brake fluid leaking - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

EAtom · 04-18-2004, 04:22

has anyone had problems with the brake fluid leaking from one of their disc brakes?

and also i noticed the cover for the brake fluid resoivoir had written on it that to use this special brake fluid made by ford and its got this serial number on it. does ford just want you to take it back to them to replace the brake fluid or is normaly brake fluid just fine i purchased some castrol dot 4 brake fluid and it seem to work fine to me.

any comments ppl?

XplodEd EA · 04-18-2004, 06:41

The seal on the caliper piston wearing away is the only thing I can think besides an obvious leak from the brake lines or bleeder nipple.

Whats written on the cap for the master cylinder is just a specification of what to use, most cars have what brake fluid needs to be used on the cap. You will be right with the DOT 4

EAtom · 04-18-2004, 20:37

yeah i had it checked out by a mechanic and its a leak from the seal on the calipers. now the only problem is they said i need to get reconditioned calipers to fix the leak is that right? and also hes quoted me 340 for labour and the reconditioned calipers, to me it sounds like a lot for reconditioed calipers and for only one wheel do you guys think so? i was thinking of maybe putting it off for awhile till i save up and maybe get new calipers and for now ill just keep topping it up every month since it took it 3 months for it to all drip out. suggestions anyone??

im on a really tight budget and i only purchased this car 3 months back and its draining my bank account very rapidly.

mongrelEB · 04-20-2004, 09:41

Just get a seal kit from somebody, it's like $50 for the front end I think. Rebuilding your calipers is not hard, at least not the fronts.
You need a vice or similar to squish the piston in properly, and some fine sandpaper to clean the bore a bit. That's it.
It'll only take you an hour or so per side. Gregory's has reasonable instructions in it.

Alex

galapogos01 · 04-20-2004, 15:55

sorry to hijack, but what about the rear? you need a special tool to screw in the piston, right? what about EF, they have a different rear setup to the EA dont they?

Jase

XplodEd EA · 04-21-2004, 02:10

As long as your pretty mechanically minded and have a decent workshop manual overhaulling the front calipers is pretty simple with the right tools. But if you're not overly mechanically confident I would leave it to the pro's, brakes are not a thing to be "toying" round with.

As long as the rear calipers are fine theres no need to overhaul them, but even if it's only 1 of the front calipers leaking both front calipers should be overhauled.

The EA-ED calipers have the handbrake mechanism built into the caliper and the piston needs to be screwed back in. The handbrake mechanism in EF onwards is in the disc/drum assembly and the calipers are the same as front ones and can be just pushed back into the caliper.

mongrelEB · 04-21-2004, 07:46

You don't NEED the special tool for the EA rears, vice grips will do it. Just takes a few extra hours, is all

galapogos01 · 04-21-2004, 15:55

the reason i ask is that i think my rear calipers on the EF are seized. theyre constantly squeaking, goes away when i apply brake pedal.

thanks for the info, i might try taking them apart...

Jase