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Filter seal ? O-Ring ? Confused .
There is a removable seal that comes with the new filter. This seal is about 1/2 inch long and replaces one that is in the transmission housing where the filter plugs into the transmission. They are actually like a metal tube looking, with a rubber outer coating so that when you install the new filter to the transmission it makes a good seal. Well, I could not get the original one out. Its in there pretty darn good. Since I only have a floor jack and some stands I do not have a lot of room to swing a small hammer or something to try and get it out. Not much to grab onto either. So, I had to leave it in place. I really wanted to try and get it out but I felt I would actually do more damage trying to remove it then what its worth. So, I saved the new one and perhaps I can come up with an idea later. I was going to try and stick a flat blade screw driver on the lip of it and tap it with a hammer to kinda pry it away from one side and then grab it with some plyers and pull it out. But I dont have enough room under the car to use a hammer. Im not that concerned about it as it seems to seal fairly well with the new filter in place.
Just talked to my GF. She is about 90 miles from me up in Michigan. She said that the car is now running great. She also commented that she cannot believe what a difference the new struts made. Looking over the receipt from the repair garage I see that they charged her for “Brake Cleaning”. Well, As I mentioned above, One caliper bolt missing and one very loose on the front drivers side.
I totally agree with you on doing your own work. There isnt a garage around me that I would consider taking my car too. I cannot trust any of them. I started repairing my own car about 3 years ago and have steadly built up my tools. Today I dropped my tranny pan and did a tranny fluid change (not flush) on my car. I have what I call the “Evil 2008 Buick Lucerne” because it had a lot of issues when I first bought it. I bought it used. Well, I was supprised that after 118k miles the tranny fluid was not that bad. Its the one thing in this car that seems to have held up well. But, I put a new pan on it – with a drain plug. In their infinite wisdom, GM decided that drain plugs where not needed on a transmission. :angry: I also replaced the filter but I could not get the original filter seal out. Its hard to do from jack stands. Not enough room to work on things. Really needs a hoist to get some leverage to get that thing out.
Thanks for your replies,
coffee
[quote=”WyrTwister” post=186012]If you caused anything , I would say it is more likely a loose caliper . ( Doubt you would have damaged a CV joint . ) Did you remove it to install the redi struts ?
If not , you are in the clear . Unless you are the last one to do a brake job on the car .
God bless
Wyr[/quote]I had done a break job before she took it to this shop. This shop I guess is not very respectable. Found a missing caliper bolt and a loose one on the same caliper. Im kinda amazed I didnt see this when I put the struts in. We dug up the receipt from the repair shop and sure enough, One of the charges was for ‘brake serviceing and cleaning’.
I have worked on my car for years and never would have screwed up like this. So, I am in the clear on this and I can continue to have wonderful meals that she cooks 🙂
Thanks for the reply,
Girl Friend just called. Having someone look at it. It was a loose caliper. So, Im kinda relieved.
:dry:
I would like to also say that this car has NO ABS in it. That is how it was ordered back in 03. What is pretty wierd is that there is a 50amp fuse installed in the fuse box for the ABS. So, I think a closer look is warranted on this situation. Perhaps they left the hardware in and just somehow disconnected the abs? Hard to tell sitting from a keyboard.
I am also thinking that what I will do today is block off one of the circuits for the breaks at the MC and check the firmness of the pedal. Perhaps block off all of them and see if the MC has good pressure to start with.
The one thought I have on the back burner so to speak is that because she wanted no ABS breaks, The module for ABS is still there but disconnected electrically somehow. Its possible that air in the module would cause this. But thats a small thought as I certainly would think they would do that. But you never know.
I will eventually find the problem and will report it back here.
Thanks for your reply.
All I did was take the caliper off as the disk(s)are in good shape. I wanted to replace just the pads and regrease the pins. So, I could not get the calipers off of the front end without compressing the pistons back. So, I used a screw driver to force them back a bit and a C clamp to compress them back for the new pads. I replaced the pads and then after that the pedal was spongy.
I have been thinking about this all day and my thought is – IF i did damage the MC by compressing the caliper pistons then who could that happen? Obviously the seals should take that type of pressure because its not even as much as when you apply the brakes from the pedal.
Eventually, I took it over to my neighbor – who has a full shop I envy alot – and we actually replaced the front calipers. Same thing. So, we bleed the fronts quite a bit. No change. No air.
I really do not understand this.
Finally figured it out. Ok, I did not loosen the bleed valves in the front brakes. I just pushed them in like an idiot. I think I might have caused a problem with the Master Cylinder as it is soft now. So, Any way out of this without buying a new one or should I just suffer the lesson learned and buy one?
I was thinking of blocking off the brake lines and testing it before I rush out to buy another.
I appreciate any advice, I screwed up I guess.
That is what I am going to do – Total flush.
I just have to figure out what size hose to get my hands on to connect to cooler / trans line. Too bad Eric has not done a show on flushing a trans. on a GM car (??).
Plan to do this really soon. My car has 109k on it and I want to get it out of the way. Next will be a coolent flush 🙂
Thanks for responding.
You know this afternoon when I posted the question I really thought to myself “Gee, I think I can come up with a way”.
Now that you posted I actually feel pretty much like an idiot 🙂 . Thanks for setting me straight.
