GatorFan
You think I Shiv a Get?!!!?
After over 13 years I decided to upgrade/replace the brakes on the truck. I also decided to replace the brake hoses with Stainless Steel Braided lines and flush the entire system and replace it with new Synthetic Dot 3 fluid.
I ordered the PowerStop K2010 Rotor/pad kit (http://www.powerstop.com/) as well as the Russell 672430 Stainless Steel Braided Line kit (http://www.russellperformance.com/). I also grabbed a Motive GM Power Bleeder (http://www.motiveproducts.com/) to flush the entire system with Valvoline synthetic brake fluid. Next I will be ordering the Russell Speed Bleeders. I wished I would’ve thought of ordering them at the same time but I forgot so that is on the next project.
Well I got all the parts in and began the process...
I started on the front of the truck...
I used my hose pinch pliers (http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-hose-pinch-pliers/p-00947051000P) to crimp the old brake hose to keep the brake fluid at bay while I loosened the brake bleeder and compressed the brake pads to make it easier to remove the calipers to start the job.
Once that was done, I moved on to removing the old brake hose. The clips that hold the hose to the frame were a little tricky to remove but I used a huge adjustable wrench and pulled it loose. The new Russell hoses use a large nut to secure it to the frame bracket so you don’t have to worry about that stubborn clip anymore.
The Russell hoses also use a bracket to connect the front hose to a factory location on the Upper Control Arm.
The first thing I noticed was I didn't like how Russell wanted you to connect their front brake hose and the ABS sensor with their supplied clamps. I noticed how the ABS originally connected via a bracket on the brake hose so I decided to cut apart the old hose and usethe bracket to make sure the ABS sensor stayed routed in its' original configuration.
The picture below is of the original brake hose bracket I am referring to.
Next I had to cut apart the brake hose and take that old bracket. A trusty pair ofbig Vice Grips and good Linesman's Pliers would do the trick.
Once I had one end cut from the hose...
I just pulled the old hose out of the bracket using the Lineman’s Pliers andholding onto the bracket with those trusty Vice-Grips. My hose was 13+ years old so it came out pretty easy.
They may be tougher to remove if the hoses are newer. If they won’t come out, just cut them flush with the bracket. It won’t affect anything if that hose has to stay inside the bracket. (Plus I cut that part off the bracket anyway)
Now that the bracket is free from the hose, I can move on...
I placed the bracket back in its' original location to check fitment and sure enough, the new Russell brake hose interfered with the bracket so I cut off what I didn't need.
Then I cleaned up what was left of the bracket and painted it.
(The pic above shows both brackets from both sides. I am showing you the pieces I cut off from the driver's side if I remember correctly).
CONTINUING ON….
Now it is on to the other old hose and bracket...
CAUTION!!!!! In my over-exuberance I ended up cutting the wrong parts offthe other bracket so I had to go buy a brand spanking new hose just to cut offthe bracket.
If you live near a junk yard and you make the same mental error Idid, you may be able to grab one pretty cheap. The new hose cost me $28 plusthe time it took me to drive to the local parts store. DUMB MISTAKE!!!!
Alwaysmeasure twice and cut once!!!
Well after that fiasco, I DID measure twice and cut once and got the newbracket cut, painted, and installed.
These are pics (both sides) of the ABS sensors and the Russell brake hoses secured using the original bracket from the oldbrake hose. They fit perfectly and do not contact the rotors at all.
By the way, I didn't like the hose clamps that came with the Russell kit (they were too short for my configuration) so I stopped by Lowes and picked some clamps that were a little longer.
(The top clamp is the ones that are supplied by Russell, the one on the bottom is the Hillman I got from Lowes.)
Here is what the rotors look like up front.
Now it’s on to the rear…
I crimped the rear brake hose (old hose) justlike I did the front in order to loosen the brake bleeder and press the brakepads with a 8” C-clamp to make it easier to remove the caliper.
I could not get the caliper bolts to break free on thecaliper bracket so I had to remove the caliper and bracket as one unit. Thank goodness I had those hose crimp pliers…
I put the caliper on my work stand and had touse that 8” C-clamp to secure it to the stand while I tried to break thosecaliper bolts loose…not happening. I ended up using my impact to break those stubborn bolts loose. Well, it looks like I will be purchasing new calipersbecause the other side ended up being in the same shape…old and rusty!!!!
OK, so it was off to the local parts store again to buy new rear calipers. I ended up grabbing the caliper and brackets as one unit because it was only a few dollars more to have both new brackets and calipers.
Here is a pic of the new bracket installed
Here is a pic of the new caliper and I pre-installed the Russell brake line to thenew caliper.
The next thing I had to do was to remove the factory hose. The same clips you had to deal with for the front are also located in the rear. I used a small flat-bladed screwdriver to rotate the clip so I could tap it out. It came out with a little persuasion. Be care with this clip because you do have to reuse them to install the new Russell hose.
