07 Brake Caliper Fail

On the way home from the dump with an empty utility trailer and brake pedal very suddenly went way soft. Got it home driving gingerly and noticed a big puddle at the driver's side front wheel and brake fluid oozing out at the caliper. I always do my own work and have never encountered a caliper failing like this. Brake lines yes but not the caliper itself. What do you think let go? A seal or o-ring? I just put it up on the lift but haven't looked at it or even taken the wheel off yet as I thought I would ask you guys what you think may have gone wrong. Thanks for any input.

 

Depending on how comfortable you are at the work bench and if you have the appropriate tools, it shouldn't be very difficult to rebuild. I would pull them off the truck during the rebuild and let them soak in parts cleaner for a while before you tackle the project but it's not required. A rebuild would be the cheapest option but a complete caliper would be easiest so it's up to you.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...686,brake+&+wheel+hub,caliper+repair+kit,1720
https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-traction-control/brake-caliper-kit-front/toyota/tacoma

These might help.

-J

 

Thanks J. I ordered the kits for both front calipers. Cheap enough. Rain here tomorrow so I'll take it apart then. They're crusty af but I have everything to clean them up.They should look good all painted. Probably should've order new hoses too. Hard lines are all new from when the frame was replaced last year.

 

Bizzarre Update: I removed the caliper and split it. The leak is through the piston. It had corroded from the outside in. Fluid is clean 1 1/2 years old. Can't see the hole it's so small but when you put air to it then it shows. Now to see if I can buy pistons or just go for a new caliper. The other 3 pistons in this caliper are ok. Here's a couple pics. edit: ordered a couple pistons.

 

WOW! That's nasty.

 

haha the joys of living in Maine. Giant ships bring salt here for the roads. And now they use liquid calcium chloride. A death sentence for your car if you don't rustproof.

 

Since you have a hole in your piston, I would err on the side of caution and flush the break lines. You never know how much moisture your holy piston sucked up. Brake fluid is cheap enough that it would give me good peice of mind to replace it now since you are working on the system anyway. Looks like you have the situation handled.

-J

 

Good advice. Been planning to buy a power bleeder and this clinches it for me. Seen many times 1st hand the damage contaminated brake fluid causes.
The caliper was covered in heavy rust scale. I used an air hammer as a needle scaler then sandblasted it. All painted now and waiting for parts. Haven't done the other side yet but maybe get to that today. Thanks

 

You might want to check out http://www.speedbleeder.com/ I plan on swapping my bleed ports out with these when I change my fluid when the time comes. Double check your fitment for your vehicle as I can't confirm if the front is the same as the back at this time. From what I stumbled across, there's a few different companies making a 'Speed Bleeder', and I've found that you want to go with the origional manufacturer of this product as the knockoffs aren't up to the same quality, as in they leak. So if you do go this route, avoid Amazon as you can't confirm where it was made but if this isn't as important to you as it is to me, then you'll likely find it cheaper online at the risk of leaks.

The power bleeder does sound nice but these speed bleeders are less expensive and allow one person to bleed, youll still have to double/triple check your fluid levels though.

-J

 

You can self bleed the entire system with only just bottle and clear tubing. Just did it last week and it uber way easy. Chrisfix on youtube detailed it. Worked like charm.

 

Thanks all, I do have a mighty vac that I usually use to get them going. And the speed bleeder idea is really good. Gravity should work pretty well for a Tacoma too since the master is so high in relation to the caliper/cylinders. The only trouble with speedbleeders is, when you have several cars, by the time you buy enough of them for all, it really adds up. So I may just get a Motive and use it for all. Pic of cleaned up caliper.

 

Thanks for all the replies. All back together Saturday. Had to wait for a piston. Rock hard pedal and cost was less than 25$. Used the mighty vac to bleed.

 

Much cheaper then a new caliper. Good work.

-J

 

Nice !

 

Nice thread!

Yet another thing to put on the list: caliper pistons rotting from the outside in

Seems you were well equipped to tackle this. The right tools for the problem

I appreciate the pics and updates.