Today's load paid for most of the truck repair

I wanted to multitask the gas for the repair trip, so I hauled a light load. My steel buckets were mostly full, but my copper bucket was less than half full. $60 scrap, $80 exhaust.

Originally Posted by sledge42

I remember pulling in a Lumina Van and got paid $412.. next day, brake line on my truck went drippy drippy.. and needed new front calipers because they weren't able to bleed the old ones.. I found out later my 16 ft dual axle trailer that was supposed to have 4 wheel brakes- only had one of the 4 functional.. So that repair cost me $386.. guess I was lucky I came out ahead.

You got suckered on the callipers, all they had to do was retract the piston the air would have come out in the master cylinder.

Originally Posted by gustavus

You got suckered on the callipers, all they had to do was retract the piston the air would have come out in the master cylinder.

I agree, you put a "c" clamp on them and push them in. The only time you need to bleed a caliper is when you open the system (ie. new calipers, new master cylinder, new hoses, ect..). You can also get calipers for 25-30.00 so there is a lot of labor there. Some new pads and break grease on the pins and you would have been all set.

On brake repairs....

Use a vacuum to bleed the brakes.

If you use the 'push the pedal' method. The master cylinder goes past its normal travel.
If theres been water in the brake fluid, it will have rusted the liner of the master cylinder (if its iron) & as the master cylinder goes past its normal travel, it gets to the part where theres rust.
It will break off the rust & ruin the seals. The rust will then travel down the brake lines & as you bleed off the old fluid you will see a constant stream of rust/brake fluid.

Because the master seals are ruined it'll never work right, it'll feel spongy & your brakes will never work correctly.

Also, if you notice the vehicle pulling to one side during a long run downhill. The heat from the pads has caused the water in the lines to turn to steam & that puts pressure onto the brake pads & you will not be able to brake properly.
If you undo the bleed valve, you may see a stream of grey steam escape from the nipple.

Moral of the story? Get your brake fluid changed, using the vacuum system. Change brake fluid regularly & change the colour of the brake fluid too.
If the master cylinder is rusted or worn, get a reconditioned one with a stainless steel liner & proper grease, it'll last forever.

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

On brake repairs....


Moral of the story? Get your brake fluid changed, using the vacuum system. Change brake fluid regularly & change the colour of the brake fluid too.
If the master cylinder is rusted or worn, get a reconditioned one with a stainless steel liner & proper grease, it'll last forever.

I always thought it was interesting that people don't change:

1. Break fluid

2. Transmission fluid

Originally Posted by jghilino

now for the important question, sorry but i have to ask
did you scrap the old exhaust?

The broken part is a few ounces of rust. It may have crumbled to dust on the garage floor. The cost of the repair is labor for reaching the spot and not damaging other stuff. I still have a muffler that broke a while ago. If I eventually do my own exhaust welding, I will need some practice materials.

Originally Posted by sledge42

The system did have to be opened though.. I had to have one section of brake line removed and replaced.. so the system would have to have been bled correct?

Yes, because the new section of hose had air in it. It does depend on what section of hose was replaced also. You only need to bleed the section with the new hose. For example, if you replace a hose from the master cylinder to a caliper, only that tire/caliper needs it, not the whole system. Air compresses and fluid doesn't. If you have air in a caliper, it will compress the air and the caliper won't move. This is the reason for bleeding.