A3 Rear Calipers

[ranahan@charter.net (John Erickson)]

I just finished installing some red A3 "Driver's Edition" rear calipers on 
my 87 16v.  For those of you in need of rear calipers, this is the way to 
go.   Both the e-brake mechanism and the self-adjusting mechanism are far 
superior to the stock A1 calipers.  To adjust the e-brake, you simply take 
the slack out of the cable.  You're done.  Instead of the usual "pump it 
forty times" Bentley procedure (followed by a week's driving) to get the 
self-adjusting mechanism set on the A1 caliper, you pump it about 20 times 
and you are done.  Drive away.  Its perfect.

The only drawback is turning them upside down to bleed them, but that's 
easy.  Mount them up, attach the brake line, remove the mounting bolts and 
flip the caliper upside down.  It will rest on the ground with the brake 
line stabilizing it.  Use a vacuum or pressure bleeder and you're all 
set.  It should not be a problem in the future unless you manage to 
introduce air into the system.  You will not have to do this to simply 
flush the system.

Potter is currently selling the A3 DE rear calipers for $85 (includes 
carrier and pads) in his "Blowout" section.  It's a great deal.  I also 
replaced my master cylinder with a Corrado non-ABS model.  Its slightly 
longer, has the same piston size and costs a lot less.

John
Long Beach
(All new brakes!)