So much for simple brake job.. Civic caliper

[dosmastr]

The caliper wont come off and when i compressed the piston back, i had a small amount (teaspoon the most) of fluid run out from around the piston.

So what is going on here?
Is the bracket for the pads bad too? The caliper should not leak at all so it needs to be replaced right?

Topic

[dosmastr]

[quote=”99Nightmare” post=116647]There might be a snowflake’s chance in hell that autozone error’ed and got you the wrong caliper.
Well put it like this –
I needed the rear passenger caliper and what does autozone’s warehouse do? They sent the one for the driver’s side.

Autozone is OK for silly junk like polish, car decor, or fluids but not so much needful things like calipers.

Also with pinching hose – I would think that would be taking a chance in harming the hose. I wouldn’t just wedge the pedal though cause as soon as you loosen the line, the pedal COULD bottom out and that is not usually good for it. Maybe put something under the pedal before wedging something over it so it only drops to a certain level.

For “Simple job” – Now since when do car or home projects EVER go smoothly? ALWAYS running into more problems. “This should only take about an hour” always seems to turn into “Well there went my weekend.”[/quote]

Yes, my satuday was consumed and most of sunday will be too I’m sure.

Autozone gave me the wrong clips, they just dont fit, nowhere close. Worse, Cardone sent clips with the reman caliper that the two unsprung ones are smaller than what came off the old caliper — and the old ones were SNUG. had to reuse them. one looked ok, the other had a divot where the pad sat.

the tension on the pedal appears to have held, i kicked the wood plank out and the peal rebounded… it hadn’t fallen, but having it depressed didn’t do what we thought it would either… shame I didn’t know id have to do all this, I would’ve bought the steel braid brake hose that Eric said was awesome.

[dosmastr]

BLEEDER VALVE ON THE OTHER CALIPER SNAPPED OFF
F M L

[Edward]

You might be abe to remove it using a screw extractor. It’s like a reverse thread screw.

Anyway once it’s out use the old one from your other caliper.

Don’t drill it.

I’ll send a link in a second of the tool I mean.

[Edward]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-extractor-5-piece-set/18643?kpid=18643&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&kpid=18643&cm_mmc=Google-_-Shopping%20-%20Power%20Tool%20Accessories-_-Shopping%20-%20Power%20Tool%20Accessories&gclid=CPnY9d6zy8ECFXDHtAodHhkAEQ

[dosmastr]

brakes feel ok (at nearly stopped speeds though) feel pretty firm

about to just say screw it and go out when nobody is on the highway tonight (as I had planned to bed in the pads)and see if they work as they should.

talk me out of just letting it go please.

[Erin]

So where are you at with this job?
What all parts are new and did you manage to get the messy caliper straightened out?

If the bleeder snapped on the other caliper but it is NOT bleeding fluid, it should be fine to at least use for now.

When you plan your initial “break in” route, try to go a route where you will hit the least lights and make the most right turns (in case the worst happens and you are forced to run a light.)

Just be cautious on the brakes for now in case something does happen. If the pedal did sink to the floor, the brake system is split in half so you could still stop but not as safely. Don;t be like my good friend and apply the brakes 5 inches before she hits the car ahead of her.

For now though, you need to put on your OWN brakes, let your mind clear of the stress, and come back to it when you are fresh. Right now you are pissed off and not thinking clearly. Your engine overheated and you are about to blow a gasket.

During repairs, did you throw any 4 character codes starting with an F? 😆

[dosmastr]

[quote=”99Nightmare” post=116751]So where are you at with this job?

During repairs, did you throw any 4 character codes starting with an F? :lol:[/quote]

Well heh, the gate to my wooden back yard fence has a boot sized hole in it now.
Then at the dinner table 30 seconds after the gate incident I said “By the time I’m done the F thing better stop on a MF dime.

I did the one man bleed on the caliper I replaced (filled a 6ft tube with fluid, but its an opaque tube so I don’t know where the last bubble was) Then had wifie pump the brakes 3 times, each time it was just fluid, no air, the last time i closed it quick as it was squirting so no air got sucked back in.

Then went to bleed the other front wheel when the bleeder snapped off. Stupid me was thinking “No don’t use penetrating oil, it will contaminate brake fluid” any fluid I contaminated would’ve been blown out!

Where I’m at RIGHT NOW is I have ANOTHER new caliper which I’d rather not put on, and even two new wheel cylinders just in case they snap bleeders off too.
The left front was replaced and bled as said above, the front right side appeared ok and shouldn’t have had any opportunity to get air in there… right? (thats the one with the snapped bleeder but it DID NOT loosen at all before snapping)

So I’m about to bleed the back right (the whole split diagonal thing) and call it a day.

One concern is that it takes two hands to spin the hub with the replaced caliper… seems a bit tight, and I’ve read that Fenco made some of the brackets .08″ too small.

[dosmastr]

Just took a run around the block. up to 25 and some hard-ish stops.
Feels good. Every other time I’ve bled brakes (which granted isn’t many) its been all the air comes out one and the rest are all fluid. Im inclined to believe that happened this time too.

Unless I get some objections I’ll just run it.

The rear drums are a source of curiosity though. One shoe looks new as far as wear, the other is paper thin. The other side 60% left on one, and the other, again, paper thin.

