If I can get the piston back into the caliper, is that okay? Or do I need a whole new caliper.

So I'm doing brakes today, starting with the rear. I just made a bone-headed move, I had the caliper off already, and was trying to remove the rotor. It seems to be held up by the e-brake, so I needed to rotate the hub in order to line up the holes to hit the adjuster. Hit the brakes to shift into neutral, and came back to the rear to find fluid dripping on the ground. Turns out when I hit the brakes I shot the piston right out of the caliper.

If I can get the piston back into the caliper, is that okay? Or do I need a whole new caliper.

 

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

 

Actually I'm going to replace it. O'Reilly's is literally right around the corner, I needed to go for brake fluid anyway, and they had one in stock.

For 85 bucks, it's not worth pulling it apart again if I mess up the seal and get a leak.

I'll leave this post up so people can laugh at my dumb ass, haha.

 

Actually, I can see this being somewhat common. Doing the same exact thing that I did, have it all apart realizing you can't get the rotor off. Since It all needs to be apart in order to even attempt to get the rotor off, so at that point it's pretty likely that someone would run into the exact same situation that I did.

 

Lately I’ve had some pretty interesting bonehead moves myself. Usually happens to me because Im thinking of too many things at once.

I’m sure the same type of things happen to pros. And it wouldn’t surprise me if in some cases they would just call you up to tell you that one of your calipers needs replacing.

 

The fun continues.... Everything is back together with the new caliper and pads/rotors on both sides, but the brakes won't bleed.

The reservoir never got completely empty, but maybe I blew enough fluid through the line to suck air into the MC. Doh!

Got a few warning lights on the dash now. To add insult to injury I had to jump it when I started it to start bleeding.

I'll add a new battery to the list. I noticed the other day it seemed to crank a little slow, so I guess it's done.

 

You wouldn't believe the mistakes that happen at dealerships on an almost daily basis! Back in the 80s and 90s I put myself through school working for a Toyota dealership on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and later a Volvo dealership in Vermont.

Here's my worst mistake: I was changing the oil on a Volvo 240 wagon and on those cars the alternator is very close to the oil filter. I was doing the oil change with the car on the ground and as I was reaching down into the engine bay to remove the oil filter with a wrench, the tool I was using touched the uncovered positive post of the alternator and it immediately welded itself in place meaning I couldn't remove the tool. The wiring harness caught fire and the entire car went up in flames.

Needless to say my career as a mechanic was short lived!

 

Thanks for the info! How exactly would I do that?

 

Worry about the ABS last. How are you bleeding the rear caliper? When you say it didnt bleed, nothing was coming out? Or did you mean it still had bubbles?

if you replaced the caliper, it’s going to take a fair amount to fill it up, so check the resevoir often. Do you have someone that can help you to push the brake pedal down while you open the bleeder? Make sure whoever does doesnt lift up in the slightest until you call out that the bleeder is closed.

 

Interesting, I’ve never done a passive brake bleed like this. How long would it take for it to work through? Is this a good way to bleed all four corners, or do you do a passive bleed only to fill a new caliper?

 

This is exactly how I did it earlier. I had a buddy pumping the brakes, and I was working the bleeder screw with the clear hose leading to a clear container. This is my usual method that has always worked great on other vehicles.

 

I’ve done this on accident as well. As mentioned already, just lightly work it back into the caliper without damaging the boot or getting debris inside. I didn’t have any issues with ABS or anything after, just had to give the system a good bleed to get rid of the excess air.

 

It was a reman, that's all they had in stock. Came already attached to the caliper bracket, which made for an easier install.

 

Good to know I'm not the only one, haha.

 

Nah, we lost daylight and it was time for dinner. I'll take another look in the AM.

Fluid/air came out the first few times, but the pedal kept going to the floor, and eventually barely any fluid was coming out and the pedal was not getting any firmer. I made sure the reservoir was full the whole time.

I've been doing some research, I've seen multiple posts where people have said the rears do not need to be bled the conventional way, simply turn the key on and the ABS pump will pump fluid on its own.

Of course I started the bleed with the engine and key off. D'oh!

 

After a few tries I continued the bleed with the motor running, but no dice. I'll pick up more fluid in the AM and give it another go.

 

I used an oar on the sandrail to put pressure on pedal. Not sure if you can pull that off?

 

I can’t remember if it was the Car Care Nut or another Toyota YouTube channel, but apparently bleeding brakes on a vehicle with an ABS system is a bit involved?

 

Messing around with it now. Refilled the reservoir, turned the key on and tried to bleed that rear caliper that I replaced. Got a good amount of fluid out the first two times.

After that not so much, and I felt like I heard air hissing somewhere from underneath the vehicle. Not sure if that's part of the ABS system or not.

Of course by this time, with the key on, battery issue started popping up, so I had to jump it and let it run for a while. Guess I need to get a battery before I can finish this.

 

Once upon a time, they sold rebuild kits for the calipers. It was common to pull the piston out clean it up and replace the seals. Kind of a lost art these days.

 

This situation seems like a good opportunity to get a power brake bleeder.

 

Just an update. Worked on it more today, was able to get it bled with a good feeling pedal. Ended up doing the other side rear as well, I did not seem to have to touch the fronts.

The bigger issue is that when I went on the test drive, although the pedal felt great, I can hear a dragging noise coming from the rear. Couldn't tell if it was the left or right at the time. It was about to rain, and I had plans with the girlfriend. I'll pick this project up again next Saturday. The plan right now is to take the wheels off and reinspect everything, and take the calipers back off if I have to in order to inspect the brake pads and make sure they are seated correctly and that none of the clips came out of place.

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe the brake shoes for the parking brakes got disturbed and are dragging. I had to back them off in order to pull the rotors off, so I wouldn't think they would be touching or dragging, but who knows.

I have to say, I've done dozens of brake jobs in my life, and this one has turned into the biggest PITA of them all.

 

That too! Been there, done that haha.

 

A little late to the party here, sorry. I'd be very wary of O'Reilly (or any parts store) rebuilt calipers. The parts and process they use is questionable at best - as are their cores. Replacing the caliper may have been easier, but I can pretty much guarantee that this new caliper will not last as nearly long as the OEM would have.

 

In the old days we rebuilt calipers all the time. New pistons and seals. Chrome plated steel pistons corroded within a few years and made rebuilding not worth it. The Phenolic Resin pistons that didn't rot were best. Remember brakes are diagonal so if you do rear calipers and they are open for an extended time period you may have to bleed both front calipers to clear air from the brake circuit. Most scan tools have a function for cycling the solenoids in the abs hydraulic unit to help clear the air. Never really found I needed to do that. A base brake bleed was good enough. If not you just drive it down a gravel road put in in abs hitting the brakes and do the same thing cycle the solenoids. Then just rebleed everything and good to go.

 

Thanks for the info. I think I get the bleeding pretty much solved. I took got it back together, I'm a pedal. Felt great. Took it for a short test drive in the actual brakes. Felt good, no mushiness and the ABS light didn't come on. However something is dragging, so I need to pull the rear apart to make sure everything is seated correctly.

As somebody suggested, it could be that I bent the heat shield when re-assembling it, or I'm wondering if I disturbed the alignment of the parking brake shoes.

I pulled out of the driveway, and took a right at the next block, I heard a few clicking noises, and then I heard a metallic dragging noise. Stopped, took a look in the rear wheels to make sure nothing was sticking out or looked skew, didn't see anything. Turned around and headed home, with it making the dragging noise. As I reversed into the driveway, the noise turned into more of a squeal.
D'oh!