Rear caliper pistons: do they screw or push in?

Right hand screws them in on both sides, the wind back action for R/H and L/H are not handed like some other cars and if you need to wind the piston out operate the hand brake arm and it will screw them out.

Thanks again!

Are heated seats a rare option? Mine has that, but the switch is broken on one of the seats.

Heated seats were never an option in the UK.

I found a new one at alternative autos !

I’m on to the rear brakes. I’ll send them off to be sand blasted, and rebuild them with new parts myself.

I can’t figure out how to remove the piston, turning them doesn’t really seem to make any difference.

Is there a guide somewhere, to rebuilding the rear calipers?

This guide in the How-to section is probably the closest to what you're looking for, not sure if it is quite what you need.

I use compressed air to pop them out

As a word of caution,getting the piston back in with new seals is tricky. I found lubing the seal and piston with silicone grease made it less painful

Cheers Jamie

I thought the rear pistons needed to be unscrewed, but as Joe says you can operate the handbrake mechanism to "pump" the pistons out.

But in my experience it's almost impossible to remove the internal handbrake mechanism from inside the piston once removed, some very specialised narrow circlip pliers are need. If your pistons are OK and if the seal at the rear (around the shaft that pushes onto the piston from behind) is not leaking, then just remove them and the seals before sending them off, but TBH it's a lot less hassle just to buy some new (reconditioned) exchange calipers, making sure to get the exact design you want (if that is important to you) and then get them painted if you want another colour.

you can do either Dave, or at least that's how mine came out.

Regarding the internal bits, I agree it looked fiddly and was working so I didn't touch the mechanism.

Cheers Jamie

Stupidly enough, I’ve managed to misplace the bolts for the front struts. They appear to be M12x70mm. Does anyone know the exact specs, or a good place to source replacements?

I’d like to replace the nuts for the tie rods, and lower ball joint pinch bolts. Maybe replace them as well…

82439066 Is the correct part number, I finally found the answer to my own question.

It is indeed M12x70mm with a 1.25 thread. Available from multiple sources once you figure out the correct part number

Back to the rear brakes. I’ve popped the pistons and installed new seals. But I can’t get the new pistons more than half way in, before they start spinning without moving.

The handbrake level is attached to a screw, that screws into the piston. But the threaded insert in the piston rotates freely. So when the friction of the screwing action reaches a certain level, the insert in the piston starts spinning, and consequently no further movement.

Help! I can’t imagine how to get the piston all the way in…

Are you spinning the pistons clockwise?

Yes. I can wind them all the way in without the seals installed

mmmm, strange, without being there and trying for myself I can't think what's wrong. drop Joe a message (Countrycruising) as he may have a solution

Cheers Jamie

All right, I ordered a special tool for the brakes, so I’ve put that off for now.

So I’ve moved on to engine bay assembly. First I hooked the turbo up. What would be the next natural step? Is there a preferred way of assembly from here?

The bit to pay attention to is the turbo heat shield and the radiator and fans, as it’s all a tight fit

Cheers Jamie

Agree with Jamie - just to add, I found it useful adding a sheet of 3 or 4mm plywood behind the radiator fins upon assembly, fitting the fans then gently pulling the plywood out and screwing the fans on. Removes all risk of nicking the radiator with the fan frame especially if you are using the replacement Direnza type alu rad

Yeah, got the direnza. I planned to fix the fan shroud to the radiator prior to installation. Isn’t that possible?

Give it a go, it might be. There have been times when I needed to remove the fans for better access to the manifold and heat shield but not need to remove the radiator, I forget. Either way what I describe does help reassembly if you need to replace seperately.

Installed a bung for an extra O2 sensor today. Meaning to add some pictures, but can’t find the option to shrink them to the appropriate size.

Are you PC or Mac?

iPhone

If it's a matter of dimensions, presumably you've tried this (if your model provides this function)

Open the Photos app on your iPhone and the picture that you want to resize.
Tap Edit in the top right corner of the screen. ...
A new menu will open up, with a variety of editing tools. ...
Tap the gray square icon in the top right part of the screen. ...
You're now in the dimension editing menu.

If it's file size you want to reduce, try emailing the photo to yourself from your iPhone, and after hitting "Send" you should get a dialogue box:- choose the file size from the options within.

Otherwise on a Macbook, open the photo in Preview and you can alter the file size under Tools/Adjust size

This is the hard pipe, running over from the inter cooler, towards the intake. I guess this bracket is broken?

Yes, the bracket isn't the best design if I'm honest, and should be an easy fix

I just realized that I've replaced my brake master cylinder (just for preventive maintenance) with a new, 22.2mm one, and thrown the old one away. I didn't know it was supposed to be a bigger bore.
Now what? I guess the bigger one has to go with the Brembos?

If you're a LHD?