Ok, so I went to change out my front brakes today, boy did they need them! I took the front passanger wheel off, got the caliper off etc, got to the part where you use the clamp to push the cylinders back in, got the outside two pushed in easily, however the inside to act frozen I couldn't get them to budge for anything, wasted a whole hour on it. Any help, suggestions would be great!
"Pop-N-Fresh" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
Replace the Calipers. They no good to you the way they are. Rob
Yup - get replacement rebuilt ones. Also drain out your old breake fluid and use new if it hasnt' been changed in last 2 years.
You can only use penetrating oils, greases, and stuff like that on the brake calipers if you plan to tear down, clean, and rebuild the calipers properly with all new rubber parts after you get them apart.
Rubber parts in the brake system are made of special compounds to live with brake fluid, and using any lubricants or chemicals not specifically designed to be used on the brakes can destroy the rubber
- either immediately or over time. And cause a delayed brake failure.
You don't want that. Trust me on that one. ;-)
Agreed on rebuilt calipers. If you aren't prepared to do the whole thing yourself, that's the (almost) foolproof route to success. I've rebuilt brake cylinders and calipers before - doing it right is a royal pain in the ass, doing it wrong is dangerous.
You don't "drain" the brake fluid per se - you just bleed them well, and run at least a quart of fresh fluid through the whole system which very effectively changes all the fluid. And you want to do it every few years because DOT-3 Brake Fluid absorbs moisture from the air.
Collect the used brake fluid in a clean 5-gallon plastic pail with a lid for recycling. Label the contents. And no mixing waste fluids.
-->--
I have a 1988 SR5 4x4 PU v6 / I had the same problem. I did a complete overhaul on all four at the same time, calipers and all. It wasn't cheap but I have relief knowing everything is knew and works well. If your calipers are that hard to compress then I recommend the safe bet! Get new ones, at least with the ones that are giving you trouble. As the old saying goes... Better safe / than sorry.
Chris
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.