i bled my front calipers today, since i didnt have a chance to do them monday when i did my rear brakes, and i noticed that my calipers werent shooting out fluid , the fluid was more like oozing out , the rears shot out, the fronts i can basically put my face in front of it and not get shot in the face...where do i go from here?

 

Same as the other thread....

Bench bleed the master cyl, put it back on without letting any air into the cylinders themselves, then re-bleed the entire system.

 

chris, if your bleeders were frozen in place before you loosened them its a good bet they are clogged with rust and other assorted gunk. Remove the bleed screw and make sure the passage is unrestricted. in fact i would remove one and take it to a parts store to match up 2 new ones. See if they have caps for them too. If that doesn't help then you might have other problems.

 

Bleeder screw plus rubber cover = $??? $5 maybe? plus how much screwing around? plus you still have old calipers that some of the parts had rusted solid to already, who knows how close the other parts are to rusting solid?

Whole new caliper = $11.99

Why bother with bleeder screws and all that? It's too cheap to just renew the whole thing.

 

if i am correct he doen't have a whole lot of mechanical experience. replacing calipers isn't something i would recommend a newbie do with out more experienced help. Not the place to screw up. Myself, if there are any problems i just get new calipers and hoses.

 

Yup, same here; calipers are one of the easiest parts of a car to replace though. Easier even than spark plugs. Not much harder than changing the oil. These are an excellent design, with regards to that one particular aspect.... very very easy to service.

 

yeh im not to mechanically experienced, but replacing calipers is not something id want to do, unless i really understand how to replace one , if i remove the bleeder screw wouldnt brake fluid stream out ...isnt the screw a plug in a way


p.s my brother is hooking me up with 250 he got as a bonus in his job, i think i'll do what you guys say and replace both calipers, i'll buy the parts and have my mechanic put them on, along with other stuff i need to replace..tie rod sleeve and stabilizer link(which broke off) anything else i can replace to enhance my ****ty brakes? hoses and whatnot

 

Calipers are very very easy to replace. 2 bolts with 3/8" allen heads, and the hose banjo bolt which is ½" (I think)..... that's it. If you can replace your front pads, the only thing you have to do beyond that, is the hose. I would strongly suggest you do it yourself, it's really really easy, and you will have to pay alot to get somebody else to do it.

You're right, the bleeder screw is a plug; it's hollow about ¾ of the way down to the inner end, and has a seat that seals to the caliper casting when it's screwed in all the way, and has a passage drilled through it to allow fluid that gets past the seat to get to the lengthwise passage and squirt out the end.

To change one, all you do is remove the 2 allen bolts, remove the hose bolt, put the hose back on the new one, put the pads in, put it back on, and bleed it. Most of the time you can bleed it just by backing off the bleeder screw and waiting a couple of minutes; the fluid will run down into it by itself, and eventually dribble out the bleeder screw, at which point you just close it. You don't really have to do anything to bleed it, you just kind of let the work do itself.

Try it. If you can change pads, you can swap calipers.

 

i never changed pads though . i know theres clips and so forth , i dont want to end up without breaks . let me do some research on that

 

RB- what your doing right now is dangerous! replacing calipers onour cars is not a particularly hard job but it must be done right. The calipers once reinstalled must be leak checked, you cannot assume that the banjo bolts will just seal. the pads need to be prepped with an anti squeal spray, the outer pads need to be fit to the new caliper and the hose should be replaced at the same time as the caliper, it doesn't make sense to leave old hoses on new calipers especially if you think there is a restriction, in fact the hoses are most likely the culprit if there is in fact a restriction. The hoses can also be a bitch to remove, and must be routed properly (simple) and checked for interferance throughout the full steering lock. Just change or clean the bleeders for now, yes some fluid will leak. if you wan't to do the calipers AND hoses take it to your mechanic and ask him if its ok if you give him a hand at least you will get to see first hand what has to be done.

