Break calipers
 

Hi, I'm in need of removing both my front calipers. One is in very bad condition due to corrosion of the piston. I'm planning to swap them with the calipers on my second car and hopefully have the dodgy ones rebuilt.
Sounds simple enough, where I'm stuck is on how to cap off the break lines on the car left without calipers while they are being rebuilt. Bearing in mind it could be a couple of weeks maybe more if I can get away with it. I've never had to do this before and Google is coming up with lots of different methods. I'm sure some of you guys have faced this dilemma before. Im assuming allowing the system to lose all fluid is a bad idea, thanks

If you have a flaring tool then get a union that fits in the hard pipe and put a bit of brake pipe in it (flared appropriately) then crush the end of the pipe. When we fitted new calipers at work I kept all of the bungs so I didn't need to do that in the end I just fitted one.

Hi thanks for the reply. I dont have a flaring tool, I was hoping to avoid that however I'm sure it's the only correct way of achieving this so maybe I should just buy one.

You're right that it's a bad idea to let all the hydraulic fluid out. First though, have you checked the calipers on your other one to make sure they are the same? Volvo fitted a lot of different calipers depending on whether it had ABS or not, exact time of production, the results of a sacrificial moose and alignment of the stars and what make of braking system the rest of the car was fitted with.

Once you've established that the calipers are the same, use something like this to prevent the fluid leaking out while you change the calipers. You will still need to bleed that leg of the system :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydraulic...y/292401665846

Definitely worth checking the calipers first though! :thumbs_up:

The clamp on Ebay certainly looks an easier and cheaper option 👍. Regarding are the calipers the same, I hope so! The cars are the same year and spec so with a bit of luck life should be simple. Thanks again everyone!

Without triggering some people on here who will claim rebuilding calipers yourself, will make the universe burn down, Biggred do a decent seal and piston kit, get the calipers vapour blasted ideally so everything is nice and clean and takes no time to get back together, perfect time to give them a lick of paint as well.

As for stopping the leaks, personally I wouldn't want to clamp the hoses off for that long, rather use tcap on the end of the hose like these things should cope with the brake fluid well enough for a while anyway, and since you going to bleed things anyway, may as well do the clutch and rear lines as well

I've used flexi hose clamps many times, I have even made a couple myself which I have used for years. If it is for a short period they should be fine, any longer and they damage hoses... ask me how I know!

Plus one on bigg red, used them to paint my Octavia VRS calipers I have fitted to my Fabia and got a piston/seal kit from them. Handy they are local, walked in and he gave me new bleed nipples for free and knocked a fiver off the kit "because it's Friday". Great bunch of guys in there and did a cracking job with the ceramic bake on paint (£70 for two calipers and carriers) they shot/soda/vapour blasted them too to get the old paint off.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1739/4...b6f6ec14_z.jpg
Fabia VRS 312mm upgrade by Luke Ryland - Flickr2BBcode LITE

https://live.staticflickr.com/900/42...7540970b_z.jpg
Fabia VRS 312mm upgrade by Luke Ryland - Flickr2BBcode LITE

A piece of plastic sheet (bag) placed over the header tank then screw the cap back on: ~ in many cases it will stop the fluid or at least make it difficult to drain out during the work.
Bob.

You might be lucky but check the spare ones before pulling the ones off your car. Volvo seemed to change what was fitted depending how they felt, the alignment of the stars and the reults of a sacrificial moose. :speechless-smiley-5

You also don't know if someone has been to the scrapyard needing new front shock absorbers and taken the complete front legs from a different year/model/trim/engine and made them fit.



With hindsight i should have pointed out the hydraulic hose clamps are only meant for short term use!

The clicky-clicky link in your post didn't work for me but when i quoted you i got the item number in amongst a whole mahoosive URL - is this the right item?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/END-CAP-R...S/122740864851

If so then they would do the job, assuming it's not a banjo fitting on the calipers.

Search Amazon for “rubber cap” , you’ll find a large selection , just have to sort out what size you need.