Went to replace the caliper on my truck (in sig) today with a new, semi-loaded one (or whatever they call it when it's got a new bracket but not new pads). Got the whole thing apart, put the pads in the new bracket, hooked up the fluid line, and tried to bolt the bracket onto the truck. With the top bolt in correctly, the bottom one is about an inch too high.

Now, what I'd ideally do is take all the parts I have (old caliper and bracket, new caliper and bracket) down to NAPA, and figure out what will fit. But, I can't figure out how to plug the brake line so it won't drain the whole MC, and I REALLY don't want to have to get into that in a parking lot. The new caliper looks the same as the old one, though it's a little tough to tell in the dark.

So my two questions are:
-how/with what can I plug the line so that it won't drain my whole brake system
-does anyone know if there are two different brackets that would use the same caliper? It would be pretty sweet if I could just leave the caliper on there, and get a new bracket from NAPA, but I don't know if there's any chance the caliper is right, either.

Gotta get this back together tomorrow morning...

Thanks!

 

Try using the old bracket with the new caliper?

Why are you replacing the caliper anyway?

They either gave you the wrong one, or it was boxed wrong.. happens quite frequently on remans...

As far as keeping the brake fluid from draining out.. slide a piece of hose over the line... and put a bolt into the open end of the hose.. it won't build any pressure, just good block the "drippage" of the brake fluid. They make tools for "crushing" the hose to stop the leakage, but I don't recommend it.

 

That's what I ended up doing.

I replaced the caliper in an attempt to cure a slight drag in the brake, as compared to the other side; not enough to smell like brakes, but enough that I notice it pulling when I'm driving (I'm fussy).

No dice, so I guess I'll have to replace the rubber hose next.

NAPA compared the bracket to another one they had in stock, and the one they gave me was the same as the others they had. They were sure that it was the bracket and caliper that their books showed fit '95-'02 Rangers. I had my bracket too, so they couldn't claim I was wrong about it not matching...

The reason I wanted to replace the bracket too was that when I pulled the slide pins out, they were a bit rusty, and I figured the holes might be, too. I cleaned out as much old grease and dirt as I could, and the new ones seem to slide fine, so I guess it's alright, though.

Slide a piece of hose over the line? It's got a big square thing on the end of it with a bolt through it (I think it's called a banjo bolt??), I couldn't see how to get anything over the end of it. I just ended up hanging my old caliper back on there to seal off the end of the line.

Thanks!