Automotive Repairs

mcfal12

mcfal12

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2021
Messages
139
Location
New Jersey, USA
I have worked in the trades for years, general construction, framing, roofing, kitchen and baths, finished carpentry and light hvac, electrical and plumbing…… but I am a total novice as a mechanic. Until the pandemic I have always leased my personal cars and work truck and have never had to worry about repairs or car maintenance outside of changing the oil, wipers, windshield washer fluid and air filters. But in 2022 I purchased a used Cadillac SRX as my weekend/family/school drop off vehicle and have been struggling to find a reliable trustworthy mechanic. Just one example, was the tire shop after buying new tires a week after I bought the car not tightening the lugs on the front driver side and the wheel nearly fell off 20’ from the shop when I pulled away. The second was the shop that replaced the starter and then the starter went bad again 2 months later…..🤔

Anyway- it’s time for brakes on the car and I need to replace one of the calipers (the bleed valve) is busted off. Anyone have experience doing it and can offer pointers? I’m trying to figure out bleeding the brakes afterwards, solo - I checked out the chrisfix YouTube channel and he makes it all seem pretty easy.

I appreciate it.
 
 
One more comment on this thread;

Not that everyone is ignoring you.

I doubt you’ll get many responses due to the liability if you follow someone’s advice and something went wrong. Just the way it is now a days.

Tom
 
If you really want to dive into car repair stuff try the Garage Journal forum. I am sure there are knowledgeable people on FOG, but GJ is mechanic oriented.

Seth
 
I spent 35+ years in the automotive field, 10 years teaching the trade in college. I just know my lawyer daughter will say don’t answer that question.

If it was a question about something not so safety related I’d be more than willing to answer the question.
 
The main thing to be aware of, is that things are different with anti-lock brakes, which covers most vehicles now a days.
You shouldn't just push the pistons back, like you would on an older car. Getting them bled after opening requires more care too.
 
Before I do any brake work, I'll always spray some liquid wrench on each of the bleeders and let that soak in for a few hours or better yet, overnight.
 
All good advice. For Vacuum Bleeding , that hand held unit works, but if you have an air compressor, you can buy the 'powered' version that uses compressed air to create a vacuum for fluid bleeding. Do you have a decent air compressor to run it? You can also buy fairly inexpensive pressure bleeders, you don't need much pressure, 5 to 10 psi generally works fine. For collecting the fluid as it comes out of the bleeder screw, you can make your own bottle from a plastic bottle, drill a hole into the side of it, or the cap , with a stepped drill bit if you have one. Then use a long enough piece of vacuum hose , that fits over the OD/outside of the bleeder screw tight enough to not leak fluid everywhere once you've cracked the bleeder open, with the other end of the hose going into your fluid collection bottle.
If you leave the end of the hose down in the fluid, you can visually see air bubbles coming out, into the fluid. Once you don't see any air bubbles, and just the push of fluid itself, you're probably good to close off the bleeder screw for that wheel/ brake part. I recommend DOT 4 fluid. It's usually the recommended fluid for the past 20 years or so, surpassing DOT 3 that used to be so common.

Amazon will have pressure bleeders, and already made collection bottles if you want to splurge on some new tools. Here's a complete kit from Amazon, I feel the hose for the collection bottle is way too short, but that's easy to fix. What's key with this kit, you get multiple brake reservoir cap adapters, since they aren't always the same size or thread pitch. And I don't know what cap fits your vehicle unless we did some checking around.
 
Last edited:
leakyroof said:
All good advice. For Vacuum Bleeding , that hand held unit works, but if you have an air compressor, you can buy the 'powered' version that uses compressed air to create a vacuum for fluid bleeding. Do you have a decent air compressor to run it? You can also buy fairly inexpensive pressure bleeders, you don't need much pressure, 5 to 10 psi generally works fine. For collecting the fluid as it comes out of the bleeder screw, you can make your own bottle from a plastic bottle, drill a hole into the side of it, or the cap , with a stepped drill bit if you have one. Then use a long enough piece of vacuum hose , that fits over the OD/outside of the bleeder screw tight enough to not leak fluid everywhere once you've cracked the bleeder open, with the other end of the hose going into your fluid collection bottle.
If you leave the end of the hose down in the fluid, you can visually see air bubbles coming out, into the fluid. Once you don't see any air bubbles, and just the push of fluid itself, you're probably good to close off the bleeder screw for that wheel/ brake part. I recommend DOT 4 fluid. It's usually the recommended fluid for the past 20 years or so, surpassing DOT 3 that used to be so common.

