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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
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It has been a long time since I've updated the thread...

I picked up this bad boy from @ZooMad75 about three weeks ago now (sorry dude). It took me a while to really dig into the Blazer again, but I've gotten back at it over the last week or so.

The first thing I decided to do was to clean up the passenger side bracket where I had used a file to grind out some metal for the new ORD brake lines. I bought some bigger files from Harbor Freight and I took my time with it and tried to make the surface mostly smooth and an easy fit. It came out looking like this (which is a lot better than it used to be, I promise):

PXL_20220820_205815506.jpg

I then reattached everything on the passenger side and shifted focus to the driver's side. The driver's side was still the old line and whatnot - I had not broken the old stuff free yet.

I started off with some more PB Blaster, a couple of hits with the hammer, and then got on it with the flare nut wrench. It did not break free and once again I thought I was going to end up rounding off the nut. So, I decided to just commit... and I cut the factory flexible brake hose. This allowed me to get the closed end of a wrench around the "outer" nut and the flare nut wrench around the "inner" nut. I did the "clock trick" that @Wes Harden and @mrk5 mentioned earlier in the thread and it finally broke free. Thanks for the tips guys - I yelled out loud in triumph when it broke loose.

I used the new round file to grind out metal on the driver's side bracket, and I'm proud of how it came out. I don't have a pic unfortunately but it's quite a bit cleaner than the passenger side. Tonight, I went out and installed the new ORD brake line on the driver's side.

After I got everything connected, I went and took a look at the rear brake line. Doing so made me notice that I had two nuts "left over" in the kit, which was a huge :doah::doah::doah:moment for me. If anyone is curious, the nuts that I'm talking about are circled in red here. I did all of that work grinding metal out of the factory bracket so that I could reuse the factory horse shoe clip to keep the flexible brake hose in place. It looks like these nuts can be used instead of the horse shoe clip which would mean that I didn't have to do any of that grinding with the files. So it goes I guess. I decided to "do it right" and disconnect everything again... I then installed those nuts along with the horse shoe clips.

I sprayed the rear brake line stuff with PB Blaster and called it a night. I am really hopeful that it will be easier in the rear than it was in the front. The only big concern other than things being seized is that my skid plate for my gas tank is sorta in the way. I would love to do this rear brake line job without taking that thing off... but I suppose we'll see.

The plan now is to install the ORD brake hose in the rear and then bleed the whole truck with Zoo's extractor pump. I'll start with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder and work my way through all four. Fingers are crossed that it works out and that I can get to driving this thing again. I realized today that it has been down for about 6 weeks!

Thanks again for everyone's help through the front brake line saga.
 
Got the rear brake hose installed tonight. All things considered, it went extremely well. Much less of a pain than the front.

Here are some photos:

PXL_20220826_030737209.jpg

PXL_20220826_030746218.jpg

After doing the installation, I checked my master cylinder. One of the two wells was dry.

PXL_20220826_032708598.MP.jpg

I went ahead and filled up the master cylinder with fresh brake fluid. My close friend is getting married this weekend and a lot of friends are coming into town... but I hope to get after the bleeding job early next week. I'm excited to be "done" fighting with things for now. I am optimistic that the bleed will go okay and I'll be back on the road with all of these fresh parts!
 
looks good, am glad you got it together. the one brake looks bent at the flare nut, you can try to straighten it some, gently. Might be a restriction.
 
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Garage pre-party before the wedding. Hevr beer on hand, somebody pump the brake pedal, you bleed. The rest of your buddies heckle and point.

Sounds like a good night to me. Way more fun than a bar and you get shit done!
 
I must have missed it, but why did your new brake lines have a different style of mount/clip than your stock lines?
 
regal403 said:
I must have missed it, but why did your new brake lines have a different style of mount/clip than your stock lines?
Click to expand...

I still don't have a great answer for this. I called ORD a while back (a few weeks ago?) to try and confirm whether I ordered an incorrect part or something like that. The lady on the phone was really nice but had no idea how to help me. I was "too deep" at that point anyhow and just decided that I'd continue with these lines regardless of whether I ordered the wrong one by accident.

My best guess is that I ordered the correct part and that ORD intends for customers to ditch the factory horseshoe clips in the front entirely. The reason I think that is because they include a new horseshoe clip to replace the factory one for the rear brakeline but do not include replacements for the fronts. Instead, they send you the two big nuts that I described earlier in the thread. When you pull up the page on ORD's website for front brake lines only, the description says this:

"Fitting at frame is 3/8 "-24 female thread, 3/16" male IF, jam nut to retain brakeline to bracket on frame"

The page for the full brakeline kit says something similar, it's just not as direct of an instruction as that and I just didn't figure it out quickly enough to save myself all that filing.
 
Yesterday I was looking at a complete D44 front axle I pulled from a 77 K20 suburban.
Here is a picture of the frame end of the soft line.

IMG_20220827_122305_01.jpg
 
I have learned to hate brake line work. lol

First, the good news from last night... the Holt Industries pump that I borred from @ZooMad75 works like an absolute dream. Here is a video of it operating last night. I couldn't ask for a more pain-free way of bleeding brakes.

