maxinout93

I am having trouble with my driverside rear brake caliper. It is leaking fluid all over the rims and the caliper, seems like all the fluid is leaking out in that area to the point where I have to keep adding brake fluid every 2 days or so. Ive never replaced a brake caliper nor do I know the bleeding procedures, want to get this taken care of before it gets worse. Is getting one from the junkyard a good idea??

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

Sure. As long as it's not leaking like yours it should be fine. Plus, it should be plenty cheap

93MAXIgxe

make sure its not seized either

elusivemax93

bleeding procedures are bleed starting from furthest away from the reservoir which is rear right then rear left. Then front right and finally front left. Keep plenty of brake fluid on hand to keep the reservoir full while bleeding as to keep minimum to no air in the brake system.

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

FSM states that the bleeding procedures goes from rear left -> front right -> rear right -> front left.

maxinout93

Do, all four tires have to be off the car to bleed the brake system? Gonna try and get a caliper today and see if that solves my problem. Now my brakes are getting worse to the point where the pedal is going all the way to the floor!

maxinout93

I was gonna be doing this job by myself, and was wondering if i had to have all four wheels off the car in order to bleed the system??? anyone out there?

road_warrior05

I don't know about Maximas but when we bleed the brakes on the Audi's at work we leave the wheels on the car

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Yes the wheels need to be off becase you have to bleed from the bleeder on the caliper. Kind of hard to do with the wheels in the way.

maxinout93

ok thanks cause i was gonna be doing the bleeding myself, so basically jus pump the brakes until fluid comes out? ARE the brake calipers on 89 maximas different from 92-94 one seemed a bit larger in comparison, and also the parking brake thinggy was also different. I dont know if my master cylinder is dead or either Ive just got a really bad leaking caliper on the rear driver side, I pour in fluid and within an hour its bak on the ground?? I have no pedal pressure watsoever, it just goes to the floor, kinda scary!!

maxinout93

it seems as if the boots are busted on the brake cylinder, and leaking fluid out, could these be replaced or would it be better to just get another used caliper?

elusivemax93

K first and foremost calipers don't have cylinders. Second good luck trying to rebuild rear calipers as the emergency brake is built into the caliper so it's not easy nor worth rebuilding by yourself. Just spend the 79.99+core and get a new one with lifetime warranty from your local auto parts store.

maxinout93

goodness they are pretty high! thats almost the price of one fuel injector that I now need again. lol

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I had the same exact problem you had. I just replaced mine yesterday. Fairly easy and quick. Then again I've played around with these before. While your down there you might as well upgrade your brake lines to stainless steel. (ebay)

maxinout93

I meant to say pistons lol

maxinout93

yah I nearly had an accident the other night because I couldnt stop in time, and my car started to slide right past a stop sign, onto a four lane highway, luckily there was no one coming, because I skidded right into the median.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Ok when it gets that bad you need to change immediately. Thats one reason why we are losing so many 3rd gens to accidents. These 20 yr old small brakes are dry rotting and not as quick as they use to be. For new rear calipers and ss lines ran me $180. $150 for just calipers with cores.

elusivemax93

Yo the rear brakes only produce 20-30% of your braking power. It's the front that does most the braking job. Upgrade to ceramic pads replace old rotors maintain good calipers and frequently change you brake fluid as it over time breaks down and also absorbs water. Regular preventative maintenance goes a long way. Stop being so cheap or kiss your 3rd gens goodbye to premature failure due to cheap owners not spending the money to keep there cars going and not ending up in salvage yards where i later go and strip good left over useful parts and recondition to use like interior and glass and body panels.

maxinout93

Yo the rear brakes only produce 20-30% of your braking power. It's the front that does most the braking job. Upgrade to ceramic pads replace old rotors.

Yes the rear brakes do only provide part of the braking, but in my case, this happend so quickly. I noticed the boots were torn on the caliper piston when I changed brake pads about 5 months ago, soon a few months later there is brake fluid all on the inside of my rear tire rims, then all of a sudden one day I go to drive the car and I loose all pedal pressure,

elusivemax93

yeah true lose of brake fluid will cause you to not me able to stop but also if you have a 5 speed you could use downshifting to help you slow down as well as pulling ebrake to also clamp down the rears.

maxinout93

oh yeah you are right, I had the same problem with my 87 maxima at one time, on the front caliper, I accidentally tore the boot on the piston, and I lost all brake fluid in the resivior. So until I got a caliper I had to use what little brakes I did have left, plus the parking brake. I usually fix things kinda quick on the car, but since its been so cold down here lately it kinda makes you lazy a little.

elusivemax93

I've dropped my manual transmission in December right around freezing temperatures in Tacoma Washington while it was drizzling to replace a blown out clutch. Brake calipers take hardly any time to r&r.

maxinout93

I think its because Ive never really messed with anything that has to do with brakes except brake pads and rotors on my car, Ive always taken it to someone else to bleed the brakes, But someone said that bleed from the furthest away from the master cylinder, so ill give it a try tomarro.

maxinout93

Well I have brakes now guys! Thanks for everyones help! I replaced the rear caliper( which was leaking really bad) and bled the whole system all by myself, even though I thought I couldnt even do the job by myself! Thanks ORG MEMBERS!! The brakes feel 100% responsive now, alot better than when I bought the car lol!

elusivemax93

Lol. Congratulations told you it wasn't that hard.

maxinout93

Yes It was so easy! I feel great and the engine doesnt act as if its going to stumble anymore. The brakes now feel alot better than when I bought this car, I can barley tap it and it responds. Before I had to nearly touch the floor for the car to stop but it would still stop. I told myself I had to start taking car of my car, and do whats necessary to keep it running. I see lots of cars with wayy more miles than what Ive got, and alot of them are newer cars like 2002's with 270K miles. Im like wow, thats 30K more than what Ive got. Hopefully I was thinking of getting some decent tires from wally world, now that i have the brakes fixed!

elusivemax93

Eww he said wally world 0_o go to a tire shop instead better to pay a decent price for better tires then what walmart sells. Even Chinese tires are better. Get all season tires best for year round use.