blocked brake caliper?

[steve_k]

afternoon folks,

looking for a bit of help/advise.

replaced the discs & pads all round on my sport & when it cam time to bleed them i've got stuck.

all the other caliper bled up no problem at all apart from the rear passenger side,
i get nothing coming out the bleed nipple.

i replaced the bleed nipple for a brand new one, still nothing, took it out & poke it through wire some fuse wire to see if that was blocked, it was clear,

so i disconnected the hose to make sure there was fluid coming through, pumped the peddle again & sure enough there was fluid coming through nice & easy.

poked into the inlet hole with the same bit of fuse wire to see if there as a blockage there, nothing.

thing is i know the caliper is NOT seized as when my mate was pumping the peddle i could see the caliper moving as the peddle was pressed due to the fact the caliper was loose on it's mounting bolts,

so, i'm stuck, does anyone have any ideas what it could be??

[martauto]

I would be tempted to strip the whole caliper down to the bare nuts and bolts so to speak, there cant be that much wrong as there is not much to them. Just for peace of mind as well.

Mart.

[steve_k]

I would be tempted to strip the whole caliper down to the bare nuts and bolts so to speak, there cant be that much wrong as there is not much to them. Just for peace of mind as well.

Mart.

i'm leaning towards that, attempted to "blow out" any blockage with the air line but nothing cam out apart from some brake fluid blow back.

[flybynite]

Have to admit I'm with Mart on this one. I think its going to be caliper refurb kit, and pull the piston out see what you can see. Only thing I can think is there is a bit of rust or some broken seal somewhere it shouldn't be.

[steve_k]

Have to admit I'm with Mart on this one. I think its going to be caliper refurb kit, and pull the piston out see what you can see. Only thing I can think is there is a bit of rust or some broken seal somewhere it shouldn't be.

thats what i'm beginning to think, i'll find out tomorrow when i get the caliper off, fingers crossed its an easy fix.

[steve_k]

well time for an update,

got the new rebuild kit today so armed with that i decided to remove the rear passenger caliper.

took it off & into the daylight, half expecting a seized caliper, i removes the dust boot & clip, left the bleed nipple in, & pushed the piston out using compressed air,

out pops the piston looking past its best (same as the dust boot),

once that was out i was able to see the culprit, a tiny bit of crud/rust had got jammed behind the piston blocking the hole for the bleed nipple.

with the use of a (very fine) jewellers screwdriver & a toffee hammer i tapped the lil lump of rust out, washed out the empty chamber with old brake fluid & then blew it out with the air gun,

i put the old piston back in & blew threw it to make sure it was all clear, thankfully it was.

fitted the new seal, new piston & dust boot & clip & new bleed nipple.

refitted the caliper to the car & pumped the peddle a couple of times & checked for leaks, none at all.

now the brake bled up correctly, time for mot next week, the first in nearly 7yr's.

[flybynite]

Well done mate, got there in the end fingers crossed for the MOT and back on the road before the weather turns.

[martauto]

Well done mate, got there in the end fingers crossed for the MOT and back on the road before the weather turns.

Result mate

Mart.

[steve_k]

Well done mate, got there in the end fingers crossed for the MOT and back on the road before the weather turns.

Result mate

Mart.

thanks guys, fingers crossed as it's going to be my daily again.