denverunner
New member
Any ideas? Suggestions? Just rebuilding some 13wl for tundra brake mod and sadly, I don't have access to air.
removing caliper pistons w/o air?
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denverunner
New member
so. removing them without air is seemingly impossible. Read a blip about pumping grease through the bleeder valve, but didn't want to deal with the mess afterwards.
My instructor was kind enough to demonstrate and allow me to use compressed air to remove the pistons. Sweet!
My instructor was kind enough to demonstrate and allow me to use compressed air to remove the pistons. Sweet!
notrayray
New member
You could have un bolted your caliper and used your 4runner's hydraulic pressure to push them out.....but then you would have to bleed your brakes.
RS Dude
Member
You don't need air! Here are the steps:
1. Jack up front suspension and remove both wheels.
2. Remove front brake pads from both left and right brake pads.
3. Place pieces of cardboard on the discs to protect the rotors from damage.
4. Simply press the brake pedal and the pistons will be pushed out towards the rotor. They will now protrude far enough out of the caliper body for you to pull them out by hand.
:fro:
1. Jack up front suspension and remove both wheels.
2. Remove front brake pads from both left and right brake pads.
3. Place pieces of cardboard on the discs to protect the rotors from damage.
4. Simply press the brake pedal and the pistons will be pushed out towards the rotor. They will now protrude far enough out of the caliper body for you to pull them out by hand.
:fro:
Nelsonmd
New member
Blow
Nelsonmd
New member
What school are you at? I went to CU (Mech E) and they let us use the shop for whatever we wanted. Learnings is learnings.
denverunner
New member
I'm just taking some auto classes @ FRCC. Working FT and doin some school on the side to get a FT job I'm passionate about. :thumb3:
I probably should have mentioned that I got the calipers from a junker off ebay, I live in a condo that doesn't permit the underground garage to be used for repairs and such. SO, I resort to using my wife's sisters' garage on the weekends. Since I plan to install them this weekend (limited time), I wanted to have them rebuilt prior to this weekend
At the time I posted, I wasn't able to hook them up and use the brake fluid to push the pistons out.
Thank you all for the suggestions....
zCruiser: Sorry, didn't take any photos, I can, however, walk you through the process I used for the 231mm 13WL. If you are rebuilding the 199mm, the rebuild kit, retaining springs, etc will vary slightly.
1. Get the caliper overhaul kit (includes goodies for one SET of calipers), shim kit(again, includes everything for one SET of calipers), caliper pins, cotters, retaining springs and pads from the dealer (cheapest I found was @ 1sttoyotaparts.com). For my rebuild I reused the OG caliper pins, cotters and retaining springs.
2. Pull em apart! Remove cotters, caliper pins, retaining springs, pads, shims. Save the cotters, caliper pins and retaining springs. Replace them if they are excessively worn or damaged.
3. Remove piston dust boots(4) with pliers. There "should" be a "set ring" on each piston that secures the dust boot to the piston. I say "should" because mine did not have them when I disassembled the calipers. These are reusable, so keep them as the caliper overhaul kit does not include these. Take care not to damage the machined surfaces of the piston during boot removal.
4. Now it gets fun. There are many different approaches to this step, but basically you want to use the air to "blow" the pistons out. Get a small block of wood (2x4 or 1x4?), place it in the negative space between all pistons (IE: where the brake pads would be). hook your air nozzle up to the brake fluid inlet (use about 30-40 psi, carefully) and let er rip. The wood is used as a cushion for the pistons so that they don't collide with one another while shooting out. They come out with a great deal of force, so watch those fingers!
The pistons should pop out and smack the block of wood. If they don't come out far enough, try again. If one comes out and the others are still recessed, replace the piston and reposition the block. Try again. Get them all out. If they still aren't coming all the way, It's okay (but not reccommended) to use some pliers on the OUTER most lip of the pistons to twist and work them the rest of the way out. Make sure to make a note of which pistons were installed where. It's best (as I've been instructed) to maintain that order.
5. Your pistons are out. Now, remove the piston seals from the inside of each piston housing(1 per housing, 4 per caliper) Take care not to scratch or damage cylinder walls.
6. Clean the calipers, pistons, etc with brake cleaner. remove any rust. get em nice and clean.
7. Now, pop open the caliper rebuild kit. There should be a packet of PINK lithium soap base glycol grease. apply the grease to: Cylinder walls, pistons, piston seals and piston boots, ONLY. I would suggest that most of it be used to grease the cylinder walls and pistons. Definitely hit the seals too, but the boots aren't as much of a priority(imo), since the amount of grease provided is limited.
8. Install supplied (caliper rebuild kit) piston seals
9. Reinstall pistons. I pushed mine ALMOST all the way in. Leave them 1/4" out - makes it easier(IMO) to install the piston dust boots.
10. Install piston dust boots. I stretched the inner part(attaching to the piston) first, then the outer part that goes around the lip on the outer edge of the piston wall.
11. Reinstall set rings around the piston/boot
11. Prepare new pads, shims. Use the black colored "anti-squeal" grease (provided in the shim kit) to cover both sides of the slotted shim. Mate the solid shim to the slotted shim and then mate that assembly to the back of the brake pad. Take care not to get any grease on the brake pad, itself.
12. reinstall pad assembly(ies). First, clean the pins, cotters and retaining springs. Then, use a hightemp grease and lightly coat the pins. reinstall the pins, cotters and retaining springs.
