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Great video Eric. The other week I helped a friend by removing a seized caliper and he took it to the rebuild place. As you stated in the vid I too noticed that it was just a new piston/dust boot and inside a new seal…. then it was just painted silver. So much cheaper than buying new… I think he saved about £200.
I also know you like your home made tools so I thought I’d share one that I made at school today…
[URL=http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/webbybear1/media/brakelinetool_zpsbc8b5334.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee402/webbybear1/brakelinetool_zpsbc8b5334.jpg[/IMG][/URL]As you can see it’s a piece of brake line and it’s flared at one end for a male connector and flared at the other end for a female connector. It’s then crushed in the middle so that if you ever remove your brake line you can attach this to stop it bleeding out everywhere. I know you use your vice grips with fuel line…. but just an alternative which may work well if you have to leave the car in that state for a number of hours/days. I plan on making a few with different sized connectors for most eventualities 🙂
Hey Eric – Do you think that was a 16mm bolt or a 5/8? I can remember working at Brake Check in the 1980s and I didn’t even own a set of metric wrenches. It was a long time ago, and my memory is hazy, so I may have really needed one.
If there is a way you identify if a bolt is SAE or metric please share it. I’d love to know. Brian.
…a temporary fix is better than no fix at all (where “no fix at all” means being stranded or not able to race, etc.).
Love this video as it serves a couple purposes.
1) Dissection of a brake caliper-for those of us who like to see the internals of things.
2) Practical (inexpensive) approach for a short-term fix. Sometimes you do what you gotta do.
[quote=”briangillen” post=96312]Hey Eric – Do you think that was a 16mm bolt or a 5/8? I can remember working at Brake Check in the 1980s and I didn’t even own a set of metric wrenches. It was a long time ago, and my memory is hazy, so I may have really needed one.
If there is a way you identify if a bolt is SAE or metric please share it. I’d love to know. Brian.[/quote]
Honestly I just grab what fits. Sometimes if an SAE won’t fit a metric will. Just depends on the level of corrosion I guess. With vehicles of this vintage it’s a mixed bag. It was a ‘transitional’ period in American manufacturing.
[quote=”lar1969″ post=96335]…a temporary fix is better than no fix at all (where “no fix at all” means being stranded or not able to race, etc.).
Love this video as it serves a couple purposes.
1) Dissection of a brake caliper-for those of us who like to see the internals of things.
2) Practical (inexpensive) approach for a short-term fix. Sometimes you do what you gotta do.[/quote]
It’s nice to know someone ‘gets it’. There have been a lot of harsh comments on this video as there were a group of people that just didn’t agree with my methods. That said, the car is braking fine and I haven’t had any issues since the repairs.
Thanks for your comments.
I see what you mean (harsh comments). Not cool.
There are people out there who aren’t happy unless they are complaining about something or bringing someone else down. Do NOT allow yourself to be effected negatively by these comments.
There will always be people who will disagree. But ya know what? Those seemed to be people who couldn’t think outside the box. Many times, there are different situations that require different approaches…so many different ways to solve a problem.
You just stay focused on your goal-helping people with their automotive issues and the rest will take care of itself.
RE rebuild: No problems = success. Another success for ETCG! banana:
PS There did seem to be more positive comments than negative on that one social network.
Keep up the good work Eric. I thought it was a very informative video, learned a few things that I did not know.
I completely agree with you, that if you can it’s best just to put on an all new caliper. I certainly understand and agree with what you did though. No reason to spend all that money on a new caliper and pads when you are going to end up changing everything out in the end anyway. Not to mention if you had just swapped out the old caliper with a new/ rebuilt one from the parts guy, then you couldn’t have really shown how the seals work as well as you did.
Some people just see what they want to see and don’t take the time to listen and view it from the other persons prospective. I think the saying is, haters gonna hate, LOL.
Hi Eric,
It was a generally good video. We used to rebuild calipers on almost every brake job. Back then the parts store stocked new pistons and the kits. Knowing that I could buy a new piston for a few bucks I would have bought a new piston. We used a brake cyl hone to clean up the caliper on the inside and cleaned the groove. The one thing we did differently was in reassembly. I would install the new square seal and install the dust boot without the piston inside. The I would lubricate the bottom of the piston and the square Oring with clean brake fluid. Then set the piston in the caliper on top of the dust boot. While holding the piston in place over the dust boot I would use my blow gun in the line port of the caliper loosely. You want it to leak air. Then using two fingers reaching in between the outer shoe u shape holding the piston in place against the dust boot. Then slightly inflate the dust boot against the bottom of the piston. The piston will float slightly above the dust boot that is now inflated slightly. Using a little pressure move the piston around slightly it will just pop in. No fuss no muss. Remove the blow gun. Start the piston in the square o ring by feel then push it past rotating the piston. Then use a C clamp to push the piston back in. That will apply even pressure and it will just float in. If you get good at it it takes a few minutes per caliper. I’m not sure how we got to the point of buying rebuilt calipers all of the time. I totally feel that a skilled mechanic can do as good of a job as a rebuilder.[quote=”Rob913meg” post=96447]Hi Eric,
It was a generally good video. We used to rebuild calipers on almost every brake job. Back then the parts store stocked new pistons and the kits. Knowing that I could buy a new piston for a few bucks I would have bought a new piston. We used a brake cyl hone to clean up the caliper on the inside and cleaned the groove. The one thing we did differently was in reassembly. I would install the new square seal and install the dust boot without the piston inside. The I would lubricate the bottom of the piston and the square Oring with clean brake fluid. Then set the piston in the caliper on top of the dust boot. While holding the piston in place over the dust boot I would use my blow gun in the line port of the caliper loosely. You want it to leak air. Then using two fingers reaching in between the outer shoe u shape holding the piston in place against the dust boot. Then slightly inflate the dust boot against the bottom of the piston. The piston will float slightly above the dust boot that is now inflated slightly. Using a little pressure move the piston around slightly it will just pop in. No fuss no muss. Remove the blow gun. Start the piston in the square o ring by feel then push it past rotating the piston. Then use a C clamp to push the piston back in. That will apply even pressure and it will just float in. If you get good at it it takes a few minutes per caliper. I’m not sure how we got to the point of buying rebuilt calipers all of the time. I totally feel that a skilled mechanic can do as good of a job as a rebuilder.[/quote]Thanks for your input. Like most things we ‘used’ to do, I think it’s mostly as a result of time and liability. I don’t even think there’s a labor op for rebuilding calipers anymore, and skilled work like this doesn’t seem to apply these days. With cheap rebuilds out there, there really isn’t any need to do this kind of work. Also, as you know it gets a bit more complicated with multi piston calipers which seem to be on a lot of vehicles today. Not to mention hybrids with regenerative braking. My advice is still not to bother with this. The only reason I did was to get the brakes working properly again as cheaply as possible and also make a video on the process that I barley remembered form 20 years ago when I was in school. I did just that and I’m happy with my results.
