Loosened Calipers = brake fluid leak

[ghiamanjc]

My brakes (74 KG = Girling Discs) have a large squeak so I took off the front wheels to check it out. Could not get the pads out without taking off the calipers so loosened the bolts and watched brake fluid drip off the caliper. I immediately re-tightened and slowly backed away.

I fear that I'm looking at a caliper rebuild OR is that normal?
Help me Samba friends. Thx

[Ian Godfrey]

Sadly a caliper rebuild is in your very near future or replacement calipers.
at the same time I'd replace the rubber flexible hoses front and rear as they are likely to be 'dodgy' as well.

[mxl556]

I am not sure what you loosened, it sounds like you loosened the hydraulic lines and if so, the leaks would be expected. By doing that you may have introduced air in the system that would require bleeding. As far as everything working properly, pads should come out without removing calipers. Before replacing anything, I would remove the pads and inspect the pistons to see if they move freely and there are no leaks from the piston seals.

I'd recommend not driving the car before you figure out what is going on and perhaps getting a decent repair manual or have someone experience dealing with brake repairs.

[bhartwell59]

When you get things sorted out use ceramic pads vs semi metallic
_________________
'74 Zambezi green Ghia vert, autostick, 101k
'87 Jeep Wrangler, 4.2, 330k

[sjbartnik]

Yeah what exactly did you loosen? You do not need to loosen the hydraulic line to remove the calipers or pads - only the caliper mounting bolts.

If you did *not* loosen the hydraulic line, but still are getting leaking brake fluid, then yeah you got a problem (DO NOT DRIVE). Fluid can only leak from the hydraulic line or hose, or the caliper piston seals. Whatever you do, do NOT press the brake pedal with the pads out, as that can blow the pistons out of the caliper.

If you *did* loosen the hydraulic line, and the leaking stopped after you tightened it back up, then you are probably good to to with the caveat being you will have to bleed the air out of the brakes now.
_________________
1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[ghiamanjc]

I loosened the caliper mounting screws. Did not touch the lines.

I drove for about 10 min and had no braking problems but will get fixed ASAP.

Thanks for all the advice. Looks like I'm looking at a rebuilding or replacing the calipers. Thanks Samba-tribe.