Thank You Ivan: Nice easy going explanation of rebuilding of a four piston brake assembly. My sixty four still has drum brakes. They work ok, but discs are better. Walt
Outstanding presentation - thank you! Being a little longer, I had to break it up some. I hope I didn't mess up your metrics for viewers. Thank you again ~ Chuck
This was a great video. I have replaced the calipers on several 66 Birds over the years but just got rebuilt ones. Never tried to do this myself. Now I know! My 68 Lincoln coupe uses these same Kesey Hayes monster brakes. As you know they came out on the bird and the Lincoln in 65. BTW when I bought my first 66 bird in approx 1971 from the original owner (85000 miles) the owner gave me a set of pads that he had purchased and never installed. Of course it was a small town with easy driving but those pads lasted until about 120000 miles when I just replaced them because one was getting pretty close to the metal.
Hi Jeff, In most cases, a new or rebuilt is the best way to go, but given the state of getting quality parts these days, a guy may be better off working with what you have.
Hey Alvin, great video. When popping out the pistons with air while the caliper is in a vice, I leave the calipers bolted together and I insert several brake pads in between the pistons so that when I use the air to push the pistons out, they can only move a fraction of an inch out, maybe a half inch or so, but not fully out. Putting the brake pads in between the pistons prevents them from just blowing out uncontrolled. Then I remove one brake pad and blow air again to push them out further. Im basically working them out little by little until I can remove them by hand. You can use a combination of new brake pads and old used brake pads because they will be different thicknesses, allowing you to decide how far you want the pistons to move depending on how thick or thin of a brake pad you remove while pushing the pistons out. Then, after you reinstall the old pistons or new pistons and reassemble the caliper, you can test the seal by putting brake pads between the pistons again so they don’t move, and applying air to see if the seals leak. Putting them in the vice like you did is also a very good suggestion too and a better solution for those that don’t have air. Man your brake fluid in the caliper was really really bad. It wasn’t brake fluid anymore. That’s pretty dangerous and this is one of the very good reasons to purge and bleed your brake system once ever couple of years. If the pistons are pitted even slightly, they are no good. Im really surprised that yours were not heavily pitted considering the condition of the brake fluid, if that’s what we are going to call it. More like dirty 90 weight gear oil. Its okay to use 1500-2000 wet sand paper to polish the side walls of the pistons. Yes, you can purchase brand new calipers. I made a video about those and how they don’t exactly fit perfectly. There is a small flaw that must be corrected when installing new calipers. Its all in my caliper video. When I told the manufacturer their response was, “Really, are you sure? Nobody ever said anything about that before.” Im always the first one to complain. I remember when the caliper piston seal kits were available from Napa. Ahhh, the good old days. The last time I tried to buy them, maybe a few years ago, they were hard to find. I think they are now available from the Thunderbird dealers for about $20. Thanks for the entertaining content.
Hello Nick, I agree with you about using air, its a quick way to do this job, and for testing afterward. I am a little on the cautious side around using compressed air to people, I don't know their skill level, during my years of underground mining, I've seen some pretty bad incidents involving compressed air, including one fatality, it's probably just me worrying too much. lol Yes...that brake oil, if you can still call it that, was nasty, I'm glad I took the time to get that crap out of there! I found one site selling the Kelsey Hayes calipers, and I thought the price was decent...but they said in their listing that they fit every Ford with this style of caliper, except 65-67 Thunderbird, so something is different, and I did watch you video, where you ran into this problem, so it looks like they can be modified to fit. Thank you Nick, I always look forward to reading your comments. 😊
I did mine on the car. I took a pad out and put it back at right angles then started the engine and stamped on the pedal which pushed the piston out far enough to get it out once the caliper was removed. My stuck ones were well beyond saving but weren't leaking. I had 2 stuck ones each side but the car still passed it's roadworthy test here in UK !
@@davidlanghorne1603 Hey, theres another way to do it. What ever works right. Most calipers I rebuild need new pistons. These days, I just buy new calipers, its easier.
Hello Alvin. I like the idea of using grease. I've used compressed air before, never thought of using grease. Ill give it a try next time I do them. George B
Hi George, I like using grease when the pistons are really stuck, it's a more gentle method...air is fast, and I'm not against using air, however, it gets a little more lively when the pistons pop out! Lol
Hi, I need to replace the anti-rattle shield that sits on top of the brake caliper (I have a knocking noise that I’m pretty sure is coming from loose brake pads). In your video, you say the two bolts that hold the shield down will often break off. I’m a little apprehensive after hearing you say that, but I thought I’d soak the bolts in WD 40 penetrating oil before starting. Anything else I can do to ensure success? Appreciate any help. John
Hi John, Hit them with some heat too, and only break them free at first, less than a quarter of a turn, and then back in again. Keep doing that, in and out but a little further each time, just be patient, and you should be okay.
Thank You Ivan: Nice easy going explanation of rebuilding of a four piston brake assembly. My sixty four still has drum brakes. They work ok, but discs are better. Walt
Thank you Walt. 😊
That was a great demonstration. I need to be checking my brakes before too long, so this was useful. Thanks.
