changing one caliper, need to bleed all calipers?

[vinnY]

need to change my front driver side caliper because it's gone retarded (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119434)
just wondering whether i need to bleed all the calipers if i just change this single front one

will be going solo and gravity bleeding to see whether the technique lives up to the hype

[mocchi]

use vice grips ?

when you unhook the hose so it doesnt suck any air. harr. get someone to pump the pedal and flush it

edit: huh what ? i am talking gibberish. ignore me.

[JohnL]

When you disconnect the line to remove the caliper, fluid will drain out of the line and air will enter into that calipers line. If air doesn't reach any junction in the line (i.e. where multiple lines join), then you won't need to bleed any other calipers. Trouble is, if you take no precautions then you don't know how far into the system the air managed to get.

The precaution is to clamp of the rubber hose leading to the caliper being removed before you remove it. You can buy special clamps to do this, but it's possible to use vice-grips if you're careful not to damage the rubber hose (you just want to close it off, not crush it, taping the grip jaws would be good too).

On the other hand, do you know when the fluid was last changed? If not then it's a good opportunity to renew all the fluid by bleeding all the calipers...

Brake fluid should ideally be replaced once a year. Old fluid has a lower boiling point, and causes corrosion in the system.

[SHI-FTY]

as well make sure when your bleeding your brakes, obviously you will have sum1 with you to help you bleed the system, before pumping, put like a piece of wood or something behind the brake pedal to stop the brake pedal being pressed all the way as you may damage your master cylinder (was told by a mechanic not too sure y lol)

[_CRX_]

when u bleed your brakes start from the passenger rear....... then the drivers rear......then the passengers front ......then the drivers front

[vinnY]

re johnn
using braided lines so no use clamping since i'll damage the braid
just gonna swap off and swap on the line real quickly so it shouldn't have the chance to run that far back
fluids fairly new(few weeks) i don't care for changing it of i have to but i'd just rather avoid work if it unnecessary

re shifty
read the op, going to be gravity bleeding :) i usually do my work fairly late so theres no one really around handy to help me out
and the reason why they don't want you to pump it all the way is to stop the seals moving further than they should(potentially)

re crx
i know how to change fluid, not the question though

am i not being clear in the first post or something?

[ECU-MAN]

if you dont run out of brake fluid in the resivour you can only bleed the caliper you took off.

dont use gravity method when replacing a caliper. have someone pump the pedal.

[vinnY]

any reason behind that ecu-man?
when i first changed both front calipers the first time round about 2 years ago we just let it gravity bleed and it appeared to be fine

[bennjamin]

vin just get a mate/sibling/granpa to press it for you. They press , you close and release the nipple. Then top up when need be. Easy.

[JohnL]

vin just get a mate/sibling/granpa to press it for you.

But not your wife or girlfriend, you will probably end up having words....

[Benson]

if you dont run out of brake fluid in the resivour you can only bleed the caliper you took off.

dont use gravity method when replacing a caliper. have someone pump the pedal.

:thumbsup:

[ECU-MAN]

gravity will not get all the air pockets out. Presure will

[vinnY]

just to answer my own question

ended up changing the single caliper
only bled the caliper i changed
ended up gravity bleeding it for 20 minutes and got my dad to help me pump the brakes
no air seemed to come out while pumping the brakes, only while gravity bleeding

so there you go :)

and if you've read my previous threads and noticed how i've gone on and on about shuddering on acceleration
changing the caliper got rid of most of it, but some of it is somewhat still evident :( one day..

[richy b]

or, you can buy "1 man bleeder bottles" from a parts/tools place. prob not the most effective method, but better then nothing