Besides that, If you think about it – On the low side you have pressure of what? approx. 40lbs. So, You go to transfer it to a tank and your gonna end up with 20 lbs in the system still and 20lbs in the tank. Then watcha gonna do? I know there are laws but I just had my DIY hat on at the time I posted that.
thanks, :side:
Eric,
I want to thank you for taking apart the old compressor. I always wondered what was inside. 🙂
BTW — If the air conditioning system still had freon in it, Couldnt you evac it out yourself using a tank and possibly the vaccum motor? I am curious because I would think that its kinda expensive to have a shop do it. It just seems it would be nice to have a DIY way of evacuating the system and capturing the freon gas.
Anywho, Fantastic video as always and thank you for all your advice. It has kept my evil buick running great since I joined your site.
coffee
(First off, I am not a mechanic)
Heat it up and take a chisel and hammer and try and work it out or perhaps drill it out moving to larger and larger drill bit sizes.Just some ideas.
I would like to join the conversation here because I did a brake job on my girlfriends 2003 Chevy Malibu. I ended up with spongy brakes afterwards and have tried bleeding the wheels several times but not seeing any air in the lines. So, Here are my thoughts after quite a bit of research on the subject.
1. If the feel of your breaks where good and solid before the brake job and now they are spongy then you have air in the system. Where this air is – is the question. If you have bleed your lines and not found any bubbles then its time to look at the Master Cylinder. I saw a video that someone put out that basically said that your MC should be level (use a torpedo level) when you bleed the MC or you will most likely have air in the MC no matter how much bleeding you do. For instance, In my situation The MC rests higher towards the front of the car. Therefore, Air will accumulate in the MC beyond the ‘equalization ports’ and thus will not be bled out at all. This will give you a spongy peddle. Need to raise the back of the car and bleed the MC or take it out and do a ‘Bench Bleed’.
2. Test the MC. With the car I am working on – Its got 2 brake lines on the MC. (yours might have more) and they are 8mm in size. Find some screws with the same thread size and screw them into the ports so that no fluid can come out of the ports and see if you still have a spongy peddle. If the peddle is spongy but becomes hard after a short bit of travel then there is air in the MC. If you slowly loose pressure and the peddle travels to the floor then your seals on the inside of the MC are leaking and the MC needs to be replaced.
3. If during testing the MC the peddle seems hard and does not slowly loose pressure then the MC is good and you have air in your break lines. Next step would be to remove one of the ‘test screws’ on MC and hook up the break line to it. Then check your peddle. If it still seems ok then the corrosponding wheel to that break line has no air in it and is not your problem. Do the same thing until you have all the lines connected to the MC again.
4. If you find that one break line connected to the MC causes your peddle to go spongy – You have air in that part of the brake system and its just difficult to get out or air in the caliper or cylinder (depending on if they are disk brakes or drum breaks). Inspect the line for leaks. If its a disk break line then do a re-bleed on it but this time unbolt the caliper from the brake and tip it so that the bleeder screw is at the highest point. Put a piece of 2×4 or something inside the caliper so that you do not push it all the way out. You will probably find that there is trapped air still in the line. Either that or the caliper is bad. If the spongy breaks point to drum breaks on the rear then just re-bleed them.
So, The points that I make are basically this:
1. If after blocking the ports on the MC and finding that the brake is still spongy but does hold pressure then you have air in the MC. If you slowly lose pressure then the MC is most likely bad and should be replaced.
2. When bleeding the MC you must make sure that it is either level or tipped so that the end facing the front of the car is lower than the other end. This will remove trapped air at the front of the MC. Otherwise no amount of bleeding of the breaks will get that air out.
3. If the MC is good then try and nail down which break line is causing the spongy peddle. Connect one and test it. If good then move to the next one.
This is what I have learned thru studying and having my girlfriends car for a short time. I am NOT a certified mechanic and I do not do this for a living. But what I have done is study alot. Unfortunately, My girlfriend has taken her car for about a week or so and I cannot finish trouble shooting it and repairing it.
Although Eric’s video on replacing the MC is good and also on bleeding, I just think there is some more info needed. If I am wrong on anything here feel free to correct me – as I said, I am not a Certified Mechanic – I just try my best to maintain my cars to save money.
: )
coffee
I think I have the problem figured out.
Did some studying of MC’s and noticed that when I bled the MC in the car it was not level. I have seen info that in order to bleed the MC correctly take a torpedo level and put it on top of the MC. Where the air bubble is shows where the trapped air in the MC will be. Air bubble in Torpedo level must be towards the front seat. Then when pushing down slowly on the brake it can push the air out the ‘equalizer hole (s).
That may very well be my problem. I do not find any air in my lines. : )
Girlfriend has the car and is away right now for two weeks so it will be a while before I can look at it again.
Thanks for all the helpful replies.
That is correct. I screwed up.
To better understand MC’s what actually happens inside the MC ? I have been looking at diagrams of your basic MC’s and studying them.
My posts are going out of sequence a bit. Sorry.
Ok, I have checked the drums in back. I fear that I damaged the MC. I did not crack the bleeders when I pushed them in. Therefore, It is looking bad for me.
I do not normally screw up. Its just on occation that I do these things.
I am very embarrassed if this is the fact.
coffee