Score one for the grease gun !!

I've been trying to get that stuck inner piston out of one of my calipers. I used penetrants, heat, pushing down to unstick, pulling up, slapping it on the floor and I was about to drill a hole in the puck and tap a screw into it and push it out that way but I said what the hell and got out the old portable grease gun (from JC Whitney circa 1973!) and just got a new cartridge for it and got some 1/4"- 28 Zerks from NAPA and I vised up the caliper and put one of the loose pucks in the outer bore supported by a couple of balls of paper towel to keep the outer puck over the hole, gave it a few squirts and VOILA! it came right out!. Amazingly easy-I must have wasted 2 hr. of time on this one trying to get that sucker out. The joy of "petro-draulic pressure". Now to get out that grease from the passages!

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I just pulled mine apart the other day. I pulled the outer cover and piston out and the seals. then I realised I forgot to loosen the inner piston. I put my finger ofer the port hole in the piston bore and a little squirt of air popped the inner piston free. I would imagine if the pistons get too coroded they would be a bugger to get moving.

I think the air gun works if the pucks aren't frozen from rust.

So what is the preferred brake fluid once everything is rebuilt?

Regualar dot 3. I was using Dot 5 synthetic on my previous rebuild with no problems, but the system was completly disasembled, cleaned and assembled with new seals.

The whole system will be new, including the brake lines; I remember from my Lotus Elan days that you had to use a specific type of Girling fluid or everything that was rubber just melted away. If Lucas is the Prince of Darkness, Girling is the Prince of Potential Mayhem.

powerdoc said:

I think the air gun works if the pucks aren't frozen from rust.

So what is the preferred brake fluid once everything is rebuilt?

Click to expand...

After reading up on brake fluid threads on this forum I put in Dot5 since my system was totally cleaned out.
Dot5 is not corrosive and doesn't attract water.
Been a couple years and no problems.

Bob

Plus it's easy on the paintwork!

Hi,
The rubber tipped air nozzle is my first tool of choice when it comes to disassembling brake caliphers. The grease gun is my second choice and I have used it many times (the clean up is not too bad). Not too long ago I read a post by "Dynodave" in which he said he had loaded a grease gun with water to do the job, making clean up very simple. I have not yet tried it, but I thought it sounded like a good idea and I thought I'd pass it on.

GB