Both calipers do the same thing, at the same time, under the same conditions: The school of thought is, if one has a problem, the other isn't far behind. Most vehicles use a single piston caliper but these vehicles use dual piston, twice as likely to cause a problem.

The rear calipers use a single piston design. Do yourself a favor and replace the caliper mounting bracket and hardware at the same time, it usually all comes with loaded caliper assemblies. Bolt it on and bleed it, done! Bleed the rears using the same procedure, (gravity bleed). It's a much faster and better way to bleed brakes.

 

So I have everything installed, but I have run into an issue reconnecting the metal brake line to the flex line. I am not sure, but the threads may be stripped, it's the only thing I can think of. I cannot get the flare nut to tighten. Just when I think it's going to "catch", it pops right back out of the end of the flex line. Am I doing something wrong? Is it possible to replace just the flare nut without replacing the entire line? Also, what can I do about the brake fluid that is slowly leaking out? I keep filling the MC to avoid it getting to low, since I've read on here that you need the ABS scanner to bleed it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds like they gave you the wrong hose. It should thread right in and tighten up. Compare the hose fitting on the old one and the new one, make sure they're the same. Visually inspect the threads and make sure they're not messed up. As for the fluid running out: Go to the next flex line upstream and pinch it off.

 

You were right..again. I took off the new hose and the female threaded fitting has a larger inside diameter than the old one. No wonder why it would not tighten. The only other hose that Napa carries is for vehicles with a VIN that has an 11th digit of K. My truck has the 11th digit of 2, which is the one I bought. Maybe the parts were put in the wrong box? Who knows. Going there tomorrow with the old one to see what I can find. As for the leaking fluid, I just put the old hose back on, since there isn't another flex hose to pinch off, all metal from there on. By the way, getting that metal clip back onto the bracket that holds the hose near the metal brake line is a PITA. Hopefully I will not have any more issues or questions after this!! With this brake project anyway.

 

Cool, post back when you're done. Thanks.

 

Everything is done finally. For some reason, the hose that fits my truck isn't the one for 11th VIN digit 2, even though that's what the 11th digit of my VIN is. Anyway, as far as I can tell, no more dragging brakes, everything seems normal. One thing that was annoying me was the whole bleeding procedure. I followed your instructions for the gravity bleed. No air bubbles after a bit. I then did the bleeding with my wife holding down the pedal while I opened and closed the bleeder. This took what seemed like forever. I would get three cycles in a row of opening and closing the bleeder with no bubbles in my plastic container, then on the fourth, more bubbles. This happened like ten times. I finally stopped after the tenth time of three times in a row with no bubbles, but I kept thinking the next time would get me more air. I took the truck for a ride and the pedal seems normal, so as far as I can tell, the air is out. I hope. If I did something wrong, let me know. Well, thanks again Captain Hook for all the help, maybe some other idiot like me will learn from all this. The rear brake job will have to wait until next weekend, wife wants to go buy furniture. Later.

 

Some of those brake bleeder kits come with a clear hose that you put on the bleeder, and then stick the other end of the hose in a bottle of fluid and watch for bubbles. Save yourself the hassle and don't use the hose. What happens is air can leak past the threads of the bleeder and you interpret it as air in the hydraulic system. Bottom line is that it's not a 100% reliable way to bleed brakes.

When your assistant is holding pressure on the pedal: don't stand on the pedal, light constant pressure is all you need, slowly crack the bleeder open until fluid just starts to come out, (don't open it all the way and don't let the pedal go all the way to the floor) then close the bleeder and repeat the process if necessary. Any air that is trapped inside the caliper will be at the top, right at the bleeder. Typically, after the gravity bleed, and the piston is pushed out, it only takes two times, (three at the most) with the assistant holding pressure on the pedal, sometimes only once, with no bubbles! Once you do it a few times, you'll get the hang of it.

 

The rear brake job is complete. The rotors are a b**** to get off, but using advice from threads on here, I got them off. Big problem though. While doing the second side, I stupidly overestimated how much fluid was left in the master while the brake hose was off, and too much fluid leaked out, I think below the MIN on the reservoir. (I need better lighting in my garage.) I refilled it, but now I'm not sure how to proceed. When the pedal was first pressed, I saw some small air bubbles in the MC fluid, but then this went away after a few more presses of the pedal. Also, I think I can see a small splash of fluid in the reservoir when the pedal is pushed down. From what I have read on searches here, this might mean air got into the MC. I think I have found posts here about bleeding the master cylinder while it is still in the truck, with tubes directed back into the reservoir. Could someone elaborate on this, or let me know how screwed I am with this? I know I made a dumb mistake, but I'd like to make it right, if possible. Oh yeah, does this also mean the ABS unit got air in it, meaning I'd have to have a pro look at it anyway? I appreciate all the help, I hope I can help someone else once I accumulate more knowledge.

 

Don't take the lines off of the master cylinder, if you do, you'll surely get air in the ABS unit. Gravity bleed each wheel, one at a time, for 5 minutes or so each. Make sure the master doesn't run dry. After gravity bleed, push and hold brake pedal and bleed each wheel to make sure no air comes out. Cross your fingers and you should be good.

 

That's it? Sounds good. I was under the impression that I made a really bad error. Because of work, I may not finish until next weekend. Any way other than pedal feel to tell if I did things correctly? Thanks Captain Hook.

Edit: One thing that I noticed while pumping the brakes during this, there is a new noise when the brakes are released. It seems to be coming from the vacuum booster hose. Sounds like a vibrating air noise like a low pitched squealing bellows noise. Normal? The vacuum hose vibrates when it makes the noise. Never heard this until now.