My 98 Chevy K3500 has been pulling to the right when braking for awhile now so I decided I would see about taking out the caliper pins and re-greasing them.
Back in 2009, I put all new calipers, brake pads, front hub assemblies, rubber brake lines, and CV shafts on this truck and this is the first time I've messed with the front end since then. The truck doesn't get much miles a year so I've not had to change out pads yet and they still have a lot left on them.
I start with the passenger side. I go to loosen the bleeder valve so I can get retract the piston and of coarse it won't move so I spray it down with penetrating spray and let it sit. I try to open it and it breaks off. I finally get the caliper off and go get a new one. Lucky me, I save all of my receipts and these calipers have a lifetime warranty so I get a new one for free.
I put it on and bleed the brakes and go take a test drive. It's still pulling to the right when you brake so I go back and try to do the same thing for the driver's side. Long story short, that bleeder valve breaks off. That caliper would not come off for anything so I ended up using a hammer to beat it off. I go get a new one and finally after about five hours of messing with this thing, it's all fixed. I had to have my fiancee's son help me bleed the brakes since my Mityvak brake bleeder would not build up pressure because I couldn't get a good seal at the bleeder valve so we did it the old fashion way. I also put caliper grease all the way around the threads of the bleeder valves in hope that it will maybe prevent them from getting rusted in. I will probably have to check it periodically to see if the grease stays on.
Just getting the wheels off was a chore and I had to use a breaker bar to break the lug nuts loose and then had to kick the crap out of both tires just to get them off the hub.
Days like these are one of the reasons I don't enjoy working on vehicles as much as I used to.
Back in 2009, I put all new calipers, brake pads, front hub assemblies, rubber brake lines, and CV shafts on this truck and this is the first time I've messed with the front end since then. The truck doesn't get much miles a year so I've not had to change out pads yet and they still have a lot left on them.
I start with the passenger side. I go to loosen the bleeder valve so I can get retract the piston and of coarse it won't move so I spray it down with penetrating spray and let it sit. I try to open it and it breaks off. I finally get the caliper off and go get a new one. Lucky me, I save all of my receipts and these calipers have a lifetime warranty so I get a new one for free.
I put it on and bleed the brakes and go take a test drive. It's still pulling to the right when you brake so I go back and try to do the same thing for the driver's side. Long story short, that bleeder valve breaks off. That caliper would not come off for anything so I ended up using a hammer to beat it off. I go get a new one and finally after about five hours of messing with this thing, it's all fixed. I had to have my fiancee's son help me bleed the brakes since my Mityvak brake bleeder would not build up pressure because I couldn't get a good seal at the bleeder valve so we did it the old fashion way. I also put caliper grease all the way around the threads of the bleeder valves in hope that it will maybe prevent them from getting rusted in. I will probably have to check it periodically to see if the grease stays on.
Just getting the wheels off was a chore and I had to use a breaker bar to break the lug nuts loose and then had to kick the crap out of both tires just to get them off the hub.
Days like these are one of the reasons I don't enjoy working on vehicles as much as I used to.