Dragging Front Passenger Side Brake Caliper Diagnosed

[petrified.rabbit]

I know I am late to reply but filling a tube of that length would be more brake fluid than filling the cup and pouring it in..

You start furthest away and work to the closest. I also do the cycle at least twice. You should only press the pedal enough to build pressure back up after opening the bleeder. Hold the pedal down, loosen and tight the bleeder. Was it a clean squirt, then move to the next. If it was weak, bubbly, etc do it again. move to the next wheel.

[northguest47]

Thx for the reply guys, I found the dust boot, ring seal, and piston for 50 canadian bucks (37.50USD) delivered on amazon. Just waiting for the piston to arrive. So I see the brake bleeder creates a vacuum in the system, looks like a worthy tool. Ill post back after the garage session.. temps are down to 8F in the mornings now, yikes. All I want for Xmas is a heated shop

[northguest47]

Boy really got behind on this! Cold weather made me procrastinate, plus the caliper has been working fine with the re-work I did on it. Anyways got some warmer weather here today and next two days, so going to tackle the caliper piston kit, oil change, and hook up the new end link adapters and front sway bar. I got a pneumatic brake bleeder kit for xmas that has the canister for the reservoir as well, so I can change out the fluid (its looks exactly the same as the Harbor Freight one that was mentioned on this forum).
Ill post up some pics tomorrow after the session, or however far I make it.

[northguest47]

Todays summary:
-taking the endlink adapter brackets to a shop for carbide drilling, i tried for fun to drill one and it took over 45 minutes (aka thats some hardened steel and no drill press)
-learned a lot about the process of brake cylinder re-work, from start to end, but after whole process, theres a leak
-after realizing since i'm a beginner that if it worked on the first try that would actually be pretty amazing i'm ok with the day
-perhaps the seal in the caliper got pushed sideways or something, tomorrow gonna take it all apart and do it again
-the brake bleeder kit worked awesome, super fast, love it
-took some pictures so show the scoring/pitting on the caliper piston, and how i figured out to squish the new cylinder back in
-there could be a leak from the brake line connection as it was disconnected but i doubt thats the leak its in the cylinder

[xintersecty]

-the brake bleeder kit worked awesome, super fast, love it

Glad you took my advice on that.

[northguest47]

Yup, it was a good link you had there too. So today I did the re-work on the caliper - my first attempt at compressing the cylinder did not work because I had pushed to dust boot in too far and the dust boot lip interfered with the o-ring and I guess with all the pressure the cylinder was still able to progress in pushing but with the pinched dust boot and all it clearly damaged the o-ring for the main seal. A good learning process, I wanted to do it again, but its just too cold here to now to properly do the work. Hands were getting numb and it would require all the parts be re-cleaned and brushed, and blown dry like the first time. So I reluctantly bought the whole caliper and installed it.
All in all the work is good practice - I don't have a shop, don't even have a hydraulic jack, so its all pretty low key work. Car is low enough that you can't even get a jack under the frame points even at the front so I have to drive it onto some wood first. Point is, after the install and an initial bleed, and oil/filter change the car is running well. There is still some play in the pedal, I'm still figuring out how to bleed effectively without wasting brake fluid - I'm only bleeding a teensy bit at a time. The compressor I borrow has a leaking seal so its barely up to the task lol. Still, I'm happy with the work, maybe in the summer I'll try servicing and pressing the drivers side caliper as it will be next to fail. Over and out on this one!

[Hoosiertrucker]

Personally I would get an auto-bleeder and replace all your fluid

http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f94/u...-review-16303/

Agreed. I used to work at an auto parts store as a shift manager for many years, and bleeding brakes really wants to have the catch bottle above the level of the brake cylinder. The little one man bleeder kits are great. I've used them myself, as I rarely have someone around to help. They come with instructions on how to use them, and are pretty easy.

As far as bleeding the brakes in an order, always start with the brake tkat is the furthest away from the master cylinder, as in the right rear, then the left rear, right front, then finish off with the left front. That will assure you that you've gotten all of the air out of the braking system, and not just moving front to back. That may be why you have a soft and spongy brake pedal. Usually an indicator that there is still air in the system. It's also always recommended that when bleeding brakes to do all four, and not just fronts or backs only.

Hope this helps.