Doing the brakes. What are your tips ?

[GoldDeluxe5E3]

I was 10 when I did my first axle of brakes on a '58 Chevrolet Delray. (Wow, that sounds downright historical.). My dad called me to the driveway to help him change the rear brake shoes on the rear brake drums while my buddies continued a game of "Indian Ball" on the street in front of my house.

I've done brakes ever since, and wish you all had my dad to teach you how to do it. Second best is Youtube.

 

[trev333]

One time I had just changed the brake shoes on both drums of my old utitity, got the wheels on and back on the ground. I'm sitting in the cab pumping up the brake pedal to centre up the shoes and test the pedal feel...

stood on the pedal hard a few times, seemed pretty solid, then one more hard push and the pedal went to the floor....wtf?...

crawled back under the check the wheel cylinders,... both dry of fluid... then noticed a drip and a pool of fluid on the floor from under the front of the wheel arch.. sure enough the fuel line had been rubbing on the chassis, had a rust spot that blew a pin hole .. dammitt...

better i found that out in the shed than on the road, i consoled myself...

got on my trail bike to catch the local mechanic before he went home... I took the bad section down between the nearest joins... he copied it on a fresh bit of pipe and remembered to put both sliding nuts on before he flared the ends...

fitted it when i got home and re bled that back end,,, and it was good to go... a bit of a marathon for a job I didn't think would take long on a saturday morning...

 

[Metacaster]

Best bit of design I’ve seen was on my first car – a Morris Minor. It had a hole in the drum and the wheel that lined up perfectly with the little adjusters on the drums. Two on each wheel. (Provided you put the wheel on right.)

Adjustment procedure was to turn clockwise with a screwdriver till the wheel wouldn’t spin freely, then back off one click. Didn’t even need to take the wheel off. Brutally simple solution for a car so basic it had drums all round and no self-adjusting witchery.

And with those drums freshly adjusted, the car having no servo, it still wouldn’t stop! But at least you’d carry on dead ahead into the crash that killed you, instead of having to fight the steering wheel on the way.

 

[VintageSG]

Pressure bleed or vacuum bleed rather than pedal stomping and nipple tweaking to purge the system and replace the fluid. Some ABS systems don't purge with pressure bleeders, some don't purge with vacuum. Allegedly. You'll still clear the lines outwith the ABS motor anyway and fresh fluid doesn't cost much. Use the correct DOT rated fluid. Do -not- mix DOT 4 with DOT 5 unless you want a very bad week.

Use the correct grease(s)

Eject the pistons far enough to clean any crud from them then a smear of silicone before retracting them. This keeps the pistons clean and gives you the opportunity to inspect them for pitting and binding. If you eject them fully, you may as well remove and replace the seal after inspecting and cleaning the seal groove. Make sure to replace the seal with the bevel as the manufacturer instructs to ensure piston retraction.

Replace the outer seals anyway. They get a hard life.

Caliper slide pins and bores for single sided calipers need cleaning. Some recommend copper grease. Nope. The bimetallic corrosion isn't hindered by metal greases. A non metal grease such as silicone, PTFE or brake grease is a much better bet. Less likely to cause the bellows to swell too.

 

[stormsedge]

Get a cheap plastic turkey baster. As you compress the caliper pistons, the brake fluid will rise in the master cylinder. Use the baster to siphon it off to a container…eases the mess.

 

[VintageSG]

Best bit of design I’ve seen was on my first car – a Morris Minor. It had a hole in the drum and the wheel that lined up perfectly with the little adjusters on the drums. Two on each wheel. (Provided you put the wheel on right.)

Adjustment procedure was to turn clockwise with a screwdriver till the wheel wouldn’t spin freely, then back off one click. Didn’t even need to take the wheel off. Brutally simple solution for a car so basic it had drums all round and no self-adjusting witchery.

And with those drums freshly adjusted, the car having no servo, it still wouldn’t stop! But at least you’d carry on dead ahead into the crash that killed you, instead of having to fight the steering wheel on the way.

The drums on my Mini had two adjusters up front, one at the rear per wheel.
Turn them until the wheel 'bound', then back off a smidge.