Once I had the Russell hose connected to the hard brakeline, I then moved on to the new Russell Center Brake Hose. This one is alittle more tricky to install. If you still have your spare tire in the factory location, make sure you lower it out of the way.
The Russell Center Hose also has a small metal sleeve you need to install in the square portion of the new hose before installing it in its' new home.
Here is a pic of the Center Hose installed on the top of the axle (Driver’s side)
Here is another pic but with it showing you where the front of the Center Hose is installed (near the bottom of the underside of the bed).
After I finished with the Center Hose I decided to go ahead and tackle the Passenger side to get it all wrapped up and then go back overand finish up with the Driver’s side.
Here is the Passenger all done and ready for its’tire to go back on.
NowI’m in the home stretch…Can’t wait to get this project done, so far so good, noreally big issues…
So I grabbed the rotor for the Driver’s Side rear and getready to install it and WAIT!!!!! Why won’t this stupid rotor go on?
I started to grab my rubber mallet and pound it on but had alight bulb moment instead (thank the good Lord I did)…
I ended up calling PowerStop and talking to a TechSupport person (awesome customer service). She asked me to look at the top edgeof the rotor and give her the part number. The part number I had was AR8698XL(hard to read from the pic) and the part number I needed was AR8641XL.
Well as you can guess, I ended up receiving the wrong partfor the rear rotor. She told me that since I ordered them from Amazon, to tryto go through them first and if I ran into issues to call her back and shewould send me out the correct rotor. Well Amazon ended up wanting to resend methe entire kit because they said they couldn’t just send me one rotor. Iexplained to them how I took a day off from work to finish this project andthey apologized and sent the kit next day delivery. Well, since all I could dowas wait until the rotor arrived, I decided to go ahead and get all theplumbing hooked up and flush/bleed the system.
I installed the driver’s side caliper and connected the Russell brake hose.
I ran by the grocery store and bought a turkey baster topull all the old fluid out of the master cylinder. Wife would kill me if I usedhers.
Well it looked like coffee because I never changed out the fluid (over 13years). Yeah I know, stupid move on my part. 
Now that I have this new Motive PowerBleeder though, I won’t be ignoring this important item anymore.
So, I pulled out most of the old fluid and manthat turkey baster was useless and messy but it got the job done. I then pouredin the new Valvoline Synthetic Dot 3/Dot 4 fluid and then poured the rest ofthe 32 ounces into my new Motive Bleeder. Oh, first I connected the MotiveBleeder to the system dry and did a pressure test. I pumped about 18 psi intothe system and watched the gauge on the bottle. I noticed the needle moving(very slowly but moving nonetheless) and identified that as a small air leaksomewhere in the system. I eventually found the culprit; it was the caliper onthe right front. The banjo bolt wasn’t tightened enough and I could see alittle fluid running out.
I ended up flushing about 64 ounces of fluid through thesystem to make sure there was no trace of the old fluid left behind.
Well I was done for now and had to work the next morning so I called it quits and cleaned up the garage. I get to drive the wife’s ride tomorrow…cool!!!
Well the next afternoon the wife called me at work and said the stuff arrived from Amazon. So I knew that all I had to do when I got home was to remove thecaliper and bracket (leaving the brake hose intact) and put on the rotor,reattach the caliper and bracket, torque everything down and then I could finally drive the truck again YAY!!!!!!
Well, not exactly…
When I finished torqueing everything and putting the truckback on the ground, I had to now focus on getting the brake pads seated properly. I headed out to a side street and the brake pedal felt a little squishy. I realized all the parts I had replaced might have something to dowith the different feel but I just didn’t like the way it felt. I also knew I didn’t see any air in my brake hoses when I bled them so I wasn’t sure what the deal was. Well I decided not to chance it and made my way back to the garage. On the way back I heard what sounded like rubbing coming from the left rear wheel. I figured it had to be the pads not seating properly because everything inthe rear was brand new.
So I drove the wife’s ride again the next day and took it by one of the shops I frequent and trust. Well they ended up bleeding the brakes via that ABS system and found that some air had made its’way possibly up there. They also checked the rear and tightened the parkingbrakes (which I didn’t bother because I never use them). He said that might beone of the noises I heard but more than likely the pads need to wear in to the rotors and calipers.
Well the truck is back on the road and I am glad that ordeal is over with.
Oh yeah, I did notice that I now need new Jounce Bumpers for the front and rear. I touched the one on the Front Driver's side to wipe off some grease and it literally fell apart and crumbled into almost dust.
Next on the agenda is pumping out the PowerSteering fluid (yep, that’s been 13+ years too). The cool thing is that itgives me an excuse to by the MightyVac 7201!