Amazon will have pressure bleeders, and already made collection bottles if you want to splurge on some new tools. Here's a complete kit from Amazon, I feel the hose for the collection bottle is way too short, but that's easy to fix. What's key with this kit, you get multiple brake reservoir cap adapters, since they aren't always the same size or thread pitch. And I don't know what cap fits your vehicle unless we did some checking around.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for the detail and recommendations.
 
mcfal12 said:
Thank you very much for the detail and recommendations.
Click to expand...
Not a problem. I started doing this in the late 80s as a full time job. Porsche specialty shop was my first hire, then moved to Chicago and joined a BMW dealership, did that for 9 years. Then Land Rover for 24 years. Now I'm at a Mercedes dealership and having a ball. Best move I ever made. What's amazing is the amount of tools available now for everyone. Years ago, you had X and Y, and couldn't afford Z from a tool maker..... ;)
Now there is a huge amount of inexpensive tooling out there that might not last in a Commercial Shop, but for occasional usage or light duty, it's perfect.
And Amazon and others deliver it right to your door. :cool:
 
It is amazing once you get into working on autos how much specialized tooling there is/was. I've always done my own maintenance and have been lucky to not have really major repairs for the most part. But in the last year I have bought a better than average automotive scanner, smoke machine, coolant pressure tester, and certainly all the brake bleeding (pressure and vacuum) and brake installation things for the Trans Am in my avatar. Some things you had to watch videos to find out about like the screw/plug that got installed in the master cylinder to block the valve which would would shut off either the front or rear brake system in case of high flow from a brake fluid leak. But looking at the shop manuals from 1977 the number of specialty tools, which are usually available on Ebay, was eye opening. Sure you can often get by without those tools, but darn, in many instances it sure makes it easier and/or safer.

Of course as I write this the Trans Am is in the shop for a transmission rebuild. Somethings are better left to others...

Peter
 
Last edited:
peter halle said:
It is amazing once you get into working on autos how much specialized tooling there is/was.

Of course as I write this the Trans Am is in the shop for a transmission rebuild. Somethings are better left to others...

Peter
Click to expand...
Much like woodworking. There are tons of specialty tools that you can "get by" without, or at least work around. For the most part, speed is the difference.

I worked as a mechanic through my 20s and into mid 30s. The company owner was really into racing too, so there was a lot of that going on. Everything from light maintenance to 4 wheel drive conversions and complete racecars. I have literally built car frames and cages, from a pile of tubing, but I don't even change my own oil anymore.
Once you have had it easy, with a lift, all the tools you need, etc it's hard to crawl around on the ground. Though some of that is from being over 60 I suppose.
 
Better than spending money on a vacuum brake bleeding kit I would suggest replacing the bleeder screws with Speed Bleeders. Once they are installed you have a simple to use one man system to bleed your brakes as often as they should be done. The collection bag and silicone hose they sell is a handy way to capture the fluid without making a mess. You can buy these at Speedbleeder.com for all types of vehicles.
 
Crazyraceguy said:
Much like woodworking. There are tons of specialty tools that you can "get by" without, or at least work around. For the most part, speed is the difference.

I worked as a mechanic through my 20s and into mid 30s. The company owner was really into racing too, so there was a lot of that going on. Everything from light maintenance to 4 wheel drive conversions and complete racecars. I have literally built car frames and cages, from a pile of tubing, but I don't even change my own oil anymore.
Once you have had it easy, with a lift, all the tools you need, etc it's hard to crawl around on the ground. Though some of that is from being over 60 I suppose.
Click to expand...
Yes, once I hit retirement in a few years, I'm REALLY going to miss having easy access to a lift for taking care of our vehicles. I've been spoiled all these years by being in shops where the Lift was just there when I needed it.
Don't have either the money or the garage size to put a lift in, even the low riser type. We have the classic old Low Height Chicago garage that they once built by the thousands. Nowdays, the standard Newly built Chicago garage is generally taking the whole width of the property line , most of the backyard as well and has a roof deck system of some type, so both the interior height is much taller than what used to be Chicago Code allowed, and much higher overall. None of that was legal in the 90's when we looked into it for our old garage. Green space loss of the backyard alone was strictly a no-no back then.
Then developers got the building codes changed and all hell broke loose for how fancy and huge the garages could be. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
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