I just replaced a rear caliper on my 87GT. I have a slow leak where the hose mates to the caliper. I first used the new washers that came with the caliper. I then switched back to the washers that were on the old caliper. Those leaked as well, so I went back up to the auto parts place and bought a spare pack of copper washers. Much to my surprise, these are leaking too.

I have never run across this before. Is it possible that I have screwed up the installation of the caliper somehow? The pedal is good and firm after bleeding with the exception of the slow drip from that fitting.

I have been screwing with this on and off all day long and I am really irritated with my brakes right now. Help....

Do I go grab another $4 pack of stupid washers and hope for the best?

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Dillon

"And this one time, on the Fiero Forum..."

Is it possiable that you have a problem with the hose end?

I went thru this a year ago with my 87gt. Best to use a new copper washer every time you take it apart. They get grooves in them when you tighten them down. Mine kept on leaking with new washers and someone told me that you need to tighten the new washer down then back of on it a little, just enough to loosen it, then tighten it down a second time, this will allow the grooves to form and prevent the leaks. If you loosen it to much and the copper washer mooves, you might have to start new with another one.

IT WORKED FOR ME!!

I second RossT; if you loosen them a turn or so, then snug them down, you may have better luck. Of course, make sure it is the washer, not the hose, that is leaking before trying this. When putting the stainless lines on my rear calipers, I found that it took a little more "snugging" than normal to get the washers to seat properly, and loosening them a little and tightening them again got them to stop dripping.

Bryce
88 GT

I forgot to mention that the hose is new as well. I will go get another set of washers and give it a whirl tomorrow.

DR

I used washers from NAPA they were $10 for a box of 10, maybe it is the quality of your washers. They worked fine for me.

DJ.....listen to Ross and Maniac Mechanic.
Make damn sure you don't have the hose upside down too.

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!

Make sure that the surface on the caliper is smooth. When I got new calipers for the rear of my 86SE naturally they were all rebuilt ones. And it took me several calipers untill I was satisfied with what they had gotten me. I actually went around to a few places to find calipers that I like because all of them had a really rough surface meaning that they ultimately would have probably leaked after mounting the hoses with the washers.

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Red 86 SE 2.8

Rate me if I've helped or just if you liked my responce.

Another big thing is cleanliness.

All it takes is one grain of sand (in a dirty wheel well? Never!) to imbed itself in the washer, the bolt, or the caliper to make a leak. We're talking several thousand PSI here right!

Although it's frowned on in some circles (whatever - I do it!), you can reuse those washers. String them up on some stainless wire and hit them with a torch until they're just about bright red. Hold it there for a minute, then let them cool normally. Did this all the time with the washers used on aircraft spark plugs.

quote Originally posted by GTDude: Make damn sure you don't have the hose upside down too. Phil

Heh. I was just going to say the same thing. My money is on upside down hose.

Hose was new about 6 months ago and did not leak until I replaced the caliper on Saturday...I will go back through and clean the surfaces carefully with alcohol and give it another shot.

I just re-did the rear brakes on my 86 GT and there were small rings on the caliper itself that would be pressed into the washers. I noticed these on the originals, and the remans I got from the fiero store. If these grooves were smoothed over when the caliper was refinished it might cause a problem.

Sounds familiar. Went throught this several years ago. Installed rebuilt caliper, leaked like crazy at the hose-to-caliper joint. Noticed end of hose lug is not symmetrical (could be installed upside down). Aha! Flipped hose over, tightened, still leaked like a sieve.

Finally, after several trials and much obvious leakage from the same place (hose-to-caliper joint, where the copper washers live), decided to mike the depth of the counterbore in the caliper. Found that it was counterbored deeper than the thickness of the copper washer, so the thing wouldn't compress the washer. Hence the leak.

Solution: Used 2 copper washers underneath the hose end, and 1 on top (immediately underneath the bolt head), instead of the usual one washer on each side.

Not recommending this, just reporting what I did. I can also report that it hasn't leaked in several years of usage. Point is: you might wish to measure the counterbore depth in the caliper, and compare it to the thickness of the copper washer. If the counterbore is too deep to allow the washer to compress when you tighten the bolt, you might want to exchange the rebuilt caliper for another one.

Good luck, and be careful !

I NEVER ARGUE WITH SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!