Brake caliper rebuild tips??

[Satan]

Hey guys,
Well... After bleeding my brakes a kajillion times, I still have the spongy brake feel.

So, I remembered that one of my seals in one of my calipers was not looking so hot. Probably not the issue, but it's probably time to rebuild my claipers and get rid of the rotting rubber in 'em.

I had to special order the rebuild kits from Autozone and they should be in today or tomorrow.

The TRSM shows the rebuild as a pretty straightforward thing (I have not rebuilt calipers before). Any tips, tricks, or gotchas that I should know of, before I start taking things apart? I searched, but did not find anything.

E

 

[jdub]

What's the condition of your brake lines? The rubber ones from the wheel well to the calipers. I replaced mine with stainless steel lines...the sponginess I experienced was from the old rubber lines expanding when pressure was applied. The stainless lines made a huge difference...I used DOT 4 fluid to flush as well.

 

[Justin727]

i change out to SS brake lines too while ur in there.
Go get you a caliper hone at autozone not very expensive. Its not a hard things to do. Good luck

 

[Satan]

Yep, I have SS lines (and the old ones as backups;-).

I did find a small rip in one of the seals that go around one of the caliper's pistons, but I can't remember which one. So, I figured I'd get the rebuild kits (less than $20 for all of 'em), rebuild each caliper, and re-bleed the system.... that should get everything for sure. I hope!

The fluid is extremely clear, since I have run/flushed alot of the DOT 4 fluid thru there.

Anyone else rebuild theirs... simple straightforward enuff?

 

[T34418L3ONE]

id also check the master cyl. for a leak. That spongyness could be a bad seal in there to!

 

[Satan]

I recently replaced the Master Cylinder too ;-) Kinda running out of brake system stuff to fix, that hasn't already been replaced.

One of the grommets that the fluid reservoir sits on, was blowing bubbles. I replaced the master cylinder and hoped that's all it was, but there's still more spongy feeling there at the pedal... I still drive it everyday, just have to pump them brakes to stop...

Here's what I've done/got so far...

1. Replaced master cylinder
2. Checked lines, SS lines, and any junction for leaks
3. Bled the hell out of system... nice new fluid in there
4. Bled the hell out of the system about 10 more times (master cylinder and lines)
5. Whined about it on the forums
6. Gonna put new seals everywhere (rebuild calipers)

Nothing else left to do, I think...

E

 

[IJ.]

Unless the callipers are wet from fluid leaking I'd leave them alone (I worked at a brake shop for many years as a kid and rarely saw a leaking calliper and when it was 9 times out of 10 it was toast)

The "seal" you can see has NOTHING to do with sealing fliud it's for dust.

Might be time for a good line flush out.

 

[Satan]

Nothing's wet, no visible leaks, and the fluid remains the same level.

Yeah, that's why I didn't worry about the calipers before... I knew what I saw wasn't for the fluid. Just out of ideas at this point.

 

[IJ.]

Try using a MityVac to bleed it this is how I do mine on my own and they're perfect.

 

[Halsupramk3]

i just did mine. you can pushe the piston out with an air compressor. be sure to put a towell in front of the piston for when it shoots out. You must hone it out with a 440 grit stones for disk brakes. SS lines will make a big difference. More than i thought. Horsepower freaks have some in house brand lines that are not too high. their SS clutch line is nice too. bleed the brakes from Rt rear to Lft rear to Rt front to Lft front. Bleed the brakes till clear fluid comes out of each line.

 

[supra87t/t4]

Last weekend I got both front loaded calipers from autozone for my celica alltrac for $84 (+$100 core), this was a freaking bargain. They have them for the supra too part# P1014 $79 (+$93 core). This will include practically everything that goes with the caliper, including the bracket, the slider pins and bushings, new crush washers, pads, shims, etc. The only things I re-used on my celica was the two mounting bolts and the banjo bolt, everything else came with it. These are listed under "BRAKE CALIPER LOADED PAIR - FRONT" I highly recommend them if you have any doubts about your stock calipers. I wish I could get back all the hours I spent trying to free up sticky pistons and slider pins/bushings if I had known you could get a practically new pair that cheap.

Glen

 

[Satan]

I haven't rvcd the rebuild kits yet, but we bled the hell out of my brakes today.

The only difference, compared to the 10 other times, was that I left the Sup in the driveway. The nose was down at a slant. I think that forced most of the air up towards the bleeders on the calipers. Anyways, it doesn't feel spongy anymore and tho it's really good now, it's not at 100% More like 95%... I'll eventually still rebuild the calipers, but things are good for now.