No servo, but the Mini weighed three fifths of nowt. Driven with enthusiasm, it would have working brakes until the heat build up put an end to that.
Good job Issigonis designed it to corner flat out as brake fade was something of a code brown experience. Minifin alloy front drums helped.

 

[Telenator]

Start leasing. The cost of auto repairs is rapidly making the cost of leasing more palatable.
You get a new car every 3 years and nothing breaks. If it does, it's covered under warranty.

 

[Metacaster]

The drums on my Mini had two adjusters up front, one at the rear per wheel.
Turn them until the wheel 'bound', then back off a smidge.

No servo, but the Mini weighed three fifths of nowt. Driven with enthusiasm, it would have working brakes until the heat build up put an end to that.
Good job Issigonis designed it to corner flat out as brake fade was something of a code brown experience. Minifin alloy front drums helped.

I believe for a Morris Minor, the mod everyone wanted was to get the ‘massive’ drums off some big Wolesley, which apparently fit the same hubs exactly. Probably it’s easier to get new OEM repro Morris Minor parts than any parts for the mods we used to do.

 

[dougstrum]

Disc brakes sure made life easier!
The first brakes I replaced were drum brakes on a '59 Ford

 

[watercaster]

I just did a front brake job for a friend on a 2005 Ford Escape. Friend said the right front gets really hot after driving 15 mins. Ok I'll order calipers along with rotors and pads. Finished the job and took it out for a spin. Noticed that car would not roll forward after taking your foot off the brake. Got out and felt the front right wheel...pretty warm compared to the left. I discovered the flex hose connecting the caliper was causing the pressure lock. The inside of the hose actually rotted and acted like a check valve keeping pressure on the caliper. Changed them both out and all is well.

 

[Dan German]

Take it to a goof mechanic that you trust!

If I want a goof to work on my car, I do it myself.

 

[tele12]

Get it right.

Not really that important.

[On brakes being practically non-existent on this cars] I make cars to go. Not to stop.
Ettore Bugatti

 

[Caffiend]

I still enjoy doing brakes (disc, not drum). Check the master cylinder before you start. If it’s full it will overflow when you push the piston back into the caliper. With the wheel off, slip a flathead screwdriver between the pad and rotor and slowly push the piston into the caliper enough to remove it. It will sometimes get hung up on the lip of the rotor caused by wear. Once the caliper is removed, push the piston into the caliper with a large c-clamp BEFORE removing the worn brake pad. I always replace the rotors along with the new pads. Apply grease sparingly at the contact points. Make sure you use new anti-squeal shims supplied with the pads. I would also recommend buying factory OEM brake pads. The cheap Kragen Auto pads will cause nothing but misery. Inspect all the piston boots for cracks or leaks. Once everything is installed and you’ve depressed the brake pedal a few times til it feels firm, check the master cylinder fluid level. Follow a good break-in routine.

Doing this was how I discovered some calipers have threaded pistons that need a wind back tool (most European of the last twenty odd years)

Do check if your pistons wind or push before accidentally damaging them (admit I had decided they were stuck and gave them a special heave)

 

[Caffiend]

Not really that important.

[On brakes being practically non-existent on this cars] I make cars to go. Not to stop.
Ettore Bugatti

Also 'whatsa behind me is not important '
(forget if this is gumball or cannonball)

 

[schmee]

My solution is to pay someone else to do it.

Hone the drum cylinder and get self adjusters (a nice upgrade).

Yeah, I think the last brake job I did was restoring my 65 Mustang in 2004. And that was unusual for me to do it myself.
These days I just pay someone. There are more little things to pay attention to now days. The prices are a bit of a rip off though. For a shop, worst case it's a 2 hour job for $800-$1000 now. They just replace calipers or drums anyway, no more grinding/machine work. But they are better equipped and my back already hurts!

 

[peteb]

Why do it ? It is very satisfying to know when and what to do and to be able to it yourself.

I am self taught.

I have replaced rotors that were scarred and that were untrue. If there is no problem, I leave the rotors.

I have replaced one caliper that was not working.

