Replace caliper, how?

[msvx95]

Can anyone give me a straight forward how-to on replacing the rear caliper and flex hose? I think the hose is attached to a few attachment clips, but my main concerns are making sure there is no air in the lines.

I've never bled the brakes before but what are the steps in removing the caliper and hose and reassembly?

Also do I have to remove the cap on the master cylinder reservoir during this process and does the bleeder screw need to be fully open when hooking up the new caliper?
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[Crazy_pilot]

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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.
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[msvx95]

Let me ask you if the brake fluid was recently replaced (not by me), do I need to bleed the brakes or can I do as you say open the bleeder only on the new caliper I am installing and add fluid as needed to the MC?

Very descriptive write up, thank you!

[Crazy_pilot]

If that's the case than you can omit the flush and just worry about the one caliper.

It's something I encourage people to do as much as they can, since brake fluid is hydroscopic and will absorb moisture out of the air over it's life. This moisture in turn accelerates the rusting of your brakes lines, as well as giving you a garbage pedal.

However, most cars go their entire lives without a proper flush and suffer no gravely ill effects.

[msvx95]

can I ask what type of flex hose clamp to get if pliers are not recommended to be used? I'm searching, but still unsure what to purchase

[lhopp77]

Originally Posted by msvx95

can I ask what type of flex hose clamp to get if pliers are not recommended to be used? I'm searching, but still unsure what to purchase

If I was replacing one flex line, I would actually go ahead and invest in stainless steel braided lines and do all of them. You can get a complete set of these lines for $75.00 shipped

http://www.svxnation.com/1992-1997-s...ake-lines.html

I would also STRONGLY recommend investing in a tubing wrench (6 point) to disconnect the flex line from the car hard line. It's a brass nut and very easy to round the corners without the proper tool. I bought my set at O'Reilly's for less than $20 for an 8 different size set.

Lee

[Crazy_pilot]

There are different types of line clamps available. Here is the ones I use:



Another variant:



You local parts/tools store should be able to set you up with something. They're cheap.