Howdy folks,

What a weekend. I am posting in hopes that my own foibles and boneheadedness and final victory will help someone else at some point.

So it started yesterday - wife is out of town so I had big plans under the rover. Free time! Unfortunately I didn't really budget time for the other stuff I still had on my plate - basketball, lacrosse, soccer games for the kids....My day went like the scene in goodfellas where Ray Liotta is making the gravy for his family, and running all over, minus the cocaine bust, of course. That's my excuse for being a moron, and I'm sticking to it.

So, first up, calipers, rotors and pads. Bit of advice #1, I love rovah farm and Trevor is the man, but those calipers he sells (brand new! no core required!) are just junk. Two sets in 18 months, in both sets multiple frozen pistons in three or four months. Unacceptable. Save yourself some headaches and get lockheed or rebuilt OEM.

I got everything apart, new rotors on, in short order. Handfulls of never-seize on everything, including the mating surfaces of the rotors and hubs the last time I had it apart carried the day. Everything came apart as it should, instead of the soul crushing dissimilar metal electrolytic sledgehammer fest I had the last time.

Now, if anyone has suggestions about how to get the short hard lines that join the caliper to the flexible line off without destroying them, I am all ears. I always end up twisting the lines and eventually shearing the tubing before I get them off. I just take it for granted that I'm going to be bending new ones no matter what if I have to break the connections on the caliper. So, being in a hurry, I just twisted them off as usual, recovered the nuts for the new pipe, and moved on.

At this point, I had to quick change to civilized clothing and get to the first set of games. Upon returning, I set about getting the used calipers supplied by Abran (thanks buddy, worked a treat!) cleaned up and put back on the truck. Slapped them on, and got about making the new CuNi lines. Now, while I was bending and flaring away I kept getting this little nudge in the back of my head. Why are the new lines so much shorter than the mangled remnants of the ones I removed lying in the driveway at my feet?

Now, I was really moving, speed wrenching at its finest. So I got to the bleeding stage, and still something didn't seem right.

Any guesses as to what was going on?

Stupidity, that's what.

I ran two quarts of fluid through it, and still, pedal right to the floor. Wtf???

Then it dawned on me. Jebus! The freakin bleeder screws were on the BOTTOM!! Valuable piece of info #2 - it IS POSSIBLE to install the calipers on the wrong side!!! They fit up no problem on the wrong side, and that just never occurred to me. Idiot! Douchebag! Arrrggghhhhh.

Got them off, and back on the right sides, made new lines. Ugh. Bled them again, and voila! Rock hard pedal. Joy! I used the old man method. Valuable piece of info #3 - No need to bleed the backs, and using a tube submerged in a catchcan of fluid works great, just open the bleeder with the tubing connected and pump away. No need for the ol' two man, push down, hold, tighten back the bleeder, let up. The pedal hasn't been this solid in years.

Now, after a test drive on to the next issue. I have a recurring obd codes of p1313 and p1314, with the occasional p300 and p307. I had a separate issue with p1316, but that was caused by overzealous use of dielectric grease on the plug boots. The boots slid off the connections, causing the misfires.

This was different. Truck ran like a dream, except for occasional stumbles while under load which would then cause the aforementioned codes to pop up in a group.

Went round about a little while ago with the crank position sensor, replacement seemed to be ok. What's left? Hmmm. On a whim, I snagged a new MAF after reading about some other poor buggers experiences on this forum.

Slapped that bad boy in and fired her up. Winner winner chicken dinner !!! Wow, what a difference! She's up again, and light on her toes like I've never seen! Responsive, banging through the gears like nobody's business. Went for a long highway cruise with my eye pinned to the ultra-gauge and the slightest touch to the gas pedal produced a corresponding change in the MAF readout I've never seen before. And I think I only paid $45 for it on eBay.

Valuable piece of info #4 - if you have done everything else - new cats, oxygen sensors, plugs, wires, CPS and Cam-PS, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel LINE, FPS, and are still running dog-like and slow, and getting weird misfire codes that don't make sense, maybe, just maybe it's your MAF holding you back!!

In any case, time will tell. Gonna drive her to work all next week, instead of the trusty 940, to see what is what, and will report back.

That is all.

 

sounds like a fun day

 

Wow... I thought that I had the calipers labeled? Normally I mark the position on a small zip tie label. Anyways, glad they worked and the Disco is running well.

That Ray Liotta scene stresses me out just thinking about it.

 

Nobody but you could conjure up such a crap storm in a tin can and come out smelling like refried beans in a Chalupa, nobody. Hey, your "spare" MAF is working wonderfully on my truck by the way.......LOL!!!! We is brothers now!

Don't feel too bad, at least you had a happy ending. My little f-up flushed $500 bucks down the pot. Try installing the intake cam on the exhaust side and the exhaust cam on the intake side and see how long it takes to make at least 8 brand new valves out of 16 vertical. I had two and half days of awesome weather, no worries, no double checks either....... 9000 10mm bolts now have to be warmed by my tiny little fists of rage and 1/4" drive to undue all what took two of those days to do and 3 starter shots to kill.

 

For the hardlines, caliper to flex. You need to notch the L bracket that the flex line connect into. With an angle grinder or Dremel cut straight down to the opening the flex line goes into. If you're careful you can do it in-situ. In the future you can remove the hardline at the caliper, pop the retention clip on that bracket, and lift the flex and hardline out in one piece.

Also, before doing brake work I push the pedal down about halfway and hold it there with a stick. I've found this minimizes or almost completely prevents fluid loss.