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its a new semester and ive started suspension brakes and chassis class. and my teacher asked if we had anything to bring in to work on. and i wanted to do my rear calipers. as you know the calipers in the mid 80's camaros for the rear had some recall where they stopped working and whatnot. as thats the case with mine. so my teacher being a former toyota instructor, he doesnt like american cars very much and basically put me down and said i didnt have the knowledge to install new rear calipers. so i brought in my car and began removing the old ones, drivers side was a cakewalk, but the passenger side required removing the lower control arm to get the caliper bolt out. now my question is. i have both calipers out and im ready to put the new ones on. but is there anything i need to know? or any crazy things im gonna encounter in terms of mounting on the new calipers and adjusting them so they work well?
i had to leave the car at school on the rack, so i do have plenty of tools, sockets and air tools, so if any of you have replaced the rear calipers before, is there anything i need to watch out for?
bump, we had a school shooting so i wont be back in school till next tuesday. any information on adjusting these brakes once mounted would be very helpful
Pull on the ebrake a few times. They're self adjusting, if they are working properly.
i know theyre self adjusting. but when installing them, at what position should the arm be when tightening the nut on the back. and how tight to leave the nut. i was told if i tightened it too much the piston would came to far out
If they are not assembled with the arm already, make sure the center shaft that the nut threads to is all the way out, place the arm nearest the rest (there is a rest/stop cast into the caliper) and tighten the nut as tight as you want if you hold the arm in place. The piston is not physically attached to the center shaft, that is part of the adjusting mechanism so how tight the nut is on the ebrake arm is of no consequence. Where people destroy these calipers is to use a clamp to force the piston back in, and that almost always damages the self adjusting mechanism inside the caliper. It has to be turned as its pushed in.
If they are not assembled with the arm already, make sure the center shaft that the nut threads to is all the way out, place the arm nearest the rest (there is a rest/stop cast into the caliper) and tighten the nut as tight as you want if you hold the arm in place. The piston is not physically attached to the center shaft, that is part of the adjusting mechanism so how tight the nut is on the ebrake arm is of no consequence. Where people destroy these calipers is to use a clamp to force the piston back in, and that almost always damages the self adjusting mechanism inside the caliper. It has to be turned as its pushed in.
wow, thats exactly what i was looking for. so basically just tighten the little arm as much as i want? but make sure its resting on the little rest ledge?
right now the piston isnt sticking out at all. so does that mean im in the clear? i can just bolt them up and slide the pads in and pull the parking brake lever abuncha times until the pads come come in contact with the rotor?
my teacher was telling me that if i dont do this correctly i might be left with the pads too tight against the rotor, but i dont know if he was just saying that to make me nervous
god. today we went ahead and started putting the calipers back. i noticed the drivers side fittings threads were all messed up. and i showed me teacher and he noticed one side has hard lines to the caliper and the other side uses a flex hose. and both calipers have the threads made for banjo fittings. EVEN the one that the hardline was threaded into.
can anyone enlighten me on this? did someone rig this up to use hardlines instead of a regular hose and banjo bolt. or is this from the factory? tommorow i will be cutting the existing line and putting a new fitting and i purchased a new flex hose that connects to the caliper. so i will be connecting the hose to the new fitting on the hardline.
if anyone knows a better way of doing this or perhaps some suggestions on how to do it. it would be greatly appreciated.
thats wierd, because i noticed the threads in the OE caliper were course, like for a banjo bolt, and the threads on the hardline fitting were fine. and because of that they got all chewed up.
was i supposed to get one calipers rigged for hardlines and one setup for a banjo bolt when i purchased them? this just seems so illogical
was i supposed to get one calipers rigged for hardlines and one setup for a banjo bolt when i purchased them?
Though the driver's side caliper is clocked forward and the pass side reward, though the driver's side line is hard and the pass side flex, the calipers themselves are the same.
JamesC
__________________ "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies." Nietzsche
Last edited by JamesC; 09-09-2009 at 07:18 PM.
