Funny story, was inpsecting my rear diff prior to servicing when I noticed that my rear brake lines were pretty rusty. "I should probably change those" I thought. Well, after unbolting them from the diff cover, one cracked (I didnt notice) and sprayed brake fluid all over the driveway when I was bleeding my front calipers! Needless to say the front part of the master cylinder fluid resevoir went dry...

So my question, after I replace the rear lines how do I go about bleeding the system since I might have air in my master cylinder etc. Also, are pre bent lines available? or do I have to bend my own - any ideas or tips? FYI, I also have a mity vac and a vacuum tank to pull fluid into (big help when bleeding). Thanks so much for your quick responses - I HAVE to get this thing on the road tonight!

Mike

 

You should just be able to pull the fluid through with your mityvac setup until you don't see any air bubbles. Remember to keep the MC full!!

On the lines, I would just measure and get straight lines that will fit in the required space and bend them up yourself. If you want to make the lines look really nice, then you can pick up a set of tubing pliers to make your bents for fairly cheap. They're always nice to have in the garage when they are needed!

 

OK, just wanted to make sure I couldbleed any air from the MC all the way through the bleeder screws in the wheel cyl/caliper locations. As for the lines, I'm no Picaso when it comes to line fab, so I hope I can bend the lines while still being able to actually thread them to their WCs and rear hose "tee". I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks swartlkk, I really appreciate your replies to ALL of my posts! It makes maintaining a Blazer a whole lot easier!

PS.- I know I should start a new thread, BUT...I was having some trouble getting my caplipers with new pads to line up with my new rotor (left-right wise), so I noticed the "bushings" that the caliper bolts slide through on the caliper "wiggle" a little, so I kinda moved these bushings inward in the caliper so that the caliper assy. would line up on the rotor and actually bolt up. Is this the right way to do this? Thanks again!

Mike

 

There are no rules about hijacking your own thread! LOL

Anyway, the slider pins should freely slide in the caliper brackets. If they don't, it could lead to premature brake wear. These pins should be cleaned and relubricated whenever the brakes are serviced. Use high temperature caliper grease only. Inspect the boots that seal the pins for tears and replace as necessary. If you find that the pins are quite loose in their bores, you may need to replace the pin or the caliper bracket itself. Whenever replacing the caliper bracket, you should install new pins and boots. For the few dollars that they are, it isn't worth skimping now which may result in premature wear/failure later.

 

A little confused - these "pins", are they the bolts that attach the caliper to the caliper bracket or are they the moveable bushings that the bolts slide through?

I noticed rubber "o-ring" looking things inside the caliper that the bushsings(pins?)slide on.Are these the"boots" that you're talking about?

This might all be a moot point, as I have decided to replace the calipers with reman units tonite anyways (though I did not see any grease on the bushing/pins on the new calipers), but I am learing alot of good points that my Haynes manual never mentioned! Thanks!

 

I had to look up your actual calipers to see the difference! LOL... I was thinking back to the design of the brakes on my '00 Bravada and didn't think about the differences between that setup and your truck's.

Anyway, your sliders are inside the caliper and you do not have a caliper bracket like the newer 2 piston front calipers do. The botls that you lossened to remove the caliper are the sliders. The boot is the rubber part that is around these bolts extending through the caliper. This is where the grease 'should' be. If you got new calipers, I would make sure that there is grease on these pins and that they slide well.

 

Thanks man, I'll make sure to follow your advice. Just for clarification for me; there are three parts involved with the caliper bolting to the bracket and sliding. first is the bolt/pin itself, it bolts into a metal sleeve in the caliper and its tips slide into the holes on the outboard side of the cal. assy., next is the metal sleeve that the bolt screws into - this metal sleeve is what slides in and out of the caliper against the internal rubber bushing and lastly the internal rubber bushing itself. Please know I am not trying to explain anything to you- I just want you to know how I understand it so you can tell me what to do in a way that I can better understand it.

Based on what you have told me and what I observed as I described above, I am to grease the bolt/pinAND the outside of the metal sleeve where it slides in and out of the rubber bushing. Makes sense to me now. Thanks so much for your input!

 

You need to make sure that the rubber sleeve in the caliper is clean of any debris (use some brake cleaner). Then slather some caliper grease into there. You should be able to push the brush that comes in the container of caliper grease through the hole (if you buy the bottle of the stuff). This will coat the inside of rubber sleeve with grease. Next, clean the slider with brake cleaner to remove any gummed up grease or rust. If necessary, hit it with some sand paper or a wire brush to remove stubborn spots. It should be very clean before putting it back on. Note that the sleeve will not come off of the bolt. This is by design. They can be separated, but the dimple in the metal sleeve will damage the threads on the bolt. Grease up the outside of the metal sleeve with caliper grease and press it into the rubber sleeve in the caliper. Repeat on the other pin and you're good to go. If you push the metal sleeve / bolt in too far, it will make it difficult to put the caliper back on. The trick is to get the metal sleeve flush with the rubber sleeve and then the bolt can retract up into the metal sleeve clearing the mounts on the steering knuckle. Thread the bolts in and you're done!

 

cool, I'm printing this to read while I do the job tonite. I wish Haynes could have you write for them! Theirrear shoe change writeup was good, but the front disc writeup was otherwise to say the least. Sorry you had to explain several times, thanks for your patience! - Mike