Pray tell, does the Parking brake only pull the front shoes? I’ve been driving with the E Brake 6 clicks up, the shoes produced 0 drag up to 5, and a slight drag at 7. I think the auto adjuster wasn’t working, I got around that with the E brake.
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf <~~~~ According to the parking brake DOES only pull the front shoe. I manually was able to get some movement on the adjuster once I got the drum off So next weekend I'll be doing the rears. I already have replacements for both wheel cylinders, that way, they wont break 🙂

[Erin]

Back drum brakes pretty much suck. They are horrid nasty, don;t come apart easily, hard to adjust, some of the parts are made of pure rust….

SO THEN…
With the fronts, if you can turn them by hand then I would imagine they just need “worked in” but maybe after a day of driving, get the front wheels off the ground and see how easily you can turn the wheels by hand. Unless someone else knows something I don;t (quite likely)

NOW about the backs – Since you are going to mess with them next weekend, just take some time to study up on the job. Sure it SEEMS simple but we already had that conversation.

So you DID manage to get the back drums off yes? OK, well no need to worry about if they will come off or those STUPID screws that need to be removed with an impact driver that you hit with a hammer.

Also if you do have to replace the rear brake cylinders, maybe look into this possibility now – Sometimes when removing the brake line, it likes to snap or otherwise get ruined. Maybe shoot the line connector with some PB blaster, liquid wrench (both found at home depot or maybe parts stores) or whatever a day ahead of time.

Also go ahead and buy the extra hardware like clips and pins that hold the shoes in place. Save the receipt in case the old ones ARE still usable. Or maybe replace “just because”. Don’t forget brake cleaner and a cheap toothbrush, you will need it.

AND in a location away from the car, have a short length of 2X4 ready to pound with a hammer instead of the fence 😀

YOu probably know all this already but simple things are easy to overlook. Like how my upper control arm job went today where I caught my mistakes in the garage but it could have turned out REAL badly because i assumed a few things instead of checking.

[dosmastr]

[quote=”99Nightmare” post=116834]Back drum brakes pretty much suck. They are horrid nasty, don;t come apart easily, hard to adjust, some of the parts are made of pure rust….

So you DID manage to get the back drums off yes? OK, well no need to worry about if they will come off or those STUPID screws that need to be removed with an impact driver that you hit with a hammer.
[/quote]

OH yes… i couldnt find a 8×1.25 screw as shown in erics video…. i did however have an appliance foot and was close enough. (my oven and dryer both died and I have them in pieces waiting for a trip to scrap yard)

I put never seize on the drum so it comes right off next week.

I’ll know after my trip to work for sure but the brakes felt fully bled even though I only did the one wheel, and Id be very surprised if the bleeder ever leaks since it was to tight the top twisted right off.
I’m going to leave it as is.
The car is 16 years old with 195k on it.
I’m not putting on new parts unless I need to.

I’ll take it easy tonight and then when I go out tomorrow I have the perfect road for bed in:
Deserted back country with a 55mph speed limit, lots of straightaways.

Though I do wonder, if I melt the pads to the rotor, then aren’t I running pads with melted material on their face?

As for the hammer, good call. I got a pretty long fuse but after the simple brake job turned into a hand and jacket soaked with brake fluid (which I had put together in the wrong order about 4 times, each time getting wetter), and then right when the madness was supposed to be over — another caliper failure… I was done.

[Erin]

I see your concern about the brakes melting. Is it possible you didn’t “bottom out” the piston enough? Also with bleeding brakes, that usually isn’t necessary unless the hydraulic system was opened at a point other than the bleed screw.

Just do this – drive it maybe a block, get out, mist just a little water (I mean like the amount if you just spit on them) on the rotor with a spray bottle and if the water sizzles, they are probably running a little too hot. Maybe do this every couple blocks. OR you could get both wheels off the ground and simulate all this.
Brakes will get at least warm to the touch since they tend to have a little drag. I am curious as to how much effort you had to use to turn the wheel when you said both hands.

When I replaced the brakes on the back wheels of my Acura (oh they were a WRECK) one wheel dragged more than I thought it should but it seems to have “Broken in” well enough.

[dosmastr]

Well Nightmare et al,

I think this ….nightmare LOL, may be almost over. drove 16 miles round trip to work tonight, pedal feels better than I ever remember, and the brakes (which I was taking it easy on) worked great, better than the old pads and leaking caliper (they were about 1mm away from hitting the squealer)

I did adjust the back brakes, and then had to undo it a little to get the drum back on, got it to a tiny bit of drag…. but it still takes 6 e-brake clicks to start to feel any drag in Neutral at highway speed… their day shall come! I got pads, hardware kit, and brake fluid test strips on the way from amazon.

curious though, doesn’t the brake fluid largely sit where it is, like the fluid in the caliper will always stay toward the end of the brake line if not in the caliper, and the fluid in the master cylinder won’t typically get that far down the line ….assuming no leaks…. if that is the case, how do you really test it without hitting each bleeder valve and the master cylinder? (the video just showed them dunking it in the reservoir… I got all new fluid in there, it was very very low after the one man bleed… what about by the brakes themselves though?)

[Author]

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