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Installing new brakes

2181 Views 18 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Pimp_scort_89_GT
I recently tried to install rear brakes for my 91 gt but i had a problem. After removing the pin and getting my old brake pads out i couldn´t get the new one in. I tried forcing the cylinders in but i could´nt?

I was trying to avoid bleeding the brakes.

Thanks...
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The easiest way to do it is to open the bleeder screw and force the caliper open that way. You will have to bleed afterwards, but it would be dumb not to bleed brakes after a brake job. The fluid is more important than the pads in my opinion. You should flush all the old fluid out, then run some rubbing alcohol through the system to get any water out of the lines, then put brand new fluid back in. You are actually suposed to cahange youf brake fluid at least every two years. Every one with the original fluid in there Escort say I. Remember original oil, brake fluid, and spark plugs don´t add to the resale value of your car.
thanks for you help pimpscort but are you telling me it is impossible to force the calipper open without bleeding the brakes?

I did it in the front and it went well...
you have to reajust the parking brake screw to make room for the piston to go back.
few..... got a little scared there when it read "installing new bra" on the side. sry i cant be of much help
when I read installing new bra I was open that someone was posting pictures of their girlfriend and her new bra. but no such luck. ;-)
:-[ ...i was thinking james put pics of his mom on the site...*shucks*
Yeh i was driving down the road yesterday and i smelled burning brake fluid. i freaked out cuz a month ago i had to replace a caliper. turns out i forgot to put the other copper gasket ontop of the brake line connector and it was weeping through the threads of the screw.... It freakin drained my master cylinder and i forgot the clutch was tied to that so i couldnt shift...and it freakin ate the clear coat on my freakin rims i paid so much for... :( word to the wise... 1 gasket is never enough.
do not put rubing alcohol in your brake system. water will come out when you bleed them. only put brake fluid in there.
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04-04-2003 at 19:08, 92gt5spd wrote:
:-[ ...i was thinking james put pics of his mom on the site...*shucks*
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lol sure you did
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04-04-2003 at 19:34, chadgore wrote:
do not put rubing alcohol in your brake system. water will come out when you bleed them. only put brake fluid in there.
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That´s the point of putting rubbing alcohol in the brake system... Water isn´t good for braking. it´ll cause a lapse in the hydraulic pressure and the pads won´t squeeze onto the rotors.

I trust pimpscort because he´s a mechanic. Something I´m aspiring to be one day. I got a good start... I took my own starter off, got another one and put it on by myself. :-]
weh i was in high school Class of 94) my auto shop teacher told me to grab alchahol to clean the brake system, just get no mim than 90% or better. i did it to me 67 mustang, and damn it took 4 bottles of that stuuf before the brake system started to clen out! but you need to drain all the brake fluid first then use the alh, drain all the alhc, then refill and rebleed! and they worked great when i was done!
i work in auto parts and i sell alot of calipers, master cylinders etc, because of people put rubbing alcahol in their, i wouldnt reccomend it, bleed and flush brakes with some dot3 approved brake fluid, and if you care to throw some hi temp dot4 to keep in their then go for it. the whole flushing your brakes with rubbing alcahol, started back in the day with old cars. newer cars, like the escort, should always have approved dot3 or higher brake fluid run through the system. They both get the air and water out equally well. putting rubbing alcahol in your brake system reminds me of the post with the guy running sand through his intake. its pointless and could cause problems in the long run. it may work flawlessly on a 67 mustang but on a 93 scort i personally wouldnt want to drive it after.

im pretty sure this is what chadgore meant, water will come out regardless of what you put through it. i mean hell if your gonna use rubbing alcahol might as well go the extra mile and put some ATF in their or power steering fluid.
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The point of using alcohol instead of brake fuid to flush the syten is that the brake fluid will absorb the water that you are trying so hard to get out. The alcohol will also absorb the water, and it will evaporate out of the system. The reasonfor opening the bleeder screw is because there is a lot of line between the rear brakes and the Master Cylinder so it will be harder to move the piston. Beside, forcing the piston back will take all the junk in the lines and force it back up into the Master Cylinder. Also I would recomend having the calipers off when you flush the system with the alcohol, or atleast take the pistons out. You might as well put new seals on the pistos while you are at it, or buy some reman caliper to put on after wards. I too worked at a parts store for a while. That is what funded my Mechanic schooling. And i never saw a caliper come in ruined from alcohol, because most people don´t even take the time to do the job right. Most of the time it was because they were seized du to gunk in the system, or torn boots.
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ya i went to mech scool aswell and they would have shit if i put alc. in a brake system.
Brake fluid is what it is, because it absorbs moisture, thats why you are suppost to change it every two years.
alcohol has part water.
opening bleeder screws is to expel air from the system.
as far as "harder to move the piston" thats the job of the combo valve. :)
btw the rearbrake pistons have to be run in with a 5.5 inch hex key to install the new pads... edited for p.s.
cars suck!

[ This message was edited by: thefirstblusuki on 05-04-2003 06:03 ]

[ This message was edited by: thefirstblusuki on 05-04-2003 06:08 ]
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05-04-2003 at 15:44, Pimp_scort_89_GT wrote:
Boy, it´s getting crowded in here.
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Well I guess I´ll leave then because I have absolutely no idea what I´m talking about anyway...I have a lack of experience with this ;-)
thefirstblusuki What school did you go to.

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I trust pimpscort because he´s a mechanic.
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Thanks for the suport James
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