pistons and seals so that I didnt have to replace all 4 pistons, as they could not guarantee that the aftermarked pistons they sold would be the same weight and tolerances of the Brembo. So, I ordered a new 44mm piston and seals from Paragon. Awaiting the parts, and may be less expensive alternative to the dealer. I did not attempt to purchase the parts through the dealer as I was a little miffed that my CPO warranty would not have covered this! Unbelievable for such expensive cars.

997gt3north

Interesting since I can tell you for certain there are no such parts orderable from the Porsche system - I looked with a Porsche Parts guy and they are not in their parts system.

woodyTPA

GT3north sorry I should clarify. www.Paragon-products.com , not Paragon Porsche. I was at work posting and miswrote. It is a parts house that carries OEM Brembo parts. Really helpful and willing to make a rebuild "Kit" if they dont have one on the shelf. I talked to Chuck specifically. Your post really helped alot. I also viewed a chinese or japanese you-tube video on rebuilding a Brembo. I am planning on tracking my car soon and am now conscious of the problems of caliper overheating, as that is most likely the cause of the fusion in my caliper. In reading your post about caliper temps, is there anyway to modify or have additional sheetmetal welded onto GT2 metal ducts to redirect flow to the outside of the caliper? A splitter type of scenario? I am considering changing my ducts while doing brake service and am interested in this. Nascar uses flexible alumiunum piping like a clothes dryer would have (but smaller) that has an internal variable canard to direct flow. BTW what type of pads do you use for track? I am getting lessons at Sebring in FLorida in January. I am certainly novice with 911's as well as Rennlist!. Thanks Woody

deputydog95

They are there. Just not listed for the GT3. You have to use other models (several of them) that use the same size parts to complete the rebuild kit.

Sweeper

Great thread, thank you for posting it.

Ur20v

A couple of tips to those doing this:

A) Use red brake rubber grease similar to here: http://www.redrubbergrease.com/
Castrol do it and others. Helps stop corrosion of the alloy caliper behind the seal.

B) Fully clean out the seal groves in the calipers, corrosion and dirt can sit in the groove behind the seal pushing it out onto the piston increasing stiction and drag on the piston. A angled pick and tooth brush will help here.

If you didn't know the seals act like springs and self adjusters, by that I mean when you press on the brake pedal and then remove the pressure (take your foot off the brakes) the pistons move out and retract due to the flex in the seals, this moves the pads back off the rotors due to rotor run out and bearing play). As the pads and rotors wear the amount of movement of the pistons overcomes the amount of twist in the seals and moves the piston out a bit and that's the self adjuster mech.

Hope that helps/enlightens.

Jay.

P.S mean no offence to those who already know this and me trying to teach grandma to suck eggs lol!

deputydog95

As soon as I get the rest of the parts, there's going to be a caliper rebuild day at Izzone's. This is all great info.

P.J.S.

Are the spring clips (used in lieu of the dust boots) available from a Rennlist vendor?