Need help identifying brake calipers

[jimoreno]

Hey guys! I have searched but found nothing that could answer my question so here it goes. I bought all calipers from a '95 740 (I thought that they were the same as the 540) but the pads in them look bigger than the ones that I bought for a 540. The numbers on the front calipers are:

The front ones have BMW 60/30/324 and there is a 73 in one of them and a 74 in the other one in the middle area.

The rear ones have BMW 40/324 along with 77 & 167 on the top right side and a 2 with a 5 on the top left side. Other side is identical except with 5 where the single 2 is.

Can anyone help me identify these?:help

[PetesHelga]

Well, I hope I can help by saying none of these calipers will fit an e34 or e28 (looking at your sig) but I can't say I am 100% sure:rolleyes. Look at bmwe34.net for more info. It has a list of interchangeable rotors/calipers here (http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/Brakes.htm)

[jimoreno]

I already looked there but the part numbers are BMW part numbers and the one on the calipers are not. I started rebuilding one of the front ones and the seal and dust boot are the same. But for the life of me I can't get the dust boot back on completely! Is there a special 'trick' to getting these on? I have tried by mounting the boot on the piston first but then I can't get to the area where there's no direct access. I thought about getting the boot on the caliper first but then there is no freaking way to get the piston through it without pulling it off.
I have to admit that this is one of the few things that I have never done before on a car. I have rebuild engines, slush boxes, wiring, even painted cars with my dad. It has been a frustrating experience. Anyway, I need to finish this as I have a drive up to MA next week and the car needs to be ready for it.

EDIT: I found the trick on another BMW forum. Leave the dust boot at the bottom of the piston so that the lip 'hangs down', put in place and then push the piston in. The second one went sooo much faster! I've finished the front ones, I'll do the rear ones tomorrow and hopefully the install of everything (calipers, discs & pads). And then...:alright

[kalevera]

standard BMW ATE calipers tend not to carry a BMW part number in the casting (I've never seen one with a PN in place). The numbers indicate the size of the caliper piston, rotor width and diameter.

Standard E38 740 brakes, the carriers do not fit E34 cars, front or rear, sorry to say. If you want to run the rears, you'd need to source '95 M5 rear carriers (and probably rotors, which are expen$ive), the rear calipers should work fine with them. Fronts, I'm not aware of a carrier that would work. Maybe the early E31 front carriers, rotor size is the same.

[acet]

I already looked there but the part numbers are BMW part numbers and the one on the calipers are not. I started rebuilding one of the front ones and the seal and dust boot are the same. But for the life of me I can't get the dust boot back on completely! Is there a special 'trick' to getting these on? I have tried by mounting the boot on the piston first but then I can't get to the area where there's no direct access. I thought about getting the boot on the caliper first but then there is no freaking way to get the piston through it without pulling it off.
I have to admit that this is one of the few things that I have never done before on a car. I have rebuild engines, slush boxes, wiring, even painted cars with my dad. It has been a frustrating experience. Anyway, I need to finish this as I have a drive up to MA next week and the car needs to be ready for it.

EDIT: I found the trick on another BMW forum. Leave the dust boot at the bottom of the piston so that the lip 'hangs down', put in place and then push the piston in. The second one went sooo much faster! I've finished the front ones, I'll do the rear ones tomorrow and hopefully the install of everything (calipers, discs & pads). And then...:alright

Im currently completely rebuilding my brakes on 540 and writing a very detailed DIY. If you wouldn't have found that trick, I would have told you it. Guess how I know? Haha took me a while. Also DO NOT reuse the old seals and dust boots. Thats what I kept reading over and over again...

If you need anymore help, just holler. Im almost done with my brakes. Only a few little things left and they will be ready to go..

[jimoreno]

:mad I screwed up on this one! Now I have everything for 540 brakes except calipers. I realized my mistake was that I looked at the E32 parts in Real OEM but didn't notice that the parts were for the next generation :eyecrazy. Oh well, I guess I'll put them up on Ebay since they've been cleaned up and rebuilt. They are in really good shape. I guess I'll start looking for cheap 540 or E32 calipers...again. :(

[acet]

Message NikosX. He has a 540 he is parting out.