Great writeup. Time to turn those silver brakes a nice shade of 'burnt silver'.
ps. Stay tuned for my overview of rebuilding a nismo lsd.

 

I'll be pissed if I can, since I selected the paint specifically because it's rated to 1200 degrees!

 

Had to bump this old thread because it is an awesome DIY.

During my rebuild, one of the pistons was pretty dirty. I was able to clean it up with assembly lube, but this little ring remains. Is this scorched? Should I just replace it? or am I being paranoid?

 

Thanks for the compliments.

That was the one and only time I did that job, so I'm no expert, but I'd try to clean that gunk off if I could. Maybe some very fine steel wool? Unless you've had some problems with that caliper, I don't think you need to replace the piston. After all, it's been like that for a while. You haven't made it worse by rebuilding.

Perhaps someone else with more experience can offer a suggestion. Or contact Dave Z. at Zeckhausen Racing for his advice.

 

If there is a raised surface you can feel with your fingernail, you should probably try and remove it. You're not supposed to use steel wool (although I can't remember why, or provide a reference), but emery cloth or Scotchbrite is OK. Of course, there's also a good chance that doing nothing will be OK, too.

 

Yeah, now that I think about it, even fine steel wool could score the surface and create problems. Something softer, like dcains suggests, is probably best.

 

Thanks for the replies. I used a new/clean rag and assembly lube - they cleaned up. Scothbrite pad probably would have quickened the job a little.

There was no raised surface to the dirty spot that I could feel... maybe I am being a little too meticulous. But, I know what it's like to have brake issues; I want to do anything I can to avoid future problems.