[Crazy_pilot]

.
I'm writing this off the top of my head, so if anyone notices something I've missed please post it.

*Note: It may be a good idea to liberally spray your flex line/hard line connection with penetrating oil before getting to work. If that joint is seized and you break the hard line it's a whole new can of worms.

Do not remove the master cylinder cap, it will allow the fluid to drain out faster, which is not what you want.


REMOVING/INSTALLING THE CALIPER

1. Jack up the car, support with jack stands, remove the wheel, etc.

2. Use a brake line clamp to pinch the flex hose. (Do not use vise grips, there is a proper tool for this)

3. Disconnect the flex hose from the caliper

4. Remove the caliper (There are 2 bolts holding it to the knuckle. In many cases you don't even need to separate the caliper from its bracket, just pull the whole thing off as a unit)

5. Pop the brake pads out of caliper bracket if re-using.

6. Remove the 10mm bolt holding the flex hose to the strut.

7. Pull out the clip securing flex hose/hard line joint to the body of the car.

8. Using proper brake line wrenches, loosen the flex hose from the hard line.

9. Once the flex hose is loose and ready to be removed, make sure you have the new one close at hand. The goal here is to minimize fluid loss and chances of your master cylinder reservoir going empty. Remove the old line and attach the new one. Brake fluid will be leaking out while you're doing this.

10. Once the brake fluid is flowing freely from the flex line, clamp it off with the line clamp.

11. Install your new caliper bracket, pads, and caliper (reverse order of removal).

12. Attach the hose to the caliper. Make sure that you have both washers in place on either side of the hose fitting. Make sure the hose is straight and not twisted. Bolt the hose to the strut. Replace the clip at the flex/hard line joint.

You now have an installed caliper with no fluid in it. Remove the line clamp and open the bleeder screw on the caliper. At this point you can take the cap off the master cylinder to encourage fluid flow. Keep an eye on both the master reservoir and the bleeder screw. You do not want to let the master cylinder run dry, so make sure to have an open bottle of brake fluid close at hand. Watch the fluid coming out of the bleeder. Let it drain until it is just fluid coming out, with no air bubbles.

*Note: This is a good time to flush your brake fluid if it hasn't been done in a while. Open all 4 bleeders and let the fluid drain until it looks good and clean.


BLEEDING THE BRAKES

Now we get to bleed the brakes. A good gravity bleed (what we just did) should get you most of the way there. Now we're just making sure there aren't any pesky air bubbles trapped somewhere in the brake lines. You'll need a helper for this part. You shouldn't need to bleed the other 3 corners, as no air got in there.

*Note: There are different techniques to bleeding brakes. I'll go with the one I normally use. Get your helper in the car and roll down the windows so he can hear you.

1. Open the bleeder screw (use the box end of the wrench and open the screw about 1/4 turn, leave the wrench on because you'll be closing it in a moment) and tell your helper to press down on the brake pedal in a smooth motion, about 2-3 seconds to push the pedal all the way down. (Not slamming it down). Ideally you want to shut the bleeder screw just before he hits the floorboard, since the sudden stop of pressure applied can draw a tiny air bubble back in.

2. With the bleeder screw closed, tell your helper to release the brake pedal.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you're sure there's no more air in the system. Depending on how long you gravity bleed the system you might not see any air bubbles at all. Go with at least 5 pumps for peace of mind. As before, make sure you don't empty the master cylinder.

Jump in the car and pump up the brake pedal. It should develop pressure quickly.

Put your wheels back on and take it out carefully for a test drive.
.