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Thanks again @Mr B Good to hear from someone with experience and puts my mind at rest. That's what I have done on the few occasions I've rebuilt calipers including these. I invested in a tub Millers Red Rubber and Silicone grease. Use Permatext on the brake hardware, pad back and piston faces. Should last me a lifetime. On this particular car the caliper guide pins were stiff to say the least with one of the front caliper guide pins seized and causing the pads to wear at an angle and ultimately causing the OSF brake to overheat. That's what started the rebuild of all 4 calipers. The OSF caliper pistons weren't in the best of condition.

Thanks @Mr B Your opinion is always welcomed. I understand that it's not practical for a business to spend this much time on a caliper rebuild. Slightly off topic and I'm guessing you've no doubt already answered this question loads of times. What is your take on the red rubber grease on the caliper piston seal versus brake fluid when rebuilding?

Sorry for the delay in posting new photos. Seems to have cleaned up ok - tried the dust shield and retaining clip which fit ok now the rust has been removed. Combination of Evapo-Rust remover -soaked for 36 hours (hence the colour), then refitted the old piston and seal and manualy removed the remainder around the dust seal area.

Thanks for the reply @SebP10 I'll ty to clean it up as best as I can and then post again. Reconditioned caliper is not really an option as I've already invested in the new pistons and seals and wanted to rebuild them myself.

hi I'm in the process of rebuillding all of the calipers on my car - its a Forester SG9 2.5XT. I've completed the fronts and just started on the rears, I hpoing someone can confirm whether the rear caliper in the photos is able to be re-used if cleaned up or better to just locate a donor caliper and rebuild that instead? Mainly concerned about the rust on the brake caliper piston seal groove that can hopefully be seen in the photos. Thanks in advance.

Thanks again @Mr B I've ordered the oil. Thanks for the tip on the blueprint filters. Just managed to order 4 on ebay for £15.24 delivered from carpartsinmotion. Cheers

Thanks for the reply @Jay762 Did they actually fit ok in terms of OEM locations? The chap who bought the ones linked to above mentions that the rear are a poor fit...

Hi About to rebuild the front calipers on my SG9 Forester XT and would like to replace the flexible brake hoses (all aroud) at the same time, I've read many times that the brake pedal feel is improved by fitting stainless steel braided hoses. From your experiences (taking into account fitment, length, quality etc.), can anyone recommend a manufacturer (Hel, Goodridge etc.). Cheers

From what I can tell - the front caliper pistons on my FXT are 43mm diameter, 42mm collar size with a height of around 48mm 48mm height x 43mm diameter piston x 42mm collar diameter Does that seem correct?

Thanks for the reply @Juddian I'll get some parts ordered. Just to confirm, the Subaru Forester caliper pistons are 43mm in diameter with the outer dust seal collar diameter being the same as the piston body? E.G. The outer dust seals do not have a retaining spring

Thanks agan @Mr B Been in touch with Westway and they have recommended this oil There's definately a cost saving using Westway @ 20 litres Would you agree that the oil is suitable? Thanks in advance cheers

I realise that this is probably a newbie question...so please go gentle.. When operating the twin piston Tokico calipers are both pistons supposed to move together in a linear fashion.. Or is the caliper designed to allow one to operate until it meets resistance at which point the hydraulic pressure acts upon the second piston. I'm asking due the way my OSF caliper is currently operating. With the caliper removed from the hub and hung up - pressing the brake pedal causes the upper most piston to operate (move out) but the lower one remains static. If I then chock the top piston with a piece of wood and operate the break pedal again - the the lower piston does start to move. My thought are that they should both move in sync. The OSF front wheel/caliper/disc are getting pretty hot after a short journey so checked the caliper for movement and found that the top 'slider' was really stiff so replaced it and drove the car again, but same thing happened. It now looks like the disc(s) and pads need to be replaced as the OSF disc has a blue tinge to it from the excessive heat. It appears as though the lower piston is partially seized and a caliper rebuild is required. Could one of you help explain the caliper operation and whether my diagnosis is correct please. Cheers

Thanks again @Mr B To my limited knowledge of Subaru engines - it sounds ok to me so I'll continue to use 5W40. Could you help with the following? Cheers

Many thanks for the reply @Mr B I neglected to mention that I've changed the oil and filter every 3k-4k so at least once a year on the current usage/mileage. I'll look to see if Millers have a comparable 15w40 oil and use that instead. On another note, I also need to change the gearbox and rear diff oils. Can you recommend oils for those please and quantities. Cheers

hi, I'm sure this kind of question has already been asked lots of times before - but just in case opinions have changed... I've got a 54 plate 2.5XT with 163,000 miles on it. It doesn't cover many miles a year (<6k) but still like to use quality oil. To date (since I've owned the car) I've been using Millers XF Longlife 5w40 and at the last oil change switched to Millers XF LongLife C3 5W30 (recommended on the Millers site). Given the current total mileage and annual mileage what what would the recommended oil be? Should I make any changes? Cheers