Reason: US Open Tennis and Johnny Walker Red
but they have to go specifically because of the bleeders. either way thats not really the problem. my problem is that the hardlines fitting is different than what the calipers was made to accept.
but they have to go specifically because of the bleeders. either way thats not really the problem. my problem is that the hardlines fitting is different than what the calipers was made to accept.
What I meant above was that the general caliper design is the same. When you purchase them, you buy for the driver's and/or pass side, which provides for the bleeder and the fitting, if there's a difference. It's been awhile since I messed with the Delco-Moraines, so I may be all wet. Let us know what you discover.
JamesC
__________________ "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies." Nietzsche
What I meant above was that the general caliper design is the same. When you purchase them, you buy for the driver's and/or pass side, which provides for the bleeder and the fitting, if there's a difference. It's been awhile since I messed with the Delco-Moraines, so I may be all wet. Let us know what you discover.
JamesC
oh. okay i understand what you mean.
so basically what im planning on doing is using OEM rubber hose just liike the passenger side calipers and putting it in the drivers side and connecting it to the hardline by putting a new flare and fitting on the existing hardline.
but
my only question is other than having to find a place to put a little clip to hold the rubber down from moving parts. will this setup work? and if done properly will i have any problems with it?
so basically what im planning on doing is using OEM rubber hose just liike the passenger side calipers and putting it in the drivers side and connecting it to the hardline by putting a new flare and fitting on the existing hardline.
Other members have apparently experienced the same mess:
Personally, I'd prefer the OE set-up over a rigged system--it is the brakes after all.
JamesC
well today i finished fitting in a rubber hose and bubble flaring the remaining line. so far it looks very good. also managed to bolt everything back up and bled the brakes. now my problem is. it still feels like i dont have rear brakes. the parking brake doesnt work. and it still alittle spongy
as far as the spongyness ill just bleed them again.
but why dont the rear brakes work? i pulled up on the parking brake like 20 times and the lever does move. but its just not adjusting enough i guess. do i have to give it time or do something else? right now the parking brake lever pulls up all the way almost vertically
anyone know how to adjust the brakes so that they work? pedal is still kinda spongy. but im not getting any braking from the rear and the parking brake isnt working either
Thats typical for the Moraine rear brakes. An adjustable brake proportioning valve helped for me. A better ($$$) solution would be to replace the rears with a more modern design.
i was thinking about that but i had the new calipers laying around and i figured it would be more cost effective. but ive done alittle bit of perusing the thread and i guess i just have to move that little lever back and forth till the piston comes out enough. does that sound correct? or is there a faster method.
the rear brakes suck. you might need to get the recall rebuilding kit. Included with them is the new kit that solves the problem, hence the recall. about 33 bucks. comes with new pistons and seals, anti-rattle clips, actuator springs,(not the parking brake spring) i need to eventually rebuild mine>.... for rear brakes GM recall upgrade GMpart #18019028 at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com or the at the dealership. at the dealership, they're called "ACTUATOR KIT" first come first serve basis. But at the dealership they want 63 bucks. If you "call" your dealership, and order them through credit card, they "might" give you a better price since they think you're a dealership yourself. gmpartsdirect is the best price i could find. great bookmark too.
the rear brakes suck. you might need to get the recall rebuilding kit. Included with them is the new kit that solves the problem, hence the recall. about 33 bucks. comes with new pistons and seals, anti-rattle clips, actuator springs,(not the parking brake spring) i need to eventually rebuild mine>.... for rear brakes GM recall upgrade GMpart #18019028 at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com or the at the dealership. at the dealership, they're called "ACTUATOR KIT" first come first serve basis. But at the dealership they want 63 bucks. If you "call" your dealership, and order them through credit card, they "might" give you a better price since they think you're a dealership yourself. gmpartsdirect is the best price i could find. great bookmark too.
the problem isnt the recall kit, as i believe these have been upgraded already. the problem im having is getting the piston out to touch the pads. do i just ratchet it out with the lever on the back?
