I searched to see if anyone might have posted something along these lines here and came up empty. I did a front brake job on the work car yesterday and I do acouple of things maybe that could help others.

1. I use a Quick Clamp to press the piston back into the caliper. It's smooth and easy. A C clamp also works but put on some kind of soft ends on the piston side so you don't scratch it. The Quick Clamp already has them on there.
2. I have a small glass with a hole in the lid and a hose run thru it. When you bleed the brakes out attach the hose to the bleeder and let the old fluid go into the jar. It's easy to see when you get a solid shot of brake fluid and have gotten rid of any air. It also speeds up cleanup.
3. The use of Anti-Seize on any or all of the sliding parts and bolts also helps everything for working better and removal of the bolts at the next brake job. Use in small amounts as it will attract dirt and grim.
I hope this isn't old news as i've been doing my brake work like this for years. But until I had to put it to use it was just back there in the memory files.

 

Pretty good tips, I do most of the same stuff. Just a few comments.

Prior to pushing the wheel cylinder piston in try this. Put a short piece of 2X4 under your brake pedal, big trucks a piece of 4X4. Bleed the brake caliper BEFORE you start allowing any contaminant in the line to be flushed out. Then if you want to push the caliper cylinder in that way contamination in the cylinder internals won't be recycled into the cylinder. Why the 2X4 and 4X4? In normal brake operation the master cylinder is cycled in a certain range, not to the floor. Inside the master cylinder a crust develops at the ends of that normal travel. When you bleed brakes and go to the floor with the master cylinder you force the piston seal over that crust. Anybody do a brake job and a couple of weeks later the master cylinder goes out? That is the usual reason. The piece of wood just limits your helpers ability to overstroke the master cylinder. It takes just a little more time to bleed the air out, but is worth it.

 

The same "stroke change" takes out a lot of wheel cylinders and calipers. In normal operation sediments collect on the bottom of the piston bore. The sediment sets up a type of rust called "oxygen concentration corrosion". This makes a little line of pits in the metal behind the piston. When new brake pads/shoes are installed the piston seals are forced back over this corroded area. The little pits allow brake fluid to leak past the seals later.

In the "old days" when we performed a complete brake job on the old drum brakes we honed the wheel cylinders and put new seals in. If you didn't you got leaks. later on it was not possible to hone the wheel cylinders for two reasons. The manufacturers switched from cast iron to cast steel. The cast iron "holds" it's corrosion products and helps protect itself, cast steel does not. The pits in the cast steel cylinders were so deep that you could not hone the cylinders out. The other reason was economic, you could buy a new cylinder for less than the cost of honing and rebuilding the old ones. I do not know what the calipers are made of today but they still corrode. It may be worth the price to just buy rebuilt or new calipers when you do a "complete" brake job.

I also gave up on finding an "intelligent" helper years ago. I went out and purchased a vacuum system tester and brake bleeder. It works great and no mess either.

 

> I also gave up on finding an "intelligent" helper years ago.

I married mine, always available in the middle of the night and on weekends, plus, she is more fun to talk to

The best brake job I ever did was when I did a complete brake job because I could not bleed it. All the bleeder screws were rusted solid. So, as my wife is pumping the brakes and I hear a hissing/pop sound and start getting soaked in brake fluid. The "old" hardlines ruptured Sunday night at 10:00 pm. Oh well, could have been worse, it could have been at a panic stop in a school zone. Sometimes a shoulder to cry on at 10 pm is worth more than a $1,000 piece of hardware!

 

I have always had someone pump the brakes when I bled them. I bled my 92 f-150 and 89 Bronco II like that. Is their any problem with bleeding a 93 Aerostar or some of the newer Fords like that? Should you use one of those brake bleeder systems they sell at the parts houses??? Any comments??

 

I sometimes use what a "bungy bleeder": a stick through the steering wheel with a bungy cord to push it onto the brake pedal. Pull the stick up, crawl back under the truck, repeat until done.

 

Bungy- bleeder? Thanks for that one Dave. I'll definitely give it a try next time around.:-)

 

Found thru the years that the first set of pads I can just push the piston back and install new pads. Have never had a leaker. The second set I replace the calipers. I always leave one set of brakes assembled in the caliper until I have the other one complete. If I have any assembly questions I can look at the other.

 

 

My one bit of advice: just before pushing in the caliper with your clamp, make VERY sure that:

-The master cylinder isn't already topped off or it may overflow

-The lid is on the master cylinder, or you will have a remarkibly high fountain of brake fluid. Mine was higher than the roof of the cab. Glad my paint looked like crap already

 

>Sometimes a
>shoulder to cry on at 10 pm is worth more than a $1,000
>piece of hardware!

You paid $1,000 for your hardlines??!!

:-staun

 

When you get brake fluid on anything, paint or metal, flush it off thoroughly with water. It will save the paint and prevent corrosion.

Thanks for using FTE!

 

Pull the top off a windex spray bottle....put a peice of rubber hose from the end of the bleeder to the bottom of the white plastic tube on the spray unit and lay the whole thing in a bucket......loosen the bleeder and pump away...I haven't needed help bleeding the brakes in ten years.......This is way to simple......Just remember to throw the sprayer away after LOL

 

You are correct, the pump spray tops have a check valve in them that should work for a while until the brake fluid swells the plastic and seals Use it once and throw it away.

 

You should have posted this about a month ago. I just spent $20 on a garden sprayer and mc cap/gasket to make a pressure bleeder! And to think....all of those old empty bottles of windex that were just thrown into the recycle bin....The shame I feel....