Yes, fluid will leak out. Besides, you don't want to be trying to rebuild a caliper awkwardly, with it still attached to the vehicle. Getting the rubber piston boot seated is hard enough on a workbench.
Need suggestions for a rear brake job (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ucmikej
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ppc
M Go Blue
When that piston is removed then air is entering the system and bleeding is mandatory. Disconnect the brake line and work on the caliper on the bench.
^^^^
Yes, it will gravity feed from the M/C reservoir.
Trust me, removing the caliper and working on it off the truck is SO much easier. Clean all the parts, inspect carefully, replace anything needed, bleed the system afterward. Don't skip any steps working on your brake system. Do it right.
What everyone else said is right. When you remove the piston you now have an "open" system. Your brakes are hydraulic. It's the pressure of the brake fluid on the back of the piston that makes it extend and exert force on the pad. Once you pop one out, you have literally removed the only thing in the way of the fluid leaking out/air getting in. You'll have to bleed your brakes if you work on the calipers.
Remove the caliper, plug the line with a golf tee to stop the fluid from all draining out. Rebuild on your bench, reinstall and bleed the system. You don't need to flush it if it was done recently, just add more fluid at the reservoir and bleed each corner.
- Thread starter
- #26
Went to my local pep boys to pick up 2 bottles of 32oz DOT 3 and some engine oil. Store is going out of sale and everything is 40% off. Good time to stock on fluids. I recently used Mobil 1 10w-30 but cant find that here so I went with Shell 5w-30.
Bought regular DOT3 vs synthetic.
Bough copper brake hose washers (10.3mm) (I hope these fit)
Bought regular DOT3 vs synthetic.
Bough copper brake hose washers (10.3mm) (I hope these fit)
You should spend some time and read through this thread. All OEM part numbers are called out for you so there's no guesswork involved. Don't screw around with brakes.
forum.ih8mud.com
NAPA Eclipse Calipers
With all the recent brake talk, I thought it would be a good idea to order a set of replacement calipers. The NAPA Eclipse seemed to be the caliper of choice around here and they were significantly less expensive than OEM. Turns out, it's pretty obvious why. One of the pistons looks like Chinese...
forum.ih8mud.com
One additional step that will help minimize the amount of bleeding needed is to fill the caliper on the bench before you hook it up to the brake line. The easiest way to do this is to turn the caliper on its side so the brake line connection is up, fill to the brim of its opening, then quickly get the honse back in place. Assuming the golf tee holds back drainage from the brake lines, the filled caliper will help speed the process along.
Between ordinary brake service and fiddling with the LSPV, a number of people have expressed frustration with getting the rear brakes fully bled, even when following the FSM. I wasn't suggesting skipping over that, merely suggesting that you'll limit the need for bleeding by minimizing the amount of air that is introduced in the process.
- Thread starter
- #31
Need some input.
Before taking your advice on pulling the caliper off to rebuild it, I had begun taking the piston out and now the only thing attaching the caliper is the banjo bolt connecting the brake line.
The problem is the banjo bolt is stuck on there even after applying wd-40. Hard to get enough force while the caliper is dangling and I cant loosen the banjo bolt.
Should I press the caliper back in (see pic) and reattach caliper and then give the banjo bolt another try? Open to suggestions.
Amazon rotors were going to take 2 months so I ordered autozone and just picked up new rotors today and getting back to this project.
Before taking your advice on pulling the caliper off to rebuild it, I had begun taking the piston out and now the only thing attaching the caliper is the banjo bolt connecting the brake line.
The problem is the banjo bolt is stuck on there even after applying wd-40. Hard to get enough force while the caliper is dangling and I cant loosen the banjo bolt.
Should I press the caliper back in (see pic) and reattach caliper and then give the banjo bolt another try? Open to suggestions.
Amazon rotors were going to take 2 months so I ordered autozone and just picked up new rotors today and getting back to this project.
- Thread starter
- #32
Almost scarred to ask....how do these pistons look? Can I re-use after a good cleaning?
The banjo bolt might be a little siezed. Pop the caliper back on and the crack the banjo. Then do what you did you push the piston out. The banjo will come off pretty easily this time.
The part of the piston you are looking at in the photo isn't the part you need to worry about. Once you get the piston removed from the caliper you will be able to see the condition of the surfaces.
The part of the piston you are looking at in the photo isn't the part you need to worry about. Once you get the piston removed from the caliper you will be able to see the condition of the surfaces.
Always loosen the brake lines first while the caliper is still mounted (for the reason you have discovered).
The 'outside' of the piston is what matters. IF it is pitted....it will need to be replaced.
The 'outside' of the piston is what matters. IF it is pitted....it will need to be replaced.
- Thread starter
- #35
Lesson learned.
I couldn't get the piston back in no matter how hard I tried in order to reattach the caliper. So my father pressed on the piston while I simultaneously turned the banjo bolt with a breaker bar and was finally able to get it loose.
He said applying pressure on the piston while turning the bolt would do the trick. He was right.
I couldn't get the piston back in no matter how hard I tried in order to reattach the caliper. So my father pressed on the piston while I simultaneously turned the banjo bolt with a breaker bar and was finally able to get it loose.
He said applying pressure on the piston while turning the bolt would do the trick. He was right.
- Thread starter
- #36
Like this.
- Thread starter
- #37
Piston looks ok. Here is the caliper and piston cleaned up.
Next:
1. Install new brake shoes
2. Rebuild caliper with toyota kit
2. Install new brake pads
3. Fill caliper with brake fluid then install caliper (should I worry that brake fluid might leak onto pads as I'm attaching the caliper?)
4. Install new rotors
5. Repeat on the 2nd rear tire
6. Then bleed only the rear tires? Or all 4?
Next:
1. Install new brake shoes
2. Rebuild caliper with toyota kit
2. Install new brake pads
3. Fill caliper with brake fluid then install caliper (should I worry that brake fluid might leak onto pads as I'm attaching the caliper?)
4. Install new rotors
5. Repeat on the 2nd rear tire
6. Then bleed only the rear tires? Or all 4?
^^^^^
Expand for replies.
You got 3 out of 7 right......so I'm giving you a C-
Looks rust pitted to me. They're cheap enough that it's not worth putting an imperfect one back, IMO.
I agree with this for the most part. However, two things to consider. 1) is it actually rust pitted or just has some really tough residue on it? Mine had little places I thought were rust but after some vigorous scrubbing they came off. 2) if the chrome is chipped, where is it chipped and how badly. Out of all 10 of the pistons on my truck, only one actually was chipped. It was missing a tiny flake of chrome on the bottom of the fluid side of the piston, so near the deepest part that's inserted into the caliper. I elected to put it back in because I was half way through my brake rebuild and I didn't want to wait on new pistons. Under the circumstances I'm not worried about it because the only way the system could possibly stick or leak is if a chipped area interacted with the piston seal as the brakes were being exercised. That's impossible if the chipped area is that far back on the piston wall. You'd pop the piston out of the caliper before it traveled far enough to be a problem. So just think about how the system works and you can reason your way through whether parts need replacement or not. I'm not saying new ones wouldn't be a good idea, just that the answer is not always "replace everything".