 

yeh im going to have to do that, so i might as well get the hoses while im at it correct, two calipers and two hoses, i might just do that tomorrow ,oh and trust me im the type to be in the way when hes doing something, doesnt bother him so thats cool, just trying to learn .. i think i might do that tomorrow .. i went to a car show today and my bird kept stalling, cant give it to much gas or it will die, time to see my mechanic tomorrow ...hope its not much that way i can do the brakes while im at it ....that is if my car starts :

 

Yes hoses would be good. They're a bit tougher to change though, because the fitting on the end of the steel line where it goes into the fitting on the end of the hose, can be a bit ornery sometimes. Saok those real good with PB Blaster for a few hours before trying to break them loose.

I'd suggest getting the Earl's stainless hoses instead of stock rubber ones. You can probably get them at your local speed shop; if not, Summit can probably have them at your door in the morning, via FedEx.

Make sure you keep the master cyl full while you're doing this; add fluid as it leaks out; that'll keep you from having to bleed the MC.

 

disc brake jobs like the one up front is one of the easiest things there are to do.

even if you have to go online every step of the way to ask, you still should finish it less then a day.


[list=1][*]raise car and secure on jackstand.[*]remove wheel[*]using either a large allen key or a allen socket remove the two bolts holding the caliper in.[*]if you are replacing the caliper, at this time, remove the bolt holding the hose to the caliper. two copper washers are also on the bolt. throw them away.[*]with the caliper lifted off, you will be able to take one pad (the outer one) and lift it out.[*]the other pad is lightly clipped into the caliper. slide it it straight out of the piston bore (you'll see what i mean) and lift it out[*]note this clip on the back of the caliper. simple. [*]take your can of anti squeel and spray THE BACK and only THE BACK metal of the new pads on it. if you are using the sticky pad type, stick the pad on.[*]carefully remove the clip from the old pad, and clip it onto the new pad. if you break it, the autoparts store has more. less then a dollar. some pads come with the clips already on them. usually the more costly pads do.[*]if you're reusing the old caliper, place the old pad back on, and using a C clamp, or large channel locks, slowly press the piston back in some. watch the fluid level in the master cyl (with the cap ON). if it starts to overflow, remove some fluid before pressing it in more. it doenst have to go all the way in, you're just making room because the new pads are thicker.[*]with the caliper you will be re installing, take the pad with the clip and push it into the caliper[*]now take the two allen bolt/pins that hold the caliper in and clean them off. use a wire brush and soap and water to get most of the gunk off. brake cleaner if needed.. apply a little grease to the pin part.[*]set the caliper with its new pads back on the rotor... note: im assuming you already swapped the rotor and had it turned.. if not, do so. im only telling you the caliper/pad part right now.[*]tighten the caliper in place with the now clean and lubed pins.[*]if you're replacing the caliper, the line is still off... the caliper should have come with two new copper washers. place one washer on the bolt, then the line on the bolt then the other washer. the washers are what seal it. once tightened, the copper compresses and can NOT be reused. tighten the bolt onto the caliper. some people do this before you put the caliper on.. i always do it after so theres zero chance of having a twist in the line or having it exit wrong. its foolproof this way.[*]now you have new pads (and calipers). jsut bleed the brakes.[/list=1]

 

if you're replacing the line:

after step 4 above remove the hardline from where it screws into the rubber line.
remove the clip... its a pain to remove the clip somtimes... i either use channel locks and pull, or i use a screwdriver and pry... or both.. your choice.
just note teh way the line fits thru and the clip goes on.

 

damn you guys are awesome, im keeping this for future referance

 

What MrDude described was exactly what I did, however, I had to replace my caliper, my first time ever doing that, because the piston just FELL OUT with the pad as soon as I took the caliper off to replace it. Brake fluid all over the place and a screwed up caliper, you can imagine I was cursing my *** off. It was freaky and a do it all or nothing thing but pretty easy. Gravity bled it and it works great. I already had earl's SS lines and was going to do that at the same time but I didn't want to have to get new calipers.