Rear brake caliper spring

[goldNSX]

I've changed my 91 calipers for 97+ ones today. One question: Does the 97+ brake caliper have a spring as shown in the pics as the 91 do. I couldn't move the ones from the 91's to the 97's for obvious reasons. The seating must be smaller. I couldn't find the part no. What's it's purpuse anyway. I've installed the calipers without them so far.

1st pic: 91 on the left, 97 on the right. The spring is the gold thing in the 91.

Thanks!

 

[CL65 Captain]

yes the 97+ have them. You can order them cheap (ALOT cheaper than Acura) from rockauto.com. It's listed under Brake/Wheel Hub : Disc Brake Hardware Kit

They are there to keep the pads in place so they don't rattle when going over bumps, etc.

Each caliper has one on the top, one on the bottom and the one in you pic.

 

[goldNSX]

Thanks for your reply.

Besides rattling, does the middle one have any purpose? My pads are held by new upper and lower springs which don't allow any movement than necessary. Also interesting: I've bought one complete new 97+ which had the upper/lower but no middle spring.

 

[pgilliam1]

I've changed my 91 calipers for 97+ ones today. One question: Does the 97+ brake caliper have a spring as shown in the pics as the 91 do. I couldn't move the ones from the 91's to the 97's for obvious reasons. The seating must be smaller. I couldn't find the part no. What's it's purpuse anyway. I've installed the calipers without them so far.

1st pic: 91 on the left, 97 on the right. The spring is the gold thing in the 91.

Thanks!

Excuse me, but can I ask why you changed the calipers and what you intend to do with your old ones (I have a 91 and am about to rebuild mine)?

 

[goldNSX]

Excuse me, but can I ask why you changed the calipers and what you intend to do with your old ones (I have a 91 and am about to rebuild mine)?

Nothing serious. I went with 97+ brakes while using RB adapters in the rear. After going for the ABS 99+ also I had too much brake power in the front. The reason is a hydraulic valve which comes with the 99+ ABS which reduces the brake pressure in the rear. That's why I wanted to compensate with adding larger calipers. Maybe I sell them but shipping to the US won't be cheap as I'm in Europe.

 

[UnhuZ]

Thomas,

i too am rebuilding all my calipers...

here is what i have:

- 2003 OEM Front Calipers and Brackets
- Mine Rear calipers
- RB rear brackets for 97+
- RB sloted 2 piece for all 4 corners

the front calipers have one of the pistons smaller than my old calipers:
Mine (91-96): piston 1 = 36mm and piston 2 = 40mm
2003 OEM: piston 1 = 34mm and piston 2 = 40mm

about the rear ones, i have a rebuild kit and i have cleaned and sanded them to the metal...they look awesome and i prefer this look over any paint finish, but with normal use, it wouldn't hold and would start to look nasty:


but if anyone knows a way that allows me to keep this look and that it lasts like a powdercoat job, i will appreciate enormously :biggrin::biggrin:

that photo shows ALL parts of the rear caliper separated from each other

i will do the ABS upgrade to 2002+, i already have the harness, but until then, i suspect i too will have the brake bias toward to the rear.... don't have money to do all at once.... let's see how it goes.

Nuno

 

[drew]

I dunno. I upgraded my 1991 to the 1997+ rear calipers.

I put the spring clips on and all they did was make sparks and grind down the edge of the rotor. I took them off and threw them away.

The springs would not fit into 1997+ calipers the way they fit into the 1991's.

As a sanity check, Delray doesn't even show a valid p/n for it


Drew

 

[goldNSX]

Thanks for all the answers. I had a look at an old picture of 02+ rear calipers and they didn't have those mentioned springs like a 91 had. So, I'm pretty sure they don't have them at all.

Thanks again!

 

[BrakeExpert]

Just a note for everyone.

The 91 and 97 NSXs all took the same brake PADS in terms of shape. The rear caliper bracket used on 97+ brakes (the 11.8" rear brakes) has different retainer clips (the thin piece of spring steel) and is a retainer SPRING clip instead of just a retainer clip. The bottom of where the pad's edge slides is pushed by the springiness of these clips. Because of this, you do not need the overhead pad spring in the caliper to push on the pads. Because the diameter of the rotor is increased with the same pad, the "arc" of the rotor is a different shape and thus would hit that pad spring in the same place, so Acura went ahead and changed the clips and ditched the overhead spring.

Honda has done this with many newer vehicles and is switching most from overhead pad springs to retainer clip springs. It can yield slightly more brake clearance to the wheel, reduce cost and weight (these are all very small amounts, but Honda engineers are picky about details and we love them for it.)

 

[goldNSX]

Thanks for your explanation. Seems reasonable.

Cool, one gramm saved.

BTW: An old 'problem' came up again. New parts, flushing, still air in the system. Not much but annoying. I've already bleeded 1.5 litres of DOT 4 through it but takes driving - bleeding - driving - bleeding and so on. It was a nightmare with about 4-5 intervals when I changed the brake (clutch too!) master.