Lift all four tires. The only way I would bleed the brakes is all four, one at a time.

Tie off the caliper with tie wire so that it is not hanging by the brake line.

Force in the caliper with a C clamp and a block of wood. I open up the brake line for this step and allow the brake fluid to leak out. I try to close up the brake line as soon as possible to avoid losing brake fluid and not allowing an unnecessary amount of air into the line.


For breaking open the brake line in the above step, and for bleeding the brakes at the end, the bleeder valve could be opened and closed.

I have found it a waste of time to mess around with the bleeder valve. They are small and the bolt head always strips out. To push in the caliper and to bleed the brakes, I open the brake line by loosening the bolt that connects the brake line to the caliper. It is a large bolt and works easily and quickly.

Time is important. If you make mistakes and are running back and forth to the auto parts store, your vehicle will stay on the blocks longer than needed.

I never use grease or shims and have not needed them.

My frustration with brake shops stems from my experiences with them when I had a car with brakes that did squeal.

Have plenty of brake fluid on hand when bleeding the brakes. Start the engine. Have your wife or your daughter pump the brakes. Open up the brake line while the brakes are being pumped until all the air escapes. Tighten.

Check your brakes for softness as well as you can while it is lifted up, because if you find the softness after it is back on the ground, it has to be lifted again which is a major pita.


Replace the pads before the rotors get any abuse.

How to know when the pads need replacing?

It is supposed to be when the pad thickness is the same as the pad holder. Some wheels like mine allow visual and feel inspections.

On the front pads I took off yesterday, the driver side pads are a little thicker than the pad holder, on the passenger side the pads are a little less than the holder. I don’t like to see that.

I had some rear brakes where the pad wore down to the rivets or whatever that held the brake pad on the holder and those had gouged up the rotor.

Oh.



If you do have a little vibration in the brakes, in certain situations, and you feel it happening, adjust your brake pressure. Try more or less braking until the vibration stops.

 

[peteb]

The prices are a bit of a rip off though. For a shop, worst case it's a 2 hour job for $800-$1000 now.

Mine are still $50 per axle.

I looked it up yesterday. They said it could be as low as $150 per axle. I kind of doubt that.

no more grinding/machine work.

That is what I found. I buy new rotors as needed. I have done all of the brake jobs on the family cars since at least 2000. I don’t think I ever had my rotor machined. I remember considering it and pricing it.

There was a change some where back there. I believe the cost of labor made replacing a better deal than, what did they call it ?

I liked the idea of a new full thickness rotor as opposed to a machined and thinner rotor.

 

[canteytoque]

I recall realizing that a pair of needle-nose Vise-Grips (locking pliers) would have been a big help when repairing the drum brakes on an old car of mine.

 

[schmee]

Mine are still $50 per axle.

I looked it up yesterday. They said it could be as low as $150 per axle. I kind of doubt that.


That is what I found. I buy new rotors as needed. I have done all of the brake jobs on the family cars since at least 2000. I don’t think I ever had my rotor machined. I remember considering it and pricing it.

There was a change some where back there. I believe the cost of labor made replacing a better deal than, what did they call it ?

I liked the idea of a new full thickness rotor as opposed to a machined and thinner rotor.

$50 an axle? Here in the PNW, Really?

 

[Harry Styron]

I have a soft plastic mat with a lip around the edge, which is made to put in the bottom of a dog kennel, which I put under the wheel after removing the tire. It catches the things that I drop and prevents sockets and nuts from rolling away.

Remove the rotor and use a wire brush to clean the hub. Apply copper anti-seize paste to the hub so that the rotor doesn’t “weld” itself to the hub.

If a rotor is stuck to the hub, check the many YouTube videos for removing a stuck rotor. You can start by spraying penetrating oil around the studs. Some rotors have a threaded hole that allows you to insert a bolt that will press against the hub to pull the rotor outward.


If your rear parking brakes have shoes that press against the drum-shaped rotors (Toyota and Lexus and probably others) rotate the adjustment wheel to allow the shoes to back off from the inside of the drum, so you can pull off the rotor easily. If you’re not replacing the rotor, you don’t need to do this.