13. enjoy your freshly rebuilt calipers.
I used the FSM (exploded view) -caliper diagram to make sure I was reinstalling all of the parts correctly. It was extremely useful as I am the type of guy that needs to see it, rather than read it. Sorry I don't have photos, but this mini-writeup (coupled with the FSM page) should be more than enough to get you through it easily. Brakes aren't nearly as complicated as I thought.
EDIT: I also referred to this webpage for a visual. The steps/parts are similar.
step by step photos .
I probably should have mentioned that I got the calipers from a junker off ebay, I live in a condo that doesn't permit the underground garage to be used for repairs and such. SO, I resort to using my wife's sisters' garage on the weekends. Since I plan to install them this weekend (limited time), I wanted to have them rebuilt prior to this weekend
At the time I posted, I wasn't able to hook them up and use the brake fluid to push the pistons out.
Thank you all for the suggestions....
zCruiser: Sorry, didn't take any photos, I can, however, walk you through the process I used for the 231mm 13WL. If you are rebuilding the 199mm, the rebuild kit, retaining springs, etc will vary slightly.
1. Get the caliper overhaul kit (includes goodies for one SET of calipers), shim kit(again, includes everything for one SET of calipers), caliper pins, cotters, retaining springs and pads from the dealer (cheapest I found was @ 1sttoyotaparts.com). For my rebuild I reused the OG caliper pins, cotters and retaining springs.
2. Pull em apart! Remove cotters, caliper pins, retaining springs, pads, shims. Save the cotters, caliper pins and retaining springs. Replace them if they are excessively worn or damaged.
3. Remove piston dust boots(4) with pliers. There "should" be a "set ring" on each piston that secures the dust boot to the piston. I say "should" because mine did not have them when I disassembled the calipers. These are reusable, so keep them as the caliper overhaul kit does not include these. Take care not to damage the machined surfaces of the piston during boot removal.
4. Now it gets fun. There are many different approaches to this step, but basically you want to use the air to "blow" the pistons out. Get a small block of wood (2x4 or 1x4?), place it in the negative space between all pistons (IE: where the brake pads would be). hook your air nozzle up to the brake fluid inlet (use about 30-40 psi, carefully) and let er rip. The wood is used as a cushion for the pistons so that they don't collide with one another while shooting out. They come out with a great deal of force, so watch those fingers!
The pistons should pop out and smack the block of wood. If they don't come out far enough, try again. If one comes out and the others are still recessed, replace the piston and reposition the block. Try again. Get them all out. If they still aren't coming all the way, It's okay (but not reccommended) to use some pliers on the OUTER most lip of the pistons to twist and work them the rest of the way out. Make sure to make a note of which pistons were installed where. It's best (as I've been instructed) to maintain that order.
5. Your pistons are out. Now, remove the piston seals from the inside of each piston housing(1 per housing, 4 per caliper) Take care not to scratch or damage cylinder walls.
6. Clean the calipers, pistons, etc with brake cleaner. remove any rust. get em nice and clean.
7. Now, pop open the caliper rebuild kit. There should be a packet of PINK lithium soap base glycol grease. apply the grease to: Cylinder walls, pistons, piston seals and piston boots, ONLY. I would suggest that most of it be used to grease the cylinder walls and pistons. Definitely hit the seals too, but the boots aren't as much of a priority(imo), since the amount of grease provided is limited.
8. Install supplied (caliper rebuild kit) piston seals
9. Reinstall pistons. I pushed mine ALMOST all the way in. Leave them 1/4" out - makes it easier(IMO) to install the piston dust boots.
10. Install piston dust boots. I stretched the inner part(attaching to the piston) first, then the outer part that goes around the lip on the outer edge of the piston wall.
11. Reinstall set rings around the piston/boot
11. Prepare new pads, shims. Use the black colored "anti-squeal" grease (provided in the shim kit) to cover both sides of the slotted shim. Mate the solid shim to the slotted shim and then mate that assembly to the back of the brake pad. Take care not to get any grease on the brake pad, itself.
12. reinstall pad assembly(ies). First, clean the pins, cotters and retaining springs. Then, use a hightemp grease and lightly coat the pins. reinstall the pins, cotters and retaining springs.
13. enjoy your freshly rebuilt calipers.
I used the FSM (exploded view) -caliper diagram to make sure I was reinstalling all of the parts correctly. It was extremely useful as I am the type of guy that needs to see it, rather than read it. Sorry I don't have photos, but this mini-writeup (coupled with the FSM page) should be more than enough to get you through it easily. Brakes aren't nearly as complicated as I thought.
EDIT: I also referred to this webpage for a visual. The steps/parts are similar.
step by step photos .
Last edited:
Nelsonmd
New member
Yeah, good call. I went through 4 years of college to discover that the engineering industry is not as much fun as I thought, mostly because of all the hoops we have to jump through due to regulation (thanks liability lawsuits and unions!):ybrick:
You will have more fun actually working on cars.
denverunner
New member
I'm looking forward to it! I didn't have the drive/motivation for school when I was younger. At this point in my life(27), I've sampled a few professions and haven't been satisfied, so I concluded that I want to work on cars. A bit late to the party, but better late than never!
My instructor is pretty down to earth, so I actually look forward to attending class. The structure certainly isn't typical and he works hard to balance our classroom and hands-on experience, so it's not just book lectures. He seems pretty knowledgeable and he's got the experience to back it, so I'm soaking up every bit of info I can get my brain on.
