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Short Summary
Main recommendation: If a brake caliper is leaking, replace it rather than leave it in service, and the job is manageable for anyone who can already do brake pad work. The video walks through removing the pads and caliper, transferring the banjo bolt and brake line to a new caliper, torquing everything to spec, reinstalling the pads, and bleeding the system. The host stresses that only the caliper is being replaced, not the brake hose.
Key Points
- A leaking caliper must be replaced or rebuilt; the host's caliper failed after he changed the pads and rotors on the same brakes.
- The job requires a breaker bar, torque wrench, thread locker, and brake fluid in addition to standard ratchets, sockets, an extension, and an open-ended wrench; copper washers come with the new caliper kit.
- Crack the banjo bolt loose before removing the caliper from the knuckle, because a loose banjo bolt is much harder to break free on a bench.
- Do not clamp the brake line to stop fluid flow, since clamping can crush or crack the tubing and force replacement of the whole line.
- Brake fluid is highly corrosive to rubber and paint, so clean spills immediately.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Remove the pads: unscrew the 12 mm bolt at the top, open the pad retainer like a clamshell, and remove the pads. Reinstall them later with hand-tightened bolts.
- Crack the banjo bolt (15 mm in the host's truck) before unbolting the caliper.
- Remove the two caliper bracket bolts (15 mm on the host's truck), starting with the top, using a breaker bar. Support the caliper with a bucket so it does not hang from the hose; never put stress on the brake hose.
- Hold the rotor steady by threading two lug nuts onto the studs.
- Apply Loctite thread locker to the new caliper bolts, hand-start them, then snug.
- Transfer the banjo bolt and brake line to the new caliper, using a copper washer on each side of the banjo fitting; the lipped washer goes on top, with a second washer underneath.
- Torque the banjo bolt to 25 ft-lb and the caliper bracket bolts to 85 ft-lb (values for the host's truck; check your vehicle's spec).
- Install the anti-rattle clips into the bracket, grease metal-on-metal contact points and the back of the pads sparingly, then close the caliper and tighten its bolt to 20 ft-lb (13 mm on the host's truck).
- Gravity bleed by cracking the bleeder open and loosening the master cylinder cap, then bleed with a one-person setup: crack the bleeder, press the brake pedal, close the bleeder, repeat until no bubbles appear.
- Top off the master cylinder to the MAX line, pump the brakes before driving until firm, and test at low speed with nobody nearby.
- The host uses a 3/8 inch wrench on the bleeder, a 13 mm socket for the new pad retainer bolt, and a 13 mm socket to tighten the caliper bolt (the old caliper used a 12 mm); tool sizes vary by vehicle.
- The large anti-rattle clip mounts in the middle/top of the pad, and the two smaller clips mount to the caliper bracket.
- The new caliper arrived with pistons already compressed, so no piston compression was needed; check whether yours does.
Bottom Line
A failing caliper is a contained, mechanically straightforward repair if you have brake experience, but torque values, the copper washer stack, and bleeding procedure must be followed precisely to avoid leaks and a soft pedal.
