As long as your being fairly gently, it should be fine. That's squeezing the soft line, not the hard line. 
Brake Caliper Rebuild (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Slomo
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Thanks for the post! Critical information for working on these beasts.
Just rebuilt my fronts; Use Scotch-brite to clean the pistons and bore, works a treat. And the tip on pushing the pistons out while still on the car was handy. First one I tried off the car and that was horrible. 2nd I left on and pushed the pistons up to the disc. Easy as.
Thanks for the good write-up.
Thanks for the good write-up.
Slomo
It's Complicated
- Thread starter
- #45
Glad the write up is helping others.
Technicaly even gentle clamping of the soft OEM rubber brake lines with a vice grip damages them which could lead to failure down the road if the clamped area were to fail. I recongnize that it would most likely be just fine but it is worth noting.
That said a good method I have used in the past is cutting some small pieces of aluminum off a 1/8" thick 1" wide barstock and clamp one on each side of the banjo fitting at the end of the soft brake line that attaches to the caliper. It is soft enought to form a nice seal around the banjo fitting and the vice grips dig into the alluminum not the fitting. Aluminum barstock is readily available at most hardware stores too. At least here in the states.
Technicaly even gentle clamping of the soft OEM rubber brake lines with a vice grip damages them which could lead to failure down the road if the clamped area were to fail. I recongnize that it would most likely be just fine but it is worth noting.
That said a good method I have used in the past is cutting some small pieces of aluminum off a 1/8" thick 1" wide barstock and clamp one on each side of the banjo fitting at the end of the soft brake line that attaches to the caliper. It is soft enought to form a nice seal around the banjo fitting and the vice grips dig into the alluminum not the fitting. Aluminum barstock is readily available at most hardware stores too. At least here in the states.
Slomo,
Many thanks for this thread.
Your idea about plugging the brake hose is great. I wish I saw it in time. I will do that in the front.
I just finished rebuilding the rear calipers and the brakes feel so much better. I kind of thinking something was not quite right there in the back but I never knew.
I wanted to replace the soft brake hose (the one you cut) but I couldn't figure out what will happen on the hard line side. Can you provide explanation on what to unscrew in addition to the hard line 10mm?
Since I have never done it, it is not obvious to me what will happened if I unscrew the 10mm hard line nut. How does it disengage from the bracket that holds it?
Many thanks for this thread.
Your idea about plugging the brake hose is great. I wish I saw it in time. I will do that in the front.
I just finished rebuilding the rear calipers and the brakes feel so much better. I kind of thinking something was not quite right there in the back but I never knew.
I wanted to replace the soft brake hose (the one you cut) but I couldn't figure out what will happen on the hard line side. Can you provide explanation on what to unscrew in addition to the hard line 10mm?
Since I have never done it, it is not obvious to me what will happened if I unscrew the 10mm hard line nut. How does it disengage from the bracket that holds it?
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Adam,
excellent tip about the rear brakes and mounting the rubber boot using compressed air. It was the only way I was able to get the boot on the piston. I dialed the air pressure down to 30psi and it was plenty.
excellent tip about the rear brakes and mounting the rubber boot using compressed air. It was the only way I was able to get the boot on the piston. I dialed the air pressure down to 30psi and it was plenty.
torque?
I just finished rebuilding front calipers it wasnt too bad just really gunked up , I got a bit carried away and split the calipers into the two haves by taking the four bots out it was easier to clean this way,, any idea on the torque spec for these 4 bolts ?, ,thanks again,, Al
I just finished rebuilding front calipers it wasnt too bad just really gunked up , I got a bit carried away and split the calipers into the two haves by taking the four bots out it was easier to clean this way,, any idea on the torque spec for these 4 bolts ?, ,thanks again,, Al
The two main bolts that are 123nm or 90 ft-lbf)
trying to locate the other two bolts
trying to locate the other two bolts
The FSM doesn't break them down that far in disassembly or reassembly (at least that I've seen). Be very careful with that gasket, you can easily blow it out the side if it's tweaked slightly or you don't torque down enough. The pressure that it's under when braking is quite heavy.
NaterGator
On Gilligan's Island
A friendly warning from someone who almost screwed this up:
when doing this in conjunction with a front axle rebuild be very careful you don't bag and then toss the banjo bolts for the calipers. I had to dig through greasy ziplock bags in the trash to find the one banjo bolt I accidently tossed out in a pile. IIRC it was going to be a slow and expensive process getting a replacement.
when doing this in conjunction with a front axle rebuild be very careful you don't bag and then toss the banjo bolts for the calipers. I had to dig through greasy ziplock bags in the trash to find the one banjo bolt I accidently tossed out in a pile. IIRC it was going to be a slow and expensive process getting a replacement.
