C'mon, give me a brake!

Tru-Blu

Tru-Blu

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When I put my new rotors/pads on (Rotorpros kit), I'm also going to paint the calipers (G2 caliper paint). I know several of you have just done it with the calipers on, but I've decided that I'm going to completely remove all 4 of them to make the painting easier.

So, the question is - has anyone removed all 4 of their calipers at once to do something like this? Obviously, removing one caliper at a time is a no-brainer as far as bleeding is concerned. My question has to do with whether or not there is any issue with all of them being off/re-installed and then trying to bleed them. I'm wondering if I need some type of power/vacuum bleeding system instead of just a one-man bleeding kit. I know to start with farthest out, but don't know if I'll make myself too many headaches with completely draining the system and then filling/bleeding.

Any thoughts, opinions, or direct experience would be greatly appreciated!
 
No expert here but I don't think you'll have any extra trouble. I'd say change the fluid since you're gonna have to bleed them all.
 
Yep, new fluid will definitely be flowin' - just am not sure if I'll have any difficulties with pressure when I go to bleed each caliper after the entire system has been drained.
 
Nope no more trouble. I did this on my 02 when I did the painting. The only thing I did was go around the car a couple times on the bleeding.
 
No problem, I still want to see your car in person one of these days, LOL Mayne when I get my car repainted we could meet up,LOL
 
No prob, 66 - should be doable. Lambertville/Temperance isn't that big.

Thanks for the reply, Fast. Looks like I'll be doing this sooner than later.
 
I would think removing the calipers, painting them and reinstalling them would be more work than just painting them. If you're going to remove them you might as well have them powder coated. JMHO.
 
i took mine all the way off but i was also replacing the lines with braided SS lines, it took forever to bleed them because all the fluid drained out and it sounded like there was air trapped in the ABS module.

also to make it a little cleaner install and easier to tell when all the old fluid is out, take a clear soda bottle (i used a 2 liter) and go to the store and get some clear plastic tubing that fits real tight on to the bleeder valve, then cut the tube to about 2 or 3 feet, and drill a hole into the soda bottle lid just big enough for the tubing to fit into.
so now you should have one end of the tube into the bottle and the other end on the bleeder valve, make sure loop of tube goes up for just a little bit then it can go back down to the bottle, now while your bleeding the brakes, you can easily see when all the air is out of the line because there wont be any bubbles traveling up the tube, you will also be able to easily see when all of the old fluid is out of the lines when the clean new fluid starts to show in the tube.

i know you can but one of these for about $10-$15, but its so easy to make one for $2 in tubing.
 
66coupe said:
I still want to see your car in person one of these days
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trust me, no you dont.
it will change the way you feel about your own car, now i cant even look my car in its eyes, just by working his, i feel like i had an affair! :D
 
removing all the calipers for a paint job is really excessive. I've had excellent results doing it with the calipers on the car. It's easy to clean the calipers well with brake cleaner, then use a wire brush on a drill to rough em up a bit, then another hit of the brake cleaner combined with a strong stream of spray from a hose. Wipe dry. Mask, use newspaper to cover the wheel well..and get to painting. Easy.
 
Just make sure you don't drain ALL of the brake fluid while you paint the calipers. I don't know about the LS, but other FOMOCo products will need at least a Star Tester to properly prime the ABS pump again.

If you clamp the brake lines, you should be OK, but still do a bleed once the calipers are back on. Of course, clamp the rubber part of the brake lines, not the steel part.
 
LOL, Loud - your baby is a nice ride, and your audio install is better than mine!

Frogman, that's what I was really worried about - that if the entire system was drained that I would need something I don't have to pressurize the whole thing again.

I do have a vacuum pump and a one-man bleeder system - had to use it to replace the fluid in my motorcycle's hydraulic clutch.

I thought about clamping the lines, but am thinking about just leaving the calipers on the car and painting them. Some of my questions would be (for people that have done it) are:

1. How well can you get the insides of the caliper? Do you not even bother with it?

2. Did you just set the caliper on top of the rotor or hub (assuming it's protected/covered) while you were painting it?

3. What did you do with them while they were drying/curing?
 
Tru-Blu said:
2. Did you just set the caliper on top of the rotor or hub (assuming it's protected/covered) while you were painting it?

3. What did you do with them while they were drying/curing?
Click to expand...

i would just remove the rotor and the pads, and bolt them right back to the bracket and used a brush to apply the paint, then you dont have to worry about holding them up
 
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