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Hi,
I'm still putting my 323i back together and have got as far as the brakes. The car was unused for years but the pistons in the calipers all move freely so I'm wondering whether I can refurb myself, send them to someone or just paint them nicely and refit? From previous experience the paint and refit option has worked well in some cases but I'm wondering what people's experience of rebuilds are like as the prices i've been quoted are quite high and they seem reluctant to answer questions like "what happens if I need new pistons or what is your standard paint finish?"
Any comments on your refurb experience either DIY or by an experienced company, or just paint and forget?
Many thanks

The most critical part is obviously piston condition, so I'd start by pulling back the dust covers and giving the plating a good inspection. Rust inside the piston and on the visible lip isn't bad, but any on the surface swept by the seals means they'll need replacing or re-plating. other than that, if all the pipes and bleed nipples undo, there's no part of the caliper refurb that you can't do yourself so long as new seals are available.

Get a rebuild kit and pop the pistons. A good polish and clean up will always help. Perhaps it is about time for a DIY guide indeed.

Thanks both,

I'm inclined to go the DIY route and paint them myself, it's not as if the car is ever going to see a salty road or much rain! So if they work fine after a clean up and maybe some new pistons I'll leave it at that.

pistons only if needed, many times just a set of fresh seals is enough

Based on this link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Series- ... xy-WxTAkDT a full refurb and new pistons will set you back £40 plus paint. Seems like a no brainer for what will likely be a lifetime fix

Well progress has been slow, mainly due to work but I have had 3x e46 to play with in the last 6 months, not to mention the e39 M5 and daily driver e90.

The rear caliper refurb went without a hitch, now I'm working on the front end. The front calipers don't look quite as nice as the rears and it took quite a while to get the pistons out as they were siezed. So I'm looking for someone reputable to refurb the front calipers, they will almost certainly need new pistons. Does anyone have experience of using someone to rebuild calipers?

Biggred perhaps, see the forum's suppliers list. With fresh pistons (if indeed needed) and a set of fresh seals all is likely to be fine again for years and years. Oh and brake hoses, better replace all right away, they cost peanuts.

Thanks Jeroen,
New steel pipes sourced from the main dealer, new flex hoses. Will probably also be new master cylinder or rebuild. Everything will be new or rebuilt, no shortcuts!

Sounds great Keith!

Yeah, sounds great and looking forward to the pics!!

So the Calipers went off to Big Red but today I received the sorry news that one of the castings is cracked and can't be refurbed, It's just on the lip and is probably due to the amount of hydraulic pressure I had to use to get the old pistons out.
The good news however is that it transpires that the vented and non-vented calipers are in fact the same with an additional spacer between the two halves of the casting for the 323i. Luckily I have a pair of 318 calipers which are looking way better than the 323i Calipers anyway, so I'm sending them off to Big Red and they are going to use the best castings with the spacers.
I'm going for the plated finish as I think that's probably going to look about as original as I'll get, I know it doesn't last as well as some other finishes but the chances of this car getting wet and remaining damp in the future are unlikely. This is more of a restoration (+ some genuine Recaro LS, slightly shorter springs and a set of Alpenis replicas) It will even have the original BMW Bavaria Radio with 2 speakers.
I'll post some pics (when I can work out how to)!

Yup, if you have the same brand calipers the main housings are indeed the same! So there's still hope. Also like the other plans!

Last one: see Howto: posting photos and videos in the general section. So no more excuses, show us your pics!