Hello all,

I was changing my rear rotors/pads when I discovered that my right rear caliper piston was seized. I went ahead and changed the caliper and now when I apply the brake it is very squishy and reaches the floor. I haven't even taken the car out of the garage for a test drive because I'm worried .

Question is do I have to bleed my brakes? Is there a good write-up on how to do this? I've searched and all I could find was this http://www.carcentral.net/content/gu...rakeSystem.php
Doesn't real seem very descriptive, though. Can anyone who's changed their caliper help? Thank you.

 

you have air in the lines and yes you need to bleed them.
i'll see if anyone posts an already completed how-to before i explain how to do it

 

Wow, thx for the fast response. Any help is much appreciated.

 

well here is the quick version -
you need two people (1 inside the car and one by the brake)
pump brakes
lossen brake line nut
repeat a few times on each brake

 

I've read on some sites that some kind of hose is necessary. Is that just a different method to bleed?

 

You just need two people.

While you are pressing down the brake, another loosens the bolt on the caliper and bleeds the lines. Once the bleeding pressure starts to go down, the person tightens the bolt BEFORE you release the brake pedal.

Then you can redo the procedure.

Monitor your brake fluid, obviously, and do it until you're certain no air pockets are in there. You can bleed as much as you want to cycle in some new fluid.

DF

 

correct.

1. have someone pump the brakes a few times
2. Tell the person to push and hold the brake pedal firmly
3. Open bleed screw 1/4 - 1/2 turn
4. close bleed screw when pedal is about to reach the floor
5. tell person to release the brake pedal
6. repeat until no air bubbles are present (you might want to do all four corners for good measure...just go in order LR, RF, RR, LF)

 

Thanks for the help guys!

 

One thing. Steps 2 to 4, my pedal reaches the floor right now so when I ask the other person to press the brake pedal in initially, should it be all the way to the floor? In other words, should the pedal be floored while I open and close the screw, and at what point should I close the bleed screw then?

 

initially, the pedal will reach the floor. Just do everything in the order above and the fluid will be pushed through...wait until some fluid is in that caliper and it'll be good..make sure that your partner does NOT release the pedal while the bleed screw is open...this draws air in instead of pushing it out...oh and another thing, since we have ABS it's good to disconnect the battery first...it doesn't really matter because several people have done it even with the car running, but the that's what it says in the FSM

 

Have them keep pumping until you see all brake fluid (no bubbles) pumping out, next, have the person in the car hold the pedal as far as it will go.....THEN tighten the nut.

Make sure the master cylinder doesn't run out of fluid during all this pumping.

I do mine while the car is running. Easier for the pumper.

 

I recently swapped the rear caliper and i bled the brakes myself using a $1.65 hose (6 - 8 feet long) from HomeDepot and a disposable soda can. I don't remember the inner diameter of the hose, but it was the thinnest i could find and it was clear plastic. Here is the procedure i followed

1) After replacing the caliper, make sure the oil level is full in the Master cylinder
2) Connect the plastic hose to the bleeding screw and stick the other end of the hose in any container that can stand up. (I used a paper soda cup and stuck it between the rims of the removed wheel)
3) Loosen the bleeder screw, get in the car and pump the brake pedal depressing it fully for atleast five times and make sure you watch the oil level in the MC.
4) Check the tubing and see if any air bubbles are still coming out. (Don't worry you won't get air back in to the caliper because the oil you just pumped out into the tube is acting as a valve)
5) Once you are sure that there is no air coming out and the brake pedal is hard to push down, go back and tighten the bleeder screw.
6) Remove the hose and drain the oil trapped in the tube into the container.
7) Fill up the MC and repeat the process for the other 3 brakes.
While i was doing this, i took the opportunity to flush the brake fluid and filled in the Valvoline Synthetic Brake Fluid.

Hope this helps.

 

Oil... MS.. Microsoft MC > MS
This is as good as using another person to hold it down

 

There are 49 different ways to do it.

 

There are 50 states in the USA.

 

Speedy Bleeders = 1 man job. Find them at you local auto parts store for about $10.00 each. By far the easiest way to bleed brakes.