Replacing my Brakes Options

[purple]

This weekend was step one of two of replacing the brakes on my '76. The previous owner upon selling to me told me that he had rebuilt the front calipers and the brake fluid looked very nice and fresh in the master cylinder. Looks like a nice fresh tank of ATE super blue..... I will find out later that what's in that tank doesnt look like what's in the brake lines....

I started this project because when turning the wheels in the rear to set timing, I can hear the left rear brake dragging, and loudly. I feared it was a bearing, but it wasnt. The brake was dragging. I lift the car and put it on 4 jackstands, the evil kind (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I need some proper pin-thru stands. I have all 4 tires under the car in case the car decides it wants to smoosh me.

I'm using 4 new rebuilt calipers from Eric Shea. With these calipers are 4 new rotors, new front bearings, new seals, 4 new softlines, all new pads. A total of $1038 in parts from Eric.

From the pic...the parts are gorgeous!

[davep]

Don't forget that the correct venting clearance is 0.004" between the pad and the rotor. You basically have to jig the feeler guage (move up down a bit) while turning the adjuster and 'feel' the drag on the feeler increase up to the point where the drag is not quite clamped. If you get it too tight, you have to back off and try again. It will take a few tries to get the right 'feel'. Then spin the rotor to see if you get it to rub anywhere in the rotation. At the tightest spot, you may want to reset the clearance one more time. You have to do this for each of the 4 pads. Make sure you lock the outer adjuster, and securely cap the inner adjuster. You may want to remove one of the inner adjusters before capping and put away in a secure location. The inner caps are supposed to have a copper washer under the head. You may have to rap on the rear calipers with a rubber mallet to dislodge bubbles deep in the adjuster mechanisms. If you apply the brakes (foot on pedal) then that will compress the bubbles and make it easier to dislodge bubbles in the various components of the brake system.

Since the front calipers do not have an adjustment mechanism, you have to use hydraulic pressure to force the pistons out to make the pads contact the rotors.

I always remove old fluid from the reservoir with a syringe before starting, clean with Q-tips, and fill with fresh fluid. Keep brake fluid away from paint!!

When bleeding, the person pumping the pedal may have to pump several times to build up pressure, then hold the pedal down while the other person opens the bleed nipple to let the fluid and air out, then close the bleed nipple again before the brake pedal is released. With old master cylinders it is not recommended to allow the pedal to go to the spot. In such cases a wooden block can be used to spot the pedal perhaps half way. The reasoning is that an old cylinder may have faults in the bore (caused by rust or dirt) that could damage the seal on the piston. To reduce the chance of damage to the seal you restrict the stroke. Most times you get lucky and no damage is done, however if you have only s**t luck, then take the extra precautions. Normally I use my wife or daughter to pump, and call out PUMP, HOLD, and RELEASE while I open and close the bleed nipple. Carefully watch how much fluid comes out, and every two ounces go and refill the reservoir; never let the reservoir empty or you will have to start again.