Rocky start on the Tundra brake upgrade

[zcruiser]

Seriously, theres no way it got cross-threaded in shipping... show the seller the pics of it when you got it. Did you pay with Paypal?!?! if you did, file a dispute.

seriously, dont try and fix that. its bound to end bad. Dont mess with a braking system like that...

you will be much better off trying to fix the problem other ways.

please... dont waste your time/energy trying to fix this, its not gonna work well enough to feel safe, especially with your daughter driving... try to get the money back or buy a new caliper.

Well, I don't give up easily and if I already had a set of left-hand drill bits I would probably go at it, but $50 for a set of bits really does offset the "good deal" aspect.

Big kudo's to Robbie at Bob's Salvage in Jacksonville, NC. I called him up this morning and he's shipping me a replacement caliper and I'll send him back the damaged one.

 

[TheDurk]

Honestly, thank your lucky stars it worked out that way. Because if you don't know how a bleeder valve works, IMHO there is NO WAY that you are qualified to repair that caliper safely from its current condition, if, indeed, anyone is. I'd get someone knowledgeable to check out your upgrade before you release that car to someone to drive. Brakes are serious business.

And yeah, it was cross-threaded and it didn't happen in shipping. If it wasn't crossed and it did happen in shipping, it would have come out easily.

 

[zcruiser]

Honestly, thank your lucky stars it worked out that way. Because if you don't know how a bleeder valve works, IMHO there is NO WAY that you are qualified to repair that caliper safely from its current condition, if, indeed, anyone is. I'd get someone knowledgeable to check out your upgrade before you release that car to someone to drive. Brakes are serious business.

And yeah, it was cross-threaded and it didn't happen in shipping. If it wasn't crossed and it did happen in shipping, it would have come out easily.

Really? You think I'm incapable of learning how to do something new? You're qualified to know what I can and can't do? I'm incapable of handling brakes just because I wanted to verify how to bleed brakes? I guess I should never even attempt to replace brake pads according to your rules. Remember, there's a first time for everyone.

...and it wasn't cross-threaded.

But thanks for your input.

 

[TheDurk]

Really? You think I'm incapable of learning how to do something new? You're qualified to know what I can and can't do? I'm incapable of handling brakes just because I wanted to verify how to bleed brakes? I guess I should never even attempt to replace brake pads according you your rules. There's a first time for everyone.

...and it wasn't cross-threaded.

But thanks for your input.

That's not what I was saying. Brake pads are routine. This situation was far from routine, and as many have said, the odds of success with that caliper were small and the risks were high. A bleeder has to withstand very high pressure and if it pops out, the immediate fluid loss can have fatal results. That you can't realize that was what I was saying reinforces my point.

Honestly, I think it is beyond MY skill level to fix that mess, and I know how to bleed brakes.

But I am sincerely sorry if I offended you. However, I remain convinced it was cross threaded based on the photo and I see no way you could be sure it wasn't.

 

[quicksilvr]

That's not what I was saying. Brake pads are routine. This situation was far from routine, and as many have said, the odds of success with that caliper were small and the risks were high. A bleeder has to withstand very high pressure and if it pops out, the immediate fluid loss can have fatal results. That you can't realize that was what I was saying reinforces my point.

Honestly, I think it is beyond MY skill level to fix that mess, and I know how to bleed brakes.

But I am sincerely sorry if I offended you. However, I remain convinced it was cross threaded based on the photo and I see no way you could be sure it wasn't.

No way it was crossthreaded. I think the chamfer is throwing you off when you look at the close-up picture of it bent. Look at the picture where you can see how steeply it's bent sideways (top angle). There's no way you could crossthread it that steeply and even get it to catch. Plus after it broke off, you can see that it's making full contact, and the center bore of the screw looks parallel to the hole.

 

[TheDurk]

No way it was crossthreaded. I think the chamfer is throwing you off when you look at the close-up picture of it bent. Look at the picture where you can see how steeply it's bent sideways (top angle). There's no way you could crossthread it that steeply and even get it to catch. Plus after it broke off, you can see that it's making full contact, and the center bore of the screw looks parallel to the hole.

So you are saying the hole enlarged dramatically or that the bleeder bent outside the hole? I don't believe the former could happen--those castings are not THAT soft--and the close-up of the intact bleeder says the latter didn't happen. In your view, what occurred to what metal piece to create that angle?

As to the 'after it broke' pic, the full contact supports my theory more. The 'center bore' is a broken extractor. You can't tell what direction it goes. Or if you mean the imaginary center line of the valve stem thread, I just disagree. It looks skewed to me.

I'm sorry, I am just not seeing what you are seeing.

 

[quicksilvr]

So you are saying the hole enlarged dramatically or that the bleeder bent outside the hole? I don't believe the former could happen--those castings are not THAT soft--and the close-up of the intact bleeder says the latter didn't happen. In your view, what occurred to what metal piece to create that angle?

As to the 'after it broke' pic, the full contact supports my theory more. The 'center bore' is a broken extractor. You can't tell what direction it goes. Or if you mean the imaginary center line of the valve stem thread, I just disagree. It looks skewed to me.

I'm sorry, I am just not seeing what you are seeing.

I'm chuckling at the fact that this really doesn't matter at all, but I still want to say what I'm gonna say.

Here's what I see:

Pic 1 - The bleeder screw is bent at a fairly extreme angle...more than possible for a crossthread. There is no way that it's two threads off, that would be impossible, and one thread wouldn't cock it sideways as much as it is.

Pic 2 - It doesn't look bent as much. You can see the machined chamfer in the casting, and you can see that the screw is almost touching one side of the chamfer.

Pic 3 - There is no extractor in the screw in this pic, you can see the hollow bleeder center. The hole in the screw looks parallel to the hole in the casting.

Pic 4 - Broken extractor, nothing new to go off here.



Bottom line: The bleeder screw is hollow, and bends easier than a normal screw in the first place. The casting is by no means soft, which is why NOTHING happened to the casting. The chamfer I'm referring to is machined into the casting when it's produced...it didn't occur from any outside forces... no holes got any bigger, lol. Only the screw bent. It could have been dropped right on the bleeder screw, and the rubber cab prevents us from seeing any actual "curb rash". Finally, the dude that actually had this fiasco in his mitts said it was not crossthreaded.

 

[zcruiser]

Replacement caliper arrived today (foreground), caliper with damaged bleeder valve (background). 13WL. Just have to clean them up and paint them before installing.....

...and now painted....

 

[zcruiser]

Done.

They work great!

 

[Duhockey]

Done.

They work great!

did you paint the rotor also?? it looks painted?

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

did you paint the rotor also?? it looks painted?

Looks like he painted just the hub portion... if not... oh dear...

 

[rjaudi]

Zcruiser, looking good. I actually have the left caliper from the truck you got your new one from. Bob's Auto Salvage was a good place to deal with.

You can paint your entire rotor. When you apply the brakes the paint will just rub off the pad area.

 

[zcruiser]

Zcruiser, looking good. I actually have the left caliper from the truck you got your new one from. Bob's Auto Salvage was a good place to deal with.

You can paint your entire rotor. When you apply the brakes the paint will just rub off the pad area.

Really? So they got the bleeder stub out? Bob's is awesome, I must say.

Yes, I just painted the top hat, some of the paint got on the rotor but I'm sure it was gone pretty quickly. Painting the entire rotor would've been a little ridiculous, even for me. :nerd: