05 STS front brakes

It's pronounced "chassy." Brakes, suspension...things that make the car fun or a death trap
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS front brakes

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote:Hopefully everything tightens up. I was having issues with the brake line leaking at the old caliper even though I switched to the new copper washers. Seriously.
This got worse before it got better. I was never able to get the old caliper to stop leaking. I wire brushed the brake hose to get some junk off. But it turns out the caliper actually had a lot of crust that was keeping the new washer from sealing. The OEM washer on the caliper side was sort of a triangle (and was kind of threaded on the banjo bolt which seems like a way to tell when the calipers/hoses are original). Because of that, there was junk built up around the circle where the rounded triangle washer did not cover. Maybe I could have worked on it more.

So the original plan was to get the car running again and wait for new calipers from Rockauto. But since I couldn't get the old caliper to stop leaking I looked at my local options. Napa or Advance did not stock calipers. But Autozone did (and Coventry, not Warwick). But instead of like $140 for AC Delco it was more like $160 for Duralast. Not that I had much of a choice. Hopefully they last.

Anyway, they sealed up and I bled all 4 calipers. Oh, I left the "old" (I have replaced these) brackets and stuff. I inspected the pins and everything looked good. Pads are wearing evenly. So I elected to leave it rather than introduce new variables.

Road test showed the brake pedal had more travel which I expected (remember I said the pedal feel was improving as the caliper was locking up). So still not real happy with brake feel but maybe it is actually a little firmer once it engages. I have new calipers all around now. I guess the main reason I did this was the drag and also a pull under harder braking. I don't remember if I really tested harder braking but did not feel anything and the drag is gone. At least I actually fixed what was broken which is a relief.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS front brakes

Post by kevm14 »

Drove the STS for the first time since before vacation.

Pedal feel has definitely improved since doing the front calipers. It is still not as tight as the SRX but since I am running HPS pads in front and the car is lighter (and on 18s instead of 20s) the overall brake performance is definitely superior overall (they both have the same JE5 brakes). I can probably live with this.
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