a photoblog of what i did today.....

[glatt]

I could try to swing a hammer back there and pound the bolt in, but that seemed to lack elegance. So I decided to pull the bolt in instead.

I stacked a bunch of oversized washers and put one of the new lug nut on backwards so the flat part of the lug nut would rub against the washers. This worked great at first, but when I started to apply actual force to the wrench, the whole wheel hub started to rotate.


So I got a long pry bar and slipped it between two wheel stud bolts and against the ground. That locked the wheel hub in place so I could apply some force and pull that new wheel stud bolt into place. It worked beautifully.


Here's the first new stud snug in the hole! The second one was even easier because I knew the routine now.


And I cleaned and sanded the brake rotor a little to get rid of some of the glazing on the surface. There were no deep ridges at all, so I could reuse it without resurfacing it.


Oh, hey. This is a good picture where you can see the piston in the background. It's that silvery looking cup with the rubber gasket surrounding it. It's sticking out pretty far. As the old pads had worn down, it pushed out farther and farther. I'll need to compress it to make room for the new thicker pads to be installed.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by glatt

First we remove the brake caliper piston assembly thing and hang it by a bent coat hanger from one of the giant springs holding up the car. We're hanging it because the line full of brake fluid is too weak to hold up this big and heavy hunk of metal and I don't want to have to mess with replacing brake fluid and bleeding air out of the system, so I just leave the whole thing attached to the brake fluid lines. But I want it out of the way, so I hang it up.

In the interest of full disclosure. The brakes seemed fine to me after pumping the pedals a lot to seat the calipers and going for a test drive, but when I gave the car to my wife, she thought the pedal was really soft and the brakes were bad. She had a scare when the car didn't stop the way she was expecting. I listened to her description of what happened, and realized the pedal was indeed pretty soft. My pumping them initially had masked the problem when I was testing the car.

Somehow I must have gotten air or contaminants in the line when I pushed the pistons back in with a C-clamp.

I've since read that it's better to bleed off the brake fluid when pushing the piston back in rather than pushing all the fluid back up to the master cylinder.

Anyway, that meant I needed to bleed the brakes to try to get the air out of the system. And I figured that as long as I was bleeding the brakes, I might as well put a lot of fluid in and basically flush them. So that's what I did over the weekend. Didn't take any pictures, because there's nothing to take a picture of. You just open a valve at the right rear wheel, have someone pump the brakes with the engine off, and then close the valve, and tell them to take their foot off the brake. Repeat about 8 times, and then add fluid to the master cylinder. Repeat that cycle for about 20 minutes until all new fluid is coming out at the RR wheel, and you don't see any bubbles in your bleeder tube. Then bleed the left rear wheel, and then right front wheel, and then left front wheel.

It's tedious and takes an hour and requires a helper. But the helper can go inside and watch the Giants beat the Redskins while you are putting the wheels back on and taking the next one off and getting your clear tube in place and inserted in your bottle. They only need to come out to pump the pedal for a few minutes at a time.

So add about $15 in brake fluid to the job. And $2 for a clear plastic tube. And I had to buy an offset wrench to reach the bleeder valve on the rear brakes, because the brake drum lip was in the way of my regular wrench, and the single wrench was sold out, so I had to buy a set for $22.

So add $40 to the job, but it also resulted in a brake line flush.

My wife is very pleased with the brakes now. And I'm glad she can stop the car when she needs to.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by glatt

Somehow I must have gotten air or contaminants in the line when I pushed the pistons back in with a C-clamp.

Not necessarily you're fault, it could have already been contaminated. You were smart to push as much new fluid into the system as you could, fresh fluid never hurts.

[Undertoad]

kick ass

[xoxoxoBruce]

Good job, you figured out the little out all the little details like the notch in the splash guard, and pulling with the lug nut reversed. I would have put a little NeverSeize on the lugs, (never oil or grease), but that's not critical.

Buy a torque wrench, even a cheap beam type. A cheap one may not be as accurate, but it will mean everything is even. Most people don't realize how important the lug nut torque is. Sure, changing a flat beside the road, get 'em tight and get the hell out of there. But servicing in a safe place, proper and even torquing will prevent bent rims, rotors and hubs, that cause small vibrations you may not notice, but accelerate wear on the tires and driveline.

By the way, you're not fooling me with the gloves. I know they're to disguise your kid's hands in the pictures, so we won't know you were just drinking beer and snapping pictures, while forcing the poor child to labor out in the weather.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I would have put a little NeverSeize on the lugs, (never oil or grease), but that's not critical.

Would that have prevented me breaking those wheel stud bolts in the first place? After a quarter turn, I couldn't budge the lug nuts.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yeah, that's what it's for. Those lug nuts were probably run on with an impact gun, with the combination of speed and metal-to-metal causing them to gall. It would be unusual for it to happen by hand, but I've seen stranger things. It will also help keep rust from building up on the threads making the nuts hard to get off.

I also use a little where the rim fits tightly over the center hub,so rust doesn't bind them together when I'm trying to get the wheel off. Just trying to make my future life easier.

A little tube of silver (I like it better than the copper) NeverSeize will last you the rest of your life... and probably your son's life too. BUT, it's a bitch to clean off your hands and it will NOT wash out of your clothes... ever.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

By the way, you're not fooling me with the gloves. I know they're to disguise your kid's hands in the pictures, so we won't know you were just drinking beer and snapping pictures, while forcing the poor child to labor out in the weather.

Not yet, but I hope that will soon be the case. He knows how to jack up the car and change a tire.






I wear the gloves because I have a desk job and my hands are not hard or calloused and I bleed very easily when I do jobs like this. Always bashing my knuckles against something. Also to keep them clean. But to be honest, I think it's mostly because I still have etched in my memory that scene from the opening credits of The Incredible Hulk when David Banner is changing a tire in the rain and the wrench slips and he bashes his knuckles against the pavement.

[BrianR]

Good job. I will be doing the brakes on my Avalanche soon, only all around since it is five years old now and they are the original pads. I am betting they are all worn since I am beginning to hear squealing.

I really hope I don't need special equipment to do them, like my Cougar needed.

[zippyt]

Good job Glatt !!!
Betterer job that sonny Boy knows how to change a tire !!!!!

1 comment , as long as you were changeing wheel studs , why not do them All on that wheel , just my $.02

[glatt]

In hindsight, I wish I had changed them all, it was so easy.

[Rhianne]

If it ain't broke...

[ZenGum]

So, the bloke's back black brake block broke, eh?

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

So, the bloke's back black brake block broke, eh?

*snicker*

[plthijinx]

great job glatt!

when you had to brace the rotor to pull the new studs in, why not put the transmission in park?

and Brian, all you need is the hex socket and you're good to go. but if you're going to replace the rotors i recommend repacking the bearings (see page 1 to do it neatly, ok, well....less messy.)

eta: and even better job teaching your son how to wrench early on. i grew up watching and helping my dad and it helped tremendously.

i have a bad vent solenoid on my chevy now....i almost tackled it last weekend. this sucker looks like a royal pain in the ass because it's so cumbersome. not big, just awkward. it's long and snaky.


anyone have experience doing this one? i've read on a few forums that you can remove the solenoid and blow it out with an air hose and have it work fine....i'm wondering if cleaning the filter at the top of the vent line would do it?