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14 Posts
Greetings, I've been a long time reader of this forum, but never posted before. Time to stop leeching and start contributing to the Ridgeline zeitgeist. Don't worry, this is not a rookie mistake. I haven't found this covered in another post.
I had a stuck piston in my rear caliper. I had watched a video by Eric the Car Guy on YouTube (he has fantastic videos if you haven't seen them) about rebuilding calipers, and it didn't seem that hard. Here's what I did: The rebuild kits are cheap, only $3.00 each, so I decided, why not do all of the calipers? I have to drain the brake fluid anyway, which had never been done. So, I bought 4 kits - 2 front & 2 back. (I also decided to replace my brake lines with steel braided from stoptech. This is an easy and inexpensive upgrade; http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...41-steel-braided-brake-lines.html#post2086681) Anyway, the back calipers go off without a hitch. Blow out the pistons with an air compressor, clean everything with brake cleaner and a brush, lube with brake fluid, insert the new square ring, put in the the new dust boot, and then add the piston. I recommend adding the dust boot before the piston, then using the compressor to blow out the boot around the piston before pushing it all the way in. This is the easiest way. As for the front calipers, this is why I'm writing this. DO NOT ATTEMPT. It's easy to take them apart, but the kit has a metal ring that fits around the edge of dust boot, and that is actually on the inside of the boot. It's hard to explain. I thought I had it correct, but if you can see the ring, then the boot is backwards. I have scoured the web (and this forum) for a way to put this thing in with no results. Maybe someone here knows how. Anyway, the front caliper dust boots seem impossible to get back together with laymen's tools. If you're in a pinch, they will work without the dust boot, but won't last long. I ended up having to buy two new calipers (re-manufactured) at $50 each. Shame on me for replacing things that didn't need it!
I plan to write about some of my other upgrades at some point: brake lines, stereo & subwoofer, bull bar, custom cold air intake
THANKS!
I had a stuck piston in my rear caliper. I had watched a video by Eric the Car Guy on YouTube (he has fantastic videos if you haven't seen them) about rebuilding calipers, and it didn't seem that hard. Here's what I did: The rebuild kits are cheap, only $3.00 each, so I decided, why not do all of the calipers? I have to drain the brake fluid anyway, which had never been done. So, I bought 4 kits - 2 front & 2 back. (I also decided to replace my brake lines with steel braided from stoptech. This is an easy and inexpensive upgrade; http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...41-steel-braided-brake-lines.html#post2086681) Anyway, the back calipers go off without a hitch. Blow out the pistons with an air compressor, clean everything with brake cleaner and a brush, lube with brake fluid, insert the new square ring, put in the the new dust boot, and then add the piston. I recommend adding the dust boot before the piston, then using the compressor to blow out the boot around the piston before pushing it all the way in. This is the easiest way. As for the front calipers, this is why I'm writing this. DO NOT ATTEMPT. It's easy to take them apart, but the kit has a metal ring that fits around the edge of dust boot, and that is actually on the inside of the boot. It's hard to explain. I thought I had it correct, but if you can see the ring, then the boot is backwards. I have scoured the web (and this forum) for a way to put this thing in with no results. Maybe someone here knows how. Anyway, the front caliper dust boots seem impossible to get back together with laymen's tools. If you're in a pinch, they will work without the dust boot, but won't last long. I ended up having to buy two new calipers (re-manufactured) at $50 each. Shame on me for replacing things that didn't need it!
I plan to write about some of my other upgrades at some point: brake lines, stereo & subwoofer, bull bar, custom cold air intake
THANKS!
