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caddy calipers... not impressed

RootBreaker

RootBreaker

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Ok so I did my rear disc brake setup. Loved how it worked with d44 calipers... wife wanted ebrake so I got the caddy clipers....
well im not impressed.. not only did I have problems in getting new ones (rebuilds)the fact that I just took the truck out for a ride to racerop's (pavementsucks.com friend) house...

well the brake pedal was super low.. I believe they have to be blead better....

but when I got to racerop's house he was checking out the disc setup... he noticed one of my rotors are scored badly already...

so I looked at it... when I did the caddy calipers maybe the pads got something on them... but within just 15 mins.. will rotors do that????

so we looked at the left and it is find on the inside but a little scored on the rim side.. thus oposite of the other rotor....

it is weird.... I am going to bleed the brakes and try and figure what is going on...

racerop told me to check my rotors when I get home and see if they are super hot meaning that they are grabbing too much... but no.. they were ice cold when I got home....

so I may have my caddy calipers for sale soon... not that there is anything wrong with them as I dont believe the problem is with them.... but I think I may just go with a np205 brake setup.. more expensive but oh well.....

anyone know who makes np205 line brakes???
 
did you ratchet up the calipers? most of the ebrake on caliper style need to be ratcheted up to take the play out. i dont know much on them but all the newer stuff is like that.
 
sweetk30 said:
did you ratchet up the calipers? most of the ebrake on caliper style need to be ratcheted up to take the play out. i dont know much on them but all the newer stuff is like that.
Click to expand...

are you saying...

pull the ebrake to tighten them in.. then release it easily... then see if I can move the lever arm back?

all I do know is I can only push my ebrake lever (in cab) 1/2 way compaired to when I had drums.. and boy it gets tight......

I believe I just dont have them blead good enough.....


one other thing I noticed is when my bro was helping me bleed them.. we did it while the truck was off... battery was dead.. alt discharging it...

anyhow.. he said that if he pushed the pedal seemed that it was going down... pump it up and it got hard and stayed up but seemed that it was going down again... I will try that later and see what he was talking about....
it didnt have any problems with the d44 calipers so maybe I just dont have the caddy's blead right...
 
You need to make sure that the bleeder screw is pointing straight up when bleeding so all the air gets out. You may need to unmount them to do this.
And yes, the ebrake is what adjusts the caliper, so like stated previously you may need to ratchet it. And later, after the pads wear some they may become loose again. But if your ebrake is operable and you use it regularly then it won't be a problem.
 
anyhow.. he said that if he pushed the pedal seemed that it was going down... pump it up and it got hard and stayed up but seemed that it was going down again... I will try that later and see what he was talking about....
Click to expand...

If you are loosing system pressure (pedal dropping) then either you've got a brake line leak, or the master is failing.

Pressure can't "escape" the system unless there is a line leak, but it can and will bleed past the seals in the master if the seals are shot. Bleeding an older/used master will ruin the seals, VERY common problem. Mine lasted MONTH's with a spongy pedal before it finally really "failed".

If e-brake travel is only halfway, I'd use the adjuster to allow the pedal more travel before it starts to engage. You gain leverage, and as stated, the e-brake is what "tightens" the pads on the rotor. If it works to hold the vehicle on a hill now, adjusting it won't really help, but just easier on the driver to apply it.

Only thing I can think of about the scored rotors is that if the pads aren't in constant contact with the rotor (which they should be) a rock or something could probably be easily tossed in between the rotor and pad, and if at the right moment, instant scoring.

Front disks don't do this, so that shouldn't be a problem, unless the front disks not scoring (typically) has to do with backing plates protecting the rotor better than a rear setup without backing plate. But I haven't heard rear disk people complaining of scored rotors except in your case.
 
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Did you use 76-78 caddy calipers ... They are the same as the D44 calipers you mentioned. Anything newer and they apply less pressure to the pads.
 
root, you need to unhook the e brake lines, then spin the tire and ratchet the e brake lever until you start to feel friction. do that on both sides, and then you can bleed your brakes. will only take a few minutes after you adjust it right. as far as your e brake pedal, you need to adjust the cables on the drivers side at the frame. m running the same setup and it works perfectly. not sure what your using, but im using inline tubes proporioning valve.

http://www.tsmmfg.com/Troubleshooting.htm#2

that site will help you, its what helped me after 3 days of trying to bleed the brakes

need help, call me

732-857-4453

tom
 
wraenking said:
root, you need to unhook the e brake lines, then spin the tire and ratchet the e brake lever until you start to feel friction. do that on both sides, and then you can bleed your brakes. will only take a few minutes after you adjust it right. as far as your e brake pedal, you need to adjust the cables on the drivers side at the frame. m running the same setup and it works perfectly. not sure what your using, but im using inline tubes proporioning valve.

http://www.tsmmfg.com/Troubleshooting.htm#2

that site will help you, its what helped me after 3 days of trying to bleed the brakes

need help, call me

732-857-4453

tom
Click to expand...

nice site.. that will help...
so basically i may need the adjustable portion valve..and probably had something on the pad/rotor :blush:

will try those...
thanks
 
E-brake adjustment on those calipers is critical to the service brakes working right. Few rebuilders seem to bother with the e-brake parts, so you may need to take the calipers apart and tune up those parts yourself.

To the best of my knowledge, all of the D52 pad calipers have the same piston bore size, 2-15/16". The so-called 'Metric" calipers (D154 pads) are smaller, at 2.5", but their mounting dims are different so they do not interchange on the larger caliper's mounts.
 
ntsqd said:
E-brake adjustment on those calipers is critical to the service brakes working right. Few rebuilders seem to bother with the e-brake parts, so you may need to take the calipers apart and tune up those parts yourself.

To the best of my knowledge, all of the D52 pad calipers have the same piston bore size, 2-15/16". The so-called 'Metric" calipers (D154 pads) are smaller, at 2.5", but their mounting dims are different so they do not interchange on the larger caliper's mounts.
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well I have new calipers with new innards.... I had problem... (did ya read that post :blush: )
but all in all.. I have 2 rebuilds... all new except for the left side piston....the innerds are new.... but that isnt the side with the problem
 
trust me root, you adjust thpse levers and youll be fine. did you put a proportionig valve in? if not, i ould spend the extra money and get the one form

www.inlinetube.com

call them and they will give you what you need
 
RootBreaker said:
well I have new calipers with new innards.... I had problem... (did ya read that post :blush: )
but all in all.. I have 2 rebuilds... all new except for the left side piston....the innerds are new.... but that isnt the side with the problem
Click to expand...

I did, but missed that part or something. Those calipers still suck out loud.

EDIT: Re-read first post & I see this
not only did I have problems in getting new ones (rebuilds)
Click to expand...
So which is it, completely new calipers, or are they rebuilds done by some commercial rebuilder? If rebuilds, my statement stands. Few, if any commercial rebuilders even look at the e-brake part of the caliper. I know of one set that a guy got that were siezed!

Even working at their very best the Cad type hydro-mechanical calipers place a poor second to the drum type parking brake rear disc designs for actual vehicle holding ability. Note that both Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have used the drum type p-brake design for many years. Must be a reason for it.

If the suggestions above don't solve the problem I would suggest that you search classicbroncos.com as a savvy Engineer named Lars Pederson went to the trouble to figure out how to make his work, