Sorry if this is an incredibly stupid question, but I'm really not sure about something.
OK I removed the tire and replaced the rotor and break pads. However when I go to refit the boots, or Mounting bolt & sleeve assembly and bushing as the Chilton repair manual also refers to it, I am having trouble at making it aligned. Specifically, it's that black rubber part that sticks out from the screw assembly.
My instructions pertaining to that part are:
"After bottoming the piston, lift the inner edge of the boot and press out any trapped air, the boot must lay flat."
So I bottomed out the piston, how do I do that next part? I tried taking an electrician's screwdriver to lift that rubber part and try to force it back in, but the boot refuses to lay flat. ??
I am slightly confused..are you talking about the rubber boot around the piston, or the little rubber grommets on the two mounting bolts?? I owned a 1994 Corsica and did extensive work on it, (and have the manual....)and am not following. If it is the piston, do the following. Use TWO electricians screwdrivers. Hold one in place while following the other into a grove next to the piston. As the boot folds in, move the screwdrivers toward each other until the last portion is left. Then use your thmb to block one side, and pop in the remaining rubber with the screwdriver.
It'll drive you nuts chasing it around and around the piston. Just got to stop it, and use a slight amount of pressure (not enoughe to hurt the rubber) to get it in place.
If it is the rubber grommets at the mounting bolts, they should just pop into place.
The only stupid questions are the ones that are not asked. I've done a fair bit of work on my son's '89 Corsica; don't know if the mechanical details relating to the front brake assembly are identical, but I suspect they are close First suggestion- use the Chilton manual for kindling in your fireplace, or a wheelchock, or a prop to hold up something heavy like a garage door that won't stay open- then buy a Haynes manual specific to the model.
Since all you have done is change the pads and rotors and have apparently done nothing to compromise the integrity of the closed hydraulic brake fluid system (like disconnect brake fluid lines, destroy the seals in the calipers ,etc.) I suspect that as per usual the Chilton manual is long on generalizations and really short on specifics (and probably doesn't have a single photo or drawing to illustrate their point).
The little rubber boots, or grommets, that act as insulators and guides for the bolts that attach the brake caliper assembly are just that- an ancillary part of the brake assembly. IIRC, I damaged the the little grommets when replacing the front brakes on my son's car; they became distorted when I tried to press them back into the guide holes in the caliper- no wonder, they are cheap rubber parts and harden after years of service in a fairly severe area of service, exposed to temperature changes and road dirt as they are. A quick trip to the local parts store got me some brand new ones at a cost of less than $1 Canadian.
Quite frankly, I wouldn't use a Chilton manual to wipe my ass with even if there was no toilet paper available within 100 miles.
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