Brake bleeding - need sanity check

[THarber]

As someone mentioned, do a slow bleed. Open all 4 bleeders and let gravity do the work for you. Keep an eye on it so as to not run out of fluid again. I had to do the same thing on my H2. Run 4 lines to 4 containers and watch. Also, if you do a regular bleed, make sure the truck is rinning while doing this.

 

[iamdub]

Thanks for the support y'all. I've been working on cars for more than 20 years and I can honestly say this is the toughest non-fabrication problem I've had on a vehicle. This is for sure the most modern vehicle I've worked on, and my lack of experience with abs systems and OBD2 shows.

Two things that are keeping me going:

1. If I pump up the brakes there doesn't seem to be any fluid leaking from lines. The garage was dry after letting it sit a few days.

2. I'm fixing this thing out of pure spite for being such a pain in the ass.

Don't get offended, but, are both replacement calipers the correct ones (left vs. right side) with the bleeder screws on top? Putting a right side caliper on the left and/or vice versa is not unheard of and easy to overlook when you have tunnel vision after fighting a brain scratcher.

 

[j91z28d1]

Don't get offended, but, are both replacement calipers are the correct ones (left vs. right side) with the bleeder screws on top? Putting a right side caliper on the left and/or vice versa is not unheard of and easy to overlook when you have tunnel vision after fighting a brain scratcher.

I didn't think about that, but I have seen it done. bleed a gal thru and still no pedal.

 

[FasterBass]

Don't get offended, but, are both replacement calipers are the correct ones (left vs. right side) with the bleeder screws on top? Putting a right side caliper on the left and/or vice versa is not unheard of and easy to overlook when you have tunnel vision after fighting a brain scratcher.

Yes, can confidently say both are on top. Not offended at all, tidbits like that are the point of this thread.

EDIT- For posterity's sake and so I can remind myself to be humble, you made me second guess. I know I ASKED for the Drivers Side caliper for both front and rear, but did I get the right one?

Well, I just went out and looked at the rear. Yep, its on top as I expected. Looked at the front.....$$@%$#^@#@^#% its on the bottom! Looked at the box - drivers side front caliper. The caliper was in the wrong box. Wow. I can't wait to grab the CORRECT caliper, slap the wrong new one on the passengers side, and find out if my problems are solved. Can't WAIT for this evening. I guess the positive is I will have 3 new calipers. Might as well just get the 4th so they are all new. Basically a whole new braking system!

 

[89Suburban]

Don't get offended, but, are both replacement calipers are the correct ones (left vs. right side) with the bleeder screws on top? Putting a right side caliper on the left and/or vice versa is not unheard of and easy to overlook when you have tunnel vision after fighting a brain scratcher.

Fkn nailed it! Holy sht!!! (((worship)))

 

[FasterBass]

Final update:

Got new caliper (confirming orientation in the store).

Said F it and got new replacements for the other two I didn't already replace.

Took off the caliper that was in the incorrect orientation and found that it actually had a completely stuck piston. This was a brand new duralast caliper. Amazing. Now all 4 corners have brand new CarQuest calipers and the quality seems good.

Replaced the front soft lines, both calipers and the one in the rear that I hadn't yet changed.

Bled it ONCE with the power bleeder and had a pedal. Gave some pumps to get the pads set and bled again....its perfect. Was done with the whole ordeal in like 15 minutes once I had all the calipers installed.

What did we learn today folks?!

1. Never let your MC go dry. When using a scanner to do an ABS bleed, refill after each corner.
2. Never trust the parts store to actually give you the right part. Always take it out and confirm.
3.Trust the good folks on tahoeyukonforum.com to steer you right in your time of insanity.

 

[Hrocks]

Final update:

Got new caliper (confirming orientation in the store).

Said F it and got new replacements for the other two I didn't already replace.

Took off the caliper that was in the incorrect orientation and found that it actually had a completely stuck piston. This was a brand new duralast caliper. Amazing. Now all 4 corners have brand new CarQuest calipers and the quality seems good.

Replaced the front soft lines, both calipers and the one in the rear that I hadn't yet changed.

Bled it ONCE with the power bleeder and had a pedal. Gave some pumps to get the pads set and bled again....its perfect. Was done with the whole ordeal in like 15 minutes once I had all the calipers installed.

What did we learn today folks?!

1. Never let your MC go dry. When using a scanner to do an ABS bleed, refill after each corner.
2. Never trust the parts store to actually give you the right part. Always take it out and confirm.
3.Trust the good folks on tahoeyukonforum.com to steer you right in your time of insanity.

Awesome! So you had a double whammy...bleeder on the bottom of a "new" and bad caliper with a stuck piston! I could see why you were second guessing your sanity! My guess is that these are "brand new" reman calipers. Wonder if the same company sells to both Autozone and CarQuest? In any case, I'm glad that you employed the pneumatic bleeder system. It really is the best and fastest method. And, you don't need an assistant b*tching while pumping the brakes a thousand times!

 

[Just Fishing]

Don't get offended, but, are both replacement calipers the correct ones (left vs. right side) with the bleeder screws on top? Putting a right side caliper on the left and/or vice versa is not unheard of and easy to overlook when you have tunnel vision after fighting a brain scratcher.

I did that one time a long time ago.
I had two calipers of the same side and didn't catch it.
took some head scratching in order for me to figure out wtf I couldn't get a good brake pedal feel.