Thanks guys for letting me share and tell you the issues I had with the install. All-in-all I really like the setup and know this will probably last longer than the truck.
I ordered the PowerStop K2010 Rotor/pad kit (http://www.powerstop.com/) as well as the Russell 672430 Stainless Steel Braided Line kit (http://www.russellperformance.com/). I also grabbed a Motive GM Power Bleeder (http://www.motiveproducts.com/) to flush the entire system with Valvoline synthetic brake fluid. Next I will be ordering the Russell Speed Bleeders. I wished I would’ve thought of ordering them at the same time but I forgot so that is on the next project.
Well I got all the parts in and began the process...
I started on the front of the truck...
I used my hose pinch pliers (http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-hose-pinch-pliers/p-00947051000P) to crimp the old brake hose to keep the brake fluid at bay while I loosened the brake bleeder and compressed the brake pads to make it easier to remove the calipers to start the job.
Once that was done, I moved on to removing the old brake hose. The clips that hold the hose to the frame were a little tricky to remove but I used a huge adjustable wrench and pulled it loose. The new Russell hoses use a large nut to secure it to the frame bracket so you don’t have to worry about that stubborn clip anymore.
The Russell hoses also use a bracket to connect the front hose to a factory location on the Upper Control Arm.
The first thing I noticed was I didn't like how Russell wanted you to connect their front brake hose and the ABS sensor with their supplied clamps. I noticed how the ABS originally connected via a bracket on the brake hose so I decided to cut apart the old hose and usethe bracket to make sure the ABS sensor stayed routed in its' original configuration.
The picture below is of the original brake hose bracket I am referring to.
Next I had to cut apart the brake hose and take that old bracket. A trusty pair ofbig Vice Grips and good Linesman's Pliers would do the trick.
Once I had one end cut from the hose...
I just pulled the old hose out of the bracket using the Lineman’s Pliers andholding onto the bracket with those trusty Vice-Grips. My hose was 13+ years old so it came out pretty easy.
They may be tougher to remove if the hoses are newer. If they won’t come out, just cut them flush with the bracket. It won’t affect anything if that hose has to stay inside the bracket. (Plus I cut that part off the bracket anyway)
Now that the bracket is free from the hose, I can move on...
I placed the bracket back in its' original location to check fitment and sure enough, the new Russell brake hose interfered with the bracket so I cut off what I didn't need.
Then I cleaned up what was left of the bracket and painted it.
(The pic above shows both brackets from both sides. I am showing you the pieces I cut off from the driver's side if I remember correctly).
CONTINUING ON….
Now it is on to the other old hose and bracket...
CAUTION!!!!! In my over-exuberance I ended up cutting the wrong parts offthe other bracket so I had to go buy a brand spanking new hose just to cut offthe bracket.
If you live near a junk yard and you make the same mental error Idid, you may be able to grab one pretty cheap. The new hose cost me $28 plusthe time it took me to drive to the local parts store. DUMB MISTAKE!!!! Alwaysmeasure twice and cut once!!!Well after that fiasco, I DID measure twice and cut once and got the newbracket cut, painted, and installed.
These are pics (both sides) of the ABS sensors and the Russell brake hoses secured using the original bracket from the oldbrake hose. They fit perfectly and do not contact the rotors at all.
By the way, I didn't like the hose clamps that came with the Russell kit (they were too short for my configuration) so I stopped by Lowes and picked some clamps that were a little longer.
(The top clamp is the ones that are supplied by Russell, the one on the bottom is the Hillman I got from Lowes.)
Here is what the rotors look like up front.
Now it’s on to the rear…
I crimped the rear brake hose (old hose) justlike I did the front in order to loosen the brake bleeder and press the brakepads with a 8” C-clamp to make it easier to remove the caliper.
I could not get the caliper bolts to break free on thecaliper bracket so I had to remove the caliper and bracket as one unit. Thank goodness I had those hose crimp pliers…
I put the caliper on my work stand and had touse that 8” C-clamp to secure it to the stand while I tried to break thosecaliper bolts loose…not happening. I ended up using my impact to break those stubborn bolts loose. Well, it looks like I will be purchasing new calipersbecause the other side ended up being in the same shape…old and rusty!!!!
OK, so it was off to the local parts store again to buy new rear calipers. I ended up grabbing the caliper and brackets as one unit because it was only a few dollars more to have both new brackets and calipers.
Here is a pic of the new bracket installed
Here is a pic of the new caliper and I pre-installed the Russell brake line to thenew caliper.
The next thing I had to do was to remove the factory hose. The same clips you had to deal with for the front are also located in the rear. I used a small flat-bladed screwdriver to rotate the clip so I could tap it out. It came out with a little persuasion. Be care with this clip because you do have to reuse them to install the new Russell hose.
