Before putting back the brake fluid...

DanielForest

True Classic
Hi,

My 1980 X1/9, haven't seen the road for 18 years. I'm in one of the last stage, getting the brakes to work. I have changed the master cylinder and the feeding hoses. Now, I'm afraid the calipers will stick. 18 years is a long time.

I was thinking about putting back the fluid in the reservoir and work from there. But that would mean bleeding the system, then, if I can't solve the problem, removing a/all caliper(s) and... bleed again after that. On the other hand, as long as I can't have the calipers to work (fluid needed) I can't know if they need any service. After all, they were working fine...18 years ago.

BTW, I have speedbleeders on all calipers and also a bleeding tool.

I'm also planning on fitting hi-perf brakes in the front (probably Vick's since I would like to stay with 13" wheels but go to vented rotors) in a near future. It would make sense to do it now, but it's the shipping thing (I'm in Canada) that is killing me. I may make a trip to the US after the car is driveable.

Any suggestions?
 
Fluid is cheap. And if you end up doing it twice, well it was a good flushing of the system, which is likely necessary after all those years anyway. Try it with fluid first, much easier than rebuilding them "just in case they might need it".

Lots of discussions on brake upgrades. I agree, it can be difficult to decide what you want to do, especially given the cost involved. But once again, filling your current system with fluid and bleeding them is not that big of a deal. The big brake upgrade can always come later. Get it running now and enjoy it a little. Then decide later on upgrades.
 
I hate bleeding so I would probably rebuild the calipers first since you've already fixed all the upstream items and might as well do them now. They're either not working or will likely start leaking once they are placed back in service....
 
I agree with geekdaddy. Rebuilding the front calipers is trivial, so I would for sure do that. The rears are a little more tricky, but not all that hard. Search these forums for how to rebuild the rears.
 
Don't take short cuts on brakes. After years of sitting I would go through everything pertaining to the brakes before I put the car back on the road.
 
Are the rubber brake hoses also 18 or more years old? If so, plan on replacing them too before charging the system with fluid.
 
OK. I will put hi-perf calipers in front and rebuild the rear calipers and change the hoses. The rubber boots at the end of the emergency brake cables are done. The cables are not expensive, just a little time consuming to change. I saw my hard lines are rusted. I will probably go over them with some fine sandpaper and if they are still questionning after that, I may also go with new hard lines. This is not a funny job but there are others worst things in life. Thanks for your tips.
 
In the past, I did change a brake line because of a leak at the fitting. But did anybody experienced failing brake lines because of rust? I will probably change one because the fitting is shot. Removing of the hose will require the use of a visegrip on the line fitting because it's round. But the others aren't that bad. I don't know if I should worry...
 
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