I replaced the ball joints, got new tires, but have a vibration/rumble that gets worse around 40 to 50 mph. My front LH caliper is sticking. I can barely rotate the tire by hand. Front RH turns freely. On the sticking caliper one of the small spreader springs is broken. Surely that can't be the cause of the caliper sticking? Would a caliper sticking cause the rumble? Anything else to check?

 

A sticking caliper could be the cause. You need to troubleshoot the caliper to see if the pistons are sticking or if its the slide pins that are gummed up.

 

On my 02 EX the left side caliper had a piston that would not retract, the pins were clean and lubed.
the pad was worn enough on the frozen end to chew up the rotor. The right side was like new.
The brake fluid was dark and greenish. (used speed bleeders)
Did not notice the drag until metal to metal. (7..3)
Replaced both sides with EBC rotors and yellow pads which do dust but work great Also new rebuilt calipers.
Those spring clips are a major pain to put back in.

 

 

A revision .......

 

 

Bad front LH (driver) caliper was the issue. Replaced with Duralast from Autozone (has "Ford" imprinted on it) for $70. Vibration/rumble gone. I got the RH (passenger) side also. I may just do it at the same time. Pads were wearing consistent, still plenty left. If you are not careful, the little v-spreader clip gets jambed in the slots of the caliper. The lower one is kind of of hard to spot. Just lift up on the bottom of caliper and push it inside. I pinched off the fluid line with a vise grip wrapped in rubber to protect the line. I used this method, , to bleed. I did fill the caliper first before bolting on the line. I need to bleed the whole system, old fluid is nasty greenish color.

Now then, another issue surfaces. Part 1, when I engage the 4wd hubs via the console switch (or manually), they will not disengage (either with console switch or manually (turning counter clockwise). If I go out and remove the vacuum line then they release. Part 2, when engaged the hubs make a high pitched sound. It does not sound right to me. I had this removed when I did the ball joints. LH and RH both have the same issue.

 

 

What are some ways to cap the line after removing from old caliper while installing new one? Mounting the new caliper before attaching the brake line seems best. I didn't like the idea of pinching, but it did work.

 

Cut a board so when installed between the seat bottom and the brake pedal the pedal is applied approximately 1 - 1.5". With electric seats, we would install and move the seat forward to apply. This closes off the compensating ports in the master cylinder so the fluid doesn't drain out as long as you do one wheel at a time. It's also best to pull the brake light fuse so the battery (batteries) don't drain.

 

Now that I've done one, I can probably organize it in such a way that there's not very much time between taking off the old line and putting it on to the new caliper. So the brake pedal depressed 1 to 1 1/2 in will somehow stop the fluid flow in the brake line? It just seems to me with pressure on the line it would actually drive more fluid through the brake line.

So what I did in detail for the first one is I pinched off the line, and then completely removed the line and set it aside. Then I pulled off the old brake caliper. Then I completely installed the new brake caliper, and carefully filled it full of fluid as much as I could and then I reinstalled the line.

 

Does anyone happen to know the torque setting for the brake line to caliper bolt? That's the one that goes through the copper washers.

 

26 ft lbs front
37 rear

 

It worked for about 10,000 caliper changes on test vehicles over 30 years, shouldn't be a problem.

It's not a continuous flow situation (like leaving the brake pedal at rest). You get an initial spurt of pressurized fluid then it stops.

Moving the master cylinder pistons forward closes off the compensating ports (or a some like to call them lately, vent ports) just like putting your finger over the end of a straw in a glass of liquid then raising the straw out of the liquid. Fluid won't come out until you remove your finger. However, if you pull both calipers at once fluid will drain from the lines up to the point of the split from the single line out of the master. Unfortunately this is often the ABS controller and if so you get air in one of the worst places to get it out.

 

I make those typo's too. You're thinking one thing, your fingers are taking a different direction.