S1 Front Brake Caliper upgrade #3

[Andyp_67E]

After not using my Series 1 4.2 due to the usual annual winter lay up (5 months) followed by lock-down, on a recent drive the front left brake began to make a squealing noise and was getting very hot. As this was just one side I ruled out the common reaction valve issue, in my experience this normally shows as a delay in the brakes freeing off when setting off from junctions. Also due to it only being only the one side binding, I suspected the caliper sticking. The car is on standard brakes which were completely rebuilt 20 years ago and apart from a new master cylinder and Servo a few years ago have never been touched since, including the pads!
I thought about striping and rebuilding the calipers with new seals and S/S pistons if required. But then thought this may be an opportunity to upgrade the brakes. I looked at my options, I have never experienced brake fade on the standard brakes (more to do with my driving style than the performance of the std brakes) so going for vented discs I felt was unnecessary. I also did not want big calipers with a large printed on name, visible through the wires,or to to have to upgrade the rears, to keep the brake balance. So I settled on one of either 2 options Coopercraft or Zeus 4 pot calipers with S2 pads and retaining the standard rear set up.
I purchased the 4 pot Zeus calipers in ‘Spheroidal Graphite Iron’ with S/S braided hoses. These were stated as being a direct replacement, which they were, except for the brake dust shield required trimming to clear the larger caliper. This was easily achieved with a pair of tin snips, but the area which required to be removed extended to approx. 8mm in to the horizontal portion of both the dust shield retaining brackets per side. This was more difficult but a 2.5mm drill and a Dremel cutting wheel did the job, before re-painting the cut edges black.
Once done everything bolted in easily, retaining bolts wire-locked, the supplied copper brake pipes bent (by hand) through 90 deg between the caliper and bracket on the dust shield. I then connected the new Goodrich S/S hoses in, fitted the S2 pads with the retaining pins, a much better arrangement than the S1 design and bleed the brakes.

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This was a good opportunity to let both of my children help me out, like I used to help my Dad when I was young with bleeding his brakes. There will be a whole generation of children who grow up, never having had to sit in a car and pump the pedal in order to help bleed car brakes!

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Not only has this cured the sticking brake, the result is a much improved stopping power when the brakes are required.
Another worthwhile upgrade to the S1.

[rswaffie]

Good work.
I also upgraded to Zeus 4 pots on the front (alloy) and their stainless pistons in the original rear calipers.
They seem to perform very well.