If you do a caliper rebuilt please note the followings:
My rear calipers were missing the fitting kit part number: 04947-22050
Although I have the 4 spring clips, cdan says wear indicator should be there as well so part number: 04946-60010
My spring retainers were completely rusted so part number: 47777-60010 (you need RH and LF)
Total about $45.00
Rear caliper rebuilt kit about $16
For the front: my spring retainer is rusted (0.69) and they come in a bag of 10.
I don't have the shims because I am using the 100 pads. You may want to check the status of your anti rattle springs. If someone else did your brakes (like in my case) they replaced the pads, but who knows what they did with all the hardware around the pads.
My point of adding this note is that the rebuilding the caliper in the NE may involve additional hardware that is not expensive but is probably rusted and if you order all these parts at the same time you will have a more complete rebuild. Of course if you buy a re-manufacture caliper, you will get all these dodas with it.
My rear calipers were missing the fitting kit part number: 04947-22050
Although I have the 4 spring clips, cdan says wear indicator should be there as well so part number: 04946-60010
My spring retainers were completely rusted so part number: 47777-60010 (you need RH and LF)
Total about $45.00
Rear caliper rebuilt kit about $16
For the front: my spring retainer is rusted (0.69) and they come in a bag of 10.
I don't have the shims because I am using the 100 pads. You may want to check the status of your anti rattle springs. If someone else did your brakes (like in my case) they replaced the pads, but who knows what they did with all the hardware around the pads.
My point of adding this note is that the rebuilding the caliper in the NE may involve additional hardware that is not expensive but is probably rusted and if you order all these parts at the same time you will have a more complete rebuild. Of course if you buy a re-manufacture caliper, you will get all these dodas with it.
I am not refering to the caliper bolts that hold it to the knuckle,, the caliper itself can be split into 2 halves, there are 4 bolts that keep these two halves together, I took these loose and split the caliper,, cant find the torque spec for these bolts anywhere..
there is a little rubber gasket that surrounds the brake fluid duct that you have to be careful with... in hindsight I dont think it necesary to split the caliper but I was struggling a bit with the cleaning..
I rebuilt the front calipers this weekend and must admit that this was a very easy job. I was a little nervous since I am about a 1.5
at best. Thanks to Mo and others on this thread that made it possible for me to even attempt this. Here are my notes:
My rig was pulling hard to the left under braking. I figured that the front left caliper was not working correctly so I ordered the re-build kit (which is very inexpensive) from Cdan. When I took off the front tires, I noticed that my pads on the left were almost new and the pads on the right were almost down to the metal!! I assume this to mean that the left wasn't doing anything to help stop the truck and the right was doing extra work. I had been dealing with the pull for a while but it was certainly getting worse and much more scary. I am very glad that I did this now.
The boots were all torn on the left side. I decided to tackle it first. I took out the pads and then pumped the brake to get the pistons to extend out. After a bit of pumping (not hard viscous pumping, more of a full slower pump), I had 3 of the 4 pistons out more than half way. The 4th was out about a third of the way. At that point, I removed the caliper from the truck and decided to split the caliper to give me more room to get the pistons out. I was shocked to only see one small rubber gasket inside and thought there should be two (and there should be as the other caliper had two when I split it). Hopefully one will suffice in the left one since the kit does not include those parts. I used two screwdrivers to pry the piston out evenly on each side. This worked great and all pistons were removed in a timely fashion without any marring. The rest was really easy by following the original directions in this thread. The pistions were very easy to get back in since the calipers were split and I could push straight down on them with my thumbs on each side. Also, I found the metal rings very easy to install...again since the calipers were split, I had a lot more room to work with.
The only problems with splitting the calipers are to make sure that you do not lose/damage the two rubber gaskets inside and I have no idea what to torque the bolts down to when re-installing (FSM does not go into splitting the caliper). I hope that the rubber gasket is not too big of a deal since my left caliper only had one to begin with.
After jacking up the truck and getting the tires off, it took me about an hour to rebuild the 1st caliper and only about 30 mins. to do the second (once I figured out what I was doing). It really is easy once you get the hang of it.
I will tackle the rear calipers sometime soon. I have the kit, just not time.
Btw...I LOVE my speedbleeders! Bleeding the brakes is sooo easy and quick with these things...plus you don't need a helper.
I loved saving money and learning one more thing about my truck!