You're welcome John, I hope all goes well, and your brakes don't need anything too expensive. 👍👍👍
Outstanding presentation - thank you! Being a little longer, I had to break it up some. I hope I didn't mess up your metrics for viewers. Thank you again ~ Chuck
Thank you Chuck!
As a rule I try to keep the vids shorter than this one, but this one got out of hand! Lol
This was a great video. I have replaced the calipers on several 66 Birds over the years but just got rebuilt ones. Never tried to do this myself. Now I know! My 68 Lincoln coupe uses these same Kesey Hayes monster brakes. As you know they came out on the bird and the Lincoln in 65. BTW when I bought my first 66 bird in approx 1971 from the original owner (85000 miles) the owner gave me a set of pads that he had purchased and never installed. Of course it was a small town with easy driving but those pads lasted until about 120000 miles when I just replaced them because one was getting pretty close to the metal.
Hi Jeff,
In most cases, a new or rebuilt is the best way to go, but given the state of getting quality parts these days, a guy may be better off working with what you have.
Hey Alvin, great video. When popping out the pistons with air while the caliper is in a vice, I leave the calipers bolted together and I insert several brake pads in between the pistons so that when I use the air to push the pistons out, they can only move a fraction of an inch out, maybe a half inch or so, but not fully out. Putting the brake pads in between the pistons prevents them from just blowing out uncontrolled. Then I remove one brake pad and blow air again to push them out further. Im basically working them out little by little until I can remove them by hand. You can use a combination of new brake pads and old used brake pads because they will be different thicknesses, allowing you to decide how far you want the pistons to move depending on how thick or thin of a brake pad you remove while pushing the pistons out. Then, after you reinstall the old pistons or new pistons and reassemble the caliper, you can test the seal by putting brake pads between the pistons again so they don’t move, and applying air to see if the seals leak. Putting them in the vice like you did is also a very good suggestion too and a better solution for those that don’t have air.
Man your brake fluid in the caliper was really really bad. It wasn’t brake fluid anymore. That’s pretty dangerous and this is one of the very good reasons to purge and bleed your brake system once ever couple of years.
If the pistons are pitted even slightly, they are no good. Im really surprised that yours were not heavily pitted considering the condition of the brake fluid, if that’s what we are going to call it. More like dirty 90 weight gear oil. Its okay to use 1500-2000 wet sand paper to polish the side walls of the pistons.
Yes, you can purchase brand new calipers. I made a video about those and how they don’t exactly fit perfectly. There is a small flaw that must be corrected when installing new calipers. Its all in my caliper video. When I told the manufacturer their response was, “Really, are you sure? Nobody ever said anything about that before.” Im always the first one to complain.
I remember when the caliper piston seal kits were available from Napa. Ahhh, the good old days. The last time I tried to buy them, maybe a few years ago, they were hard to find. I think they are now available from the Thunderbird dealers for about $20. Thanks for the entertaining content.
Hello Nick,
I agree with you about using air, its a quick way to do this job, and for testing afterward. I am a little on the cautious side around using compressed air to people, I don't know their skill level, during my years of underground mining, I've seen some pretty bad incidents involving compressed air, including one fatality, it's probably just me worrying too much. lol
Yes...that brake oil, if you can still call it that, was nasty, I'm glad I took the time to get that crap out of there!
I found one site selling the Kelsey Hayes calipers, and I thought the price was decent...but they said in their listing that they fit every Ford with this style of caliper, except 65-67 Thunderbird, so something is different, and I did watch you video, where you ran into this problem, so it looks like they can be modified to fit.
Thank you Nick, I always look forward to reading your comments. 😊
I did mine on the car. I took a pad out and put it back at right angles then started the engine and stamped on the pedal which pushed the piston out far enough to get it out once the caliper was removed. My stuck ones were well beyond saving but weren't leaking. I had 2 stuck ones each side but the car still passed it's roadworthy test here in UK !
@@davidlanghorne1603 Hey, theres another way to do it. What ever works right. Most calipers I rebuild need new pistons. These days, I just buy new calipers, its easier.
Great stuff. I thought using your needle nose vise grips to pinch off the brake line was slick. Thx Alvin
Yes, it work quite well, if the lines are to dried out, it will damage them...but they should be replaced anyway, if that's the case.
Thank you Doug.
Hello Alvin. I like the idea of using grease. I've used compressed air before, never thought of using grease. Ill give it a try next time I do them.
George B
Hi George,
I like using grease when the pistons are really stuck, it's a more gentle method...air is fast, and I'm not against using air, however, it gets a little more lively when the pistons pop out! Lol
Hi, I need to replace the anti-rattle shield that sits on top of the brake caliper (I have a knocking noise that I’m pretty sure is coming from loose brake pads). In your video, you say the two bolts that hold the shield down will often break off. I’m a little apprehensive after hearing you say that, but I thought I’d soak the bolts in WD 40 penetrating oil before starting. Anything else I can do to ensure success? Appreciate any help. John
Hi John,
Hit them with some heat too, and only break them free at first, less than a quarter of a turn, and then back in again. Keep doing that, in and out but a little further each time, just be patient, and you should be okay.
what about a blind flange puller????