Once I had the Russell hose connected to the hard brakeline, I then moved on to the new Russell Center Brake Hose. This one is alittle more tricky to install. If you still have your spare tire in the factory location, make sure you lower it out of the way.
The Russell Center Hose also has a small metal sleeve you need to install in the square portion of the new hose before installing it in its' new home.
Here is a pic of the Center Hose installed on the top of the axle (Driver’s side)
Here is another pic but with it showing you where the front of the Center Hose is installed (near the bottom of the underside of the bed).
After I finished with the Center Hose I decided to go ahead and tackle the Passenger side to get it all wrapped up and then go back overand finish up with the Driver’s side.
Here is the Passenger all done and ready for its’tire to go back on.
NowI’m in the home stretch…Can’t wait to get this project done, so far so good, noreally big issues…
So I grabbed the rotor for the Driver’s Side rear and getready to install it and WAIT!!!!! Why won’t this stupid rotor go on?
I started to grab my rubber mallet and pound it on but had alight bulb moment instead (thank the good Lord I did)…
I ended up calling PowerStop and talking to a TechSupport person (awesome customer service). She asked me to look at the top edgeof the rotor and give her the part number. The part number I had was AR8698XL(hard to read from the pic) and the part number I needed was AR8641XL.
Well as you can guess, I ended up receiving the wrong partfor the rear rotor.
She told me that since I ordered them from Amazon, to tryto go through them first and if I ran into issues to call her back and shewould send me out the correct rotor. Well Amazon ended up wanting to resend methe entire kit because they said they couldn’t just send me one rotor. Iexplained to them how I took a day off from work to finish this project andthey apologized and sent the kit next day delivery. Well, since all I could dowas wait until the rotor arrived, I decided to go ahead and get all theplumbing hooked up and flush/bleed the system.I installed the driver’s side caliper and connected the Russell brake hose.
I ran by the grocery store and bought a turkey baster topull all the old fluid out of the master cylinder. Wife would kill me if I usedhers.
Well it looked like coffee because I never changed out the fluid (over 13years). Yeah I know, stupid move on my part. Now that I have this new Motive PowerBleeder though, I won’t be ignoring this important item anymore.
So, I pulled out most of the old fluid and manthat turkey baster was useless and messy but it got the job done. I then pouredin the new Valvoline Synthetic Dot 3/Dot 4 fluid and then poured the rest ofthe 32 ounces into my new Motive Bleeder. Oh, first I connected the MotiveBleeder to the system dry and did a pressure test. I pumped about 18 psi intothe system and watched the gauge on the bottle. I noticed the needle moving(very slowly but moving nonetheless) and identified that as a small air leaksomewhere in the system. I eventually found the culprit; it was the caliper onthe right front. The banjo bolt wasn’t tightened enough and I could see alittle fluid running out.
I ended up flushing about 64 ounces of fluid through thesystem to make sure there was no trace of the old fluid left behind.
Well I was done for now and had to work the next morning so I called it quits and cleaned up the garage. I get to drive the wife’s ride tomorrow…cool!!!
Well the next afternoon the wife called me at work and said the stuff arrived from Amazon. So I knew that all I had to do when I got home was to remove thecaliper and bracket (leaving the brake hose intact) and put on the rotor,reattach the caliper and bracket, torque everything down and then I could finally drive the truck again YAY!!!!!!
Well, not exactly…
When I finished torqueing everything and putting the truckback on the ground, I had to now focus on getting the brake pads seated properly. I headed out to a side street and the brake pedal felt a little squishy. I realized all the parts I had replaced might have something to dowith the different feel but I just didn’t like the way it felt. I also knew I didn’t see any air in my brake hoses when I bled them so I wasn’t sure what the deal was. Well I decided not to chance it and made my way back to the garage. On the way back I heard what sounded like rubbing coming from the left rear wheel. I figured it had to be the pads not seating properly because everything inthe rear was brand new.
So I drove the wife’s ride again the next day and took it by one of the shops I frequent and trust. Well they ended up bleeding the brakes via that ABS system and found that some air had made its’way possibly up there. They also checked the rear and tightened the parkingbrakes (which I didn’t bother because I never use them). He said that might beone of the noises I heard but more than likely the pads need to wear in to the rotors and calipers.
Well the truck is back on the road and I am glad that ordeal is over with.
Oh yeah, I did notice that I now need new Jounce Bumpers for the front and rear. I touched the one on the Front Driver's side to wipe off some grease and it literally fell apart and crumbled into almost dust.
Next on the agenda is pumping out the PowerSteering fluid (yep, that’s been 13+ years too). The cool thing is that itgives me an excuse to by the MightyVac 7201!
Thanks guys for letting me share and tell you the issues I had with the install. All-in-all I really like the setup and know this will probably last longer than the truck.