The not so great news... I had (and still have) a few leaks to deal with. When bleeding the rear brake on the driver's side, I noticed a small puddle of brake fluid near the diff. Turns out it was leaking from the new brake line hose up near the gas tank. I tightened it down and it eventually stopped leaking. I was really surprised with how tight I had to get it for it to stop. It is freaking nerve-wracking torquing down this old brake line hardware into the new ORD hoses. I feel like I'm going to snap it... but it won't stop leaking unless I really torque down on it.

I was able to bleed all four brakes and start up the truck. When I tested the pedal, I was disappointed with how soft it felt. I figured okay it needs a few pumps to pressurize, no big deal... so I kept pumping. It was just too soft. I thought that I must still have air in the lines somehow. I was wrong... I got out and there was brake fluid all over the garage floor. The same junction was leaking in the rear and BOTH new hoses were leaking in the front. I tightened the fronts down a bit more and called it a night.

Tonight, I'm going to go out and check/tighten all of the brake line stuff. Then I'll fire the truck up and test the pedal again. I'm hopeful that I do not have to do any more bleeding... and theoretically I think (?) I should be good. We will see and I'll report back tonight or tomorrow.
 
Once you get the leaks fixed you should do 1 more bleed. If fluid can leak out air can be drawn in. Always start with the wheel farthest from Master cyl and work your way closer.
 
Practice makes perfect! As long as you are using two wrenches to work against each other you should be safe from screwing up a fitting.

When you get it right the pedal won’t feel soft. You got the east way to do the bleed, maybe too easy. Having someone on the pedal pressing down would have indicated a problem sooner in the form of a leak.

That’s the only downside to vacuum bleeding in that it’s sucking from a bleed screw (think negative pressure) so you won’t have a visual leak. When you push fluid through it’s doing so under pressure and will push out of any spot it can.

I’d still make sure everything is tight and do a vacuum bleed and vacuum then follow it with a manual bleed. If everything is tight that should go quickly.
 
Got out there and had a somewhat successful (although frustrating) night of work last night.

First, I cleaned up the floor as best I could in order to get a "clean canvas". Next, I tightened all fasteners (rear, front driver, front passenger) as best I could. I then fired up the Blazer and pressed on the brake pedal about ten times. I saw evidence of leaks at all three areas.

The rear was the smallest looking leak, so I went after that first. The fitting up near the gas tank was dry but I actually saw evidence of leaking at the passenger side fastener at the "junction block". Gave that another quarter turn and cleaned up the drippings.

At the front driver's side, I saw a light drip at the frame bracket but also saw evidence that the caliper was leaking at the banjo bolt. I gave each a quarter turn... maybe a little more than a quarter turn on the banjo. That seemed to do it... so two of the three areas were fixed.

The front passenger side was the biggest PITA. I saw a decent leak at the frame bracket AND at the banjo. I got the frame bracket leak fixed up by giving the line bolt about a quarter turn. The banjo however... f*** that thing. I shouldn't be mad at it, and here is why... I suspected that there was a particle of dust or rock in there somewhere... so I disconnected everything and used a wire brush to clean up the caliper surface and the crush washers. Then I put everything back together and tightened it all down as hard as I could before worrying about breaking something.

Well, I've heard a thousand times from you guys that you should replace the crush washers if you ever disconnect the banjo. Sure enough the banjo was still leaking after putting everything back together. At that point it was about 9:40pm and AutoZone closes at 10pm... so I rushed over there to get the basic crush washers from Dorman. I didn't go any further last night because I was pissed off and just wanted to call it a night.

Tonight I'm gonna put the new crush washers on and retest. Fingers are obviously crossed that the leak will finally stop. Then it's on to bleeding and finally DRIVING this thing.
 
You can sometimes get lucky reusing the copper washers, if you keep them in the same spot and orientation. Sometimes.
Does sound like you are making progress, you are getting there.
 
Aftermarket calipers say 12 to 14 ft-lbs torque on the banjo bolt. That's not much.
 
I think I figured out why the passenger side has been giving me so much trouble. There looks to be a small dent in the caliper where the crush washer sits.

Here is a photo:

PXL_20220902_224027256.jpg

I don't know if this is new, or old, or what. When @Justin V first came by my house to look at this Blazer back when I bought it, he pointed out that I had a brake leak at this caliper. I replaced the washers back then and it seemed to have solved it. I wonder if a small rock got in there when I replaced the washers last time... and I crushed it into the caliper? You would think that the washer would buckle and that the caliper would be fine.

Maybe I can torque down the banjo hard enough that the washer buckles into this little dent? Maybe that's what I did all those years ago and it worked until now?

I don't know... what do you guys think? New caliper time? I am sorta thinking that there is no harm in trying to tighten down the banjo hard enough to the point where the leak stops. If the banjo bolt snaps, then who cares? The caliper was doomed anyhow.
 
If you're prepared to just replace the caliper, it's worth trying.
 
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