BTW I don’t have a ‘C’ clamp large enough to compress caliper pistons which is why I used my channel locks.
Thanks again for your input.
Just want to make sure you understand i was not being critical of the video. I’m sure there are enough “haters” out there that have opinions that they expressed. My comments were intended to add to the discussion only. I believe it is still a valid procedure, if you can get the parts and you know how to do it. Maybe save a few bucks along the way. I was excited to see something i had done many times and had an easier way to get the piston in the caliper. I got the temporary nature of your repair and don’t have any issues with it. I’m 57 years old, but i have kept up with the new tecnologies and have learned a lot of what i know from your site. I hope my post are relevant, if they are not i hope that people let me know. Thanks
[quote=”Rob913meg” post=96538]Just want to make sure you understand i was not being critical of the video. I’m sure there are enough “haters” out there that have opinions that they expressed. My comments were intended to add to the discussion only. I believe it is still a valid procedure, if you can get the parts and you know how to do it. Maybe save a few bucks along the way. I was excited to see something i had done many times and had an easier way to get the piston in the caliper. I got the temporary nature of your repair and don’t have any issues with it. I’m 57 years old, but i have kept up with the new tecnologies and have learned a lot of what i know from your site. I hope my post are relevant, if they are not i hope that people let me know. Thanks[/quote]
I didn’t interpret your comments as abrasive. I hope you didn’t see mine that way. I’m open to a difference of opinion and other ways of doing things. I know I’m not the only one that’s ever done this stuff and my ways are not the only ways of getting things done.
Your posts, comments, and input are always welcome here.
Hi Eric,
What are your thoughts about doing the caliper repair kit every so often as a “maintenance item” (say every other brake job) to keep the seals good and hopefully prevent the pitting/rust that you saw with the Fairmont? I also ask as I’ve heard that as the square O-rings age, they become less effective in pulling the caliper back.
[quote=”KingMeander” post=96682]Hi Eric,
What are your thoughts about doing the caliper repair kit every so often as a “maintenance item” (say every other brake job) to keep the seals good and hopefully prevent the pitting/rust that you saw with the Fairmont? I also ask as I’ve heard that as the square O-rings age, they become less effective in pulling the caliper back.[/quote]
The rust is going to occur no matter what. Metal + O2= rust. Brake fluid+O2= moisture= rust. There’s really no way around it.
Sure, change the brake fluid on a regular basis and that can go a long way. Rebuilding the calipers as a ‘maintenance’ item, seems a bit extreme to me though.
Really enjoyed this video.I’ve given the link to a friend who is about to attempt a rebuild on his 2005 mk3 Ford Mondeo. The ford Contour was the us version of the mk 2 mondeo ,to give an idea of the kind of vehicle.
Since working in my current job,at a power station a couple of the mechanics there have turned me on to red rubber grease.In the video you say to only use brake fluid to lubricate the o ring and piston etc. I’ve used red rubber grease for this a few times where brake fluid alone would perhaps have had me use more pressure than I’d have liked to get everything back together.
Red rubber grease is vegetable oil based,safe on rubber seals and is designed for rubber to rubber and rubber to metal contact applications. It also doesn’t react with brake fluid. The mechanics use it mainly when rebuilding the transmissions in CAT D8 and D9 Bulldozers used 24/7 to shove coal. I was also told it was very useful as a way to temporarily hold fiddly seals in place to stop them going cock eyed and rolling up etc.
The way you show is ideal,just wanted to share something that may help. Heard about silicone paste for slide pins from you. I was using rather expensive synthetic brake “grease” before. Silicone seems to stay on there much longer. No more nearly dry slide pins now when I change pads. I drive a diesel car (heavy front end) which chews through front tyres (even wear) and front pads at a fast rate.
Thanks for the videos mate. They’re a real confidence inspirer. Your next car should be a common rail diesel. It would keep you in video ideas for years… Trust me. 🙂
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