I gotta brag....I replaced a caliper all by myself!*

[supplyguy]

If you've seen any of my postings, you know I am new at this, not mechanically inclined, and dependent on this forum and the wisdom of you all to give me the confidence to even try this stuff. Last week, at John Erskine's garage, he removed my left rear caliper, showed me how stuck it was, and suggested I come back another day and we would replace it with one his bargain rebuilt ones. Mind you, I had never actually SEEN a disc brake caliper before (I last worked on drum brakes in 1978) and for I knew he could have been showing me a Jarvak-7 artificial heart. Sunday, the caliper locked up and I parked the car with white smoke puffing from under the caliper. My goal was to make Carlisle Saturday, and John sent me a pair of calipers and emailed step by step instructions on Monday. Was kind of funny I struggled with step one (remove the small plate in front of the caliper)....and on no less than three occasions I was convinced I was too stuck to continue, and yet tonight, in the dark, it all went back together and I have brakes, and for the first time, an emergency brake! Lost 20 minutes because I did not understand the groove in the piston had to be horizontal and not vertical and a mallet wasn't gonna seat the caliper. Lost another half hour with those damned wedges....until I remembered that last night during disassembly I photo'd the brakes before I started - and seeing the "before" photo got me out of a jam. Gave up last night when it seemed the connector on the rubber hose was rusted solid on the old caliper and would not budge despite much lubricant. Thought I would have to scramble for a new hose. Today I retrieved the hose to show a buddy at work - the nut came off in my hand (lube and sitting in a very hot car loosened it up like magic!). Thought I was stuck again - no copper washer on the old caliper. Local auto parts had none. Found a multipack and bought em all - one fit fine. Learned to bleed brakes solo. Total time over two evenings was three hours for one caliper. Wife was not thrilled we now have oil, gas, and brake fluid sliming the driveway, and even I was a little uncomfortable leaving the car on jack stands with the tire off over night (it's against homeowner association rules!) but hell - I replaced a caliper! Thanks again to John, and those of you who post here an unknowingly helped me jump in. A few more victories and I'll be doing the Painless wire harness over lunch break.

[So Cal Mark]

congratulations! Taking "before" photos was a wise choice

[GeorgeT]

I replaced all four calipers and discs on a '75 I once had. The first wheel took about two hours, the other three about 15 min. each. The hardest part of the job was re-attaching the hand brake cable to the rear calipers.

I also replaced the rear drum brakes on a Ford Ranger ('89) truck I once had - I will never do that again, disc brakes are so much easier to work on.

[supplyguy]

PS - I promise not to write an essay after every repair!

[courtenay]

Do write the essays!! They provide inspiration for some of us other "mechnoidiots" to go ahead and try some of this stuff!!