Sealing brake line with caliper off...

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Omahaug

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I have to remove some calipers off of a car soon. I obviously don't want brake fluid leaking out over a period of days.

The only idea I could come up with is to get a set of bolts and nuts along with washers and use the bolts and nuts like the banjo bolt and copper washers would, except the nut takes the place of the caliper.

Has anyone done this? Good idea? Bad idea? I'm pretty sure if I sandwich the brake fitting between two washers and a nut and bolt it would work and I would have no brake fluid leaking.
 
Might work. You might need to use, say PTFE tape or thin polythene on the threads to improve sealing, but its going to leak while you fit them, all over your hands, leak again when you replace the calipers, and you'll have to guard against getting bits in the system.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, doesn't seem worth the hassle.

In the past I've clamped the hose (protected by padding).

Lately I just remove the fluid with a syringe.

I have a lot of the stuff so I don't put the same fluid back, but I suppose I could do if it was fresh.

Just letting it leak out would also seem to be an option.

I don't have ABS though, so re-filling an empty system is trivial.
 
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*Plan out your job well.

* If it's a banjo style connect, I usually jamb a piece of hose inside the hole. I keep pieces of different size hoses around so I can make something that'll fit. The brake fluid will also help the hose swell a bit to create a good seal.

* Also after disconnecting the brake hose & caliper, keep the brake hose elevated with whatever you have such as a tie wrap/zip tie.

* If it's a screw-in type brake hose to caliper fitting then, just cap it off. You may still get some leakage but it'll be minimal.
 
Ace hardware has small rubber plugs dirt cheap that work slick for this sort of thing. I keep a bunch of different sizes around for plugging hoses, pipes, etc.
 
At least on my car, holding the brake pedal partially depressed will stop any siphoning of fluid. This may be a universal thing.

Unhook battery to keep it from running down, prop pedal down with piece of wood, open bleed port on caliper to vent pressure, and do all the work you need without brake fluid dribbling out the whole time.
 
You can disconnect the hose at the other end, where it connects to the metal brake line and plug the end of the metal line. Get a brake line union, and a threaded plug at the parts store. Thread the plug onto the union and tighten. Thread union onto end of brake line and tighten.
 
I don't get it. Why is it worth the trouble?

I'm guessing this must be an ABS thing, since I've never had ABS.
 
Partially pushing the brake pedal works well, It pushes the caps in the master cylinder forward over the outlet holes. Or you could go to amazon or harbor freight and get a set of the plastic hose clamp plyers and clamp the hose.
 
I use a C-clamp to close the line when replacing a caliper. Remember, you don't have to turn the piston back when you're replacing the caliper, so you're not using the C-clamp anyway
smile.gif


But you must tighten the C-clamp BEFORE removing the caliper! Otherwise, the C-clamp will walk off the brake line.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
I don't get it. Why is it worth the trouble?

I'm guessing this must be an ABS thing, since I've never had ABS.
because bleeding an abs unit can be a real job. Often requiring a trip to the dealer and having them bleed it with a computer.
 
You don't have to bleed the ABS system, its independent of the standard brake system. You could use the copper washers from the caliper to brake line fitting with a bolt thru the center. The only issue is, you will need two for each brake line your trying to cap off, one on each side. What ever you do, don't do as many "BAD" mechanics do and pinch the brake hose with vise grips!
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
I don't get it. Why is it worth the trouble?
I'm guessing this must be an ABS thing, since I've never had ABS.
It's worth the trouble to find a suitable stopper. I neglected once to plug the pipe while changing a rear strut on my Mazda. That slowly drained the master cylinder, and I literally spent the rest of the night struggling to get all the bubbles out---and that was a relatively simple brake system, with no ABS, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: Ducked
I don't get it. Why is it worth the trouble?
I'm guessing this must be an ABS thing, since I've never had ABS.
It's worth the trouble to find a suitable stopper. I neglected once to plug the pipe while changing a rear strut on my Mazda. That slowly drained the master cylinder, and I literally spent the rest of the night struggling to get all the bubbles out---and that was a relatively simple brake system, with no ABS, etc.


When you let "ALL" the brake fluid drain out of the system, you have to bench bleed the master cylinder, but can be done on the vehicle with two people. Its really not a big deal, just another step to go thru to get pressure to bleed system.
 
Originally Posted By: KneeGrinder
Originally Posted By: CR94
... I neglected once to plug the pipe while changing a rear strut on my Mazda. That slowly drained the master cylinder, and I literally spent the rest of the night struggling to get all the bubbles out---and that was a relatively simple brake system, with no ABS, etc.

When you let "ALL" the brake fluid drain out of the system, you have to bench bleed the master cylinder, but can be done on the vehicle with two people. Its really not a big deal, just another step to go thru to get pressure to bleed system.
I eventually succeeded, without a second person or bench bleeding. I forget what finally worked, but I know I used a stick to substitute for the missing human assistant. Finding a way to plug the disconnected line would've been a lot easier.
 
Originally Posted By: KneeGrinder
Originally Posted By: CR94
... I neglected once to plug the pipe while changing a rear strut on my Mazda. That slowly drained the master cylinder, and I literally spent the rest of the night struggling to get all the bubbles out---and that was a relatively simple brake system, with no ABS, etc.

When you let "ALL" the brake fluid drain out of the system, you have to bench bleed the master cylinder, but can be done on the vehicle with two people. Its really not a big deal, just another step to go thru to get pressure to bleed system.
I eventually succeeded, without a second person or bench bleeding. I forget what finally worked, but I know I used a stick to substitute for the missing human assistant. Finding a way to plug the disconnected line would've been a lot easier.
 
Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: KneeGrinder
Originally Posted By: CR94
... I neglected once to plug the pipe while changing a rear strut on my Mazda. That slowly drained the master cylinder, and I literally spent the rest of the night struggling to get all the bubbles out---and that was a relatively simple brake system, with no ABS, etc.

When you let "ALL" the brake fluid drain out of the system, you have to bench bleed the master cylinder, but can be done on the vehicle with two people. Its really not a big deal, just another step to go thru to get pressure to bleed system.
I eventually succeeded, without a second person or bench bleeding. I forget what finally worked, but I know I used a stick to substitute for the missing human assistant. Finding a way to plug the disconnected line would've been a lot easier.


Like I said, trivial on my car using a syringe.

I'm not saying this is typical though, since IIRC I've never drained the system on anything else apart from motorcycles.

First time was an accident (leaky wheel cylinder) but now I do it deliberately.
 
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