Thanks SLOMO!
Smitty
at best. Thanks to Mo and others on this thread that made it possible for me to even attempt this. Here are my notes:My rig was pulling hard to the left under braking. I figured that the front left caliper was not working correctly so I ordered the re-build kit (which is very inexpensive) from Cdan. When I took off the front tires, I noticed that my pads on the left were almost new and the pads on the right were almost down to the metal!! I assume this to mean that the left wasn't doing anything to help stop the truck and the right was doing extra work
. I had been dealing with the pull for a while but it was certainly getting worse and much more scary. I am very glad that I did this now.The boots were all torn on the left side. I decided to tackle it first. I took out the pads and then pumped the brake to get the pistons to extend out. After a bit of pumping (not hard viscous pumping, more of a full slower pump), I had 3 of the 4 pistons out more than half way. The 4th was out about a third of the way. At that point, I removed the caliper from the truck and decided to split the caliper to give me more room to get the pistons out. I was shocked to only see one small rubber gasket inside and thought there should be two (and there should be as the other caliper had two when I split it). Hopefully one will suffice in the left one since the kit does not include those parts. I used two screwdrivers to pry the piston out evenly on each side. This worked great and all pistons were removed in a timely fashion without any marring. The rest was really easy by following the original directions in this thread. The pistions were very easy to get back in since the calipers were split and I could push straight down on them with my thumbs on each side. Also, I found the metal rings very easy to install...again since the calipers were split, I had a lot more room to work with.
The only problems with splitting the calipers are to make sure that you do not lose/damage the two rubber gaskets inside and I have no idea what to torque the bolts down to when re-installing (FSM does not go into splitting the caliper). I hope that the rubber gasket is not too big of a deal since my left caliper only had one to begin with.
After jacking up the truck and getting the tires off, it took me about an hour to rebuild the 1st caliper and only about 30 mins. to do the second (once I figured out what I was doing). It really is easy once you get the hang of it.
I will tackle the rear calipers sometime soon. I have the kit, just not time.
Btw...I LOVE my speedbleeders! Bleeding the brakes is sooo easy and quick with these things...plus you don't need a helper.
I loved saving money and learning one more thing about my truck!
Thanks SLOMO!
Smitty
FYI you are not supposed to split open the calipers as per Toyota. All the parts inside are unobtanium, and you can easily mess up the gasket/o-ring that is used to seal them. If you screw up something, lose something, etc, your only choice is to purchase a new or reman caliper.
It's better to rebuild the calipers without opening them up unless you absolutely have to.
As mentioned there's no spec for torque on the bolts, so you're guessing when you're reassembling it. I personally don't like to guess when dealing with brakes.
It's been said, but I will repeat. This is a great write up and is much appreciated.
This mechanic did the rears in about an hour this morning.
Thanks
This
mechanic did the rears in about an hour this morning.Thanks
Slomo
It's Complicated
- Thread starter
- #58
My rig was pulling hard to the left under braking. I figured that the front left caliper was not working correctly . When I took off the front tires, I noticed that my pads on the left were almost new and the pads on the right were almost down to the metal!! I assume this to mean that the left wasn't doing anything to help stop the truck and the right was doing extra work
I removed the caliper from the truck and decided to split the caliper to give me more room to get the pistons out. I was shocked to only see one small rubber gasket inside and thought there should be two (and there should be as the other caliper had two when I split it). Hopefully one will suffice in the left one since the kit does not include those parts.
Smit,
Better late than never but... The above concerns me buddy. I didn't split my calipers so I can't help from first hand info, but you described the pull and then that the caliper on the left wasn't working, as evidenced by the pads lack of wear. You put it back together with only the one rubber gasket that was there when you opened it. I assume from the time since your post that all is ok but that begs the question. Is there supposed to be two gaskets in there like the right side? Since they are identical but mirror images of each other I would assume there should be two. I would hate to see anything happen if it fails on you brother.
Anyone know of the answer to this?
Mo
RE fluid loss... in the past i have cut the finger off a nitrile glove, slipped it over the sealing nut and elect taped the glove tip base tight at the hardline (nut is now completely inside the glove) brake fluid IS nasty as stated and ninja points go to those who can keep teh glove and tape dry from it. works for as long as i could stand not having my rig
Skillet
Skillet
so, no torque specs on the bolts after splitting the caliper?
I split mine, the o-rings were perfect so I reused them but I would love to find a torque spec for those bolts...
anyone?
I split mine, the o-rings were perfect so I reused them but I would love to find a torque spec for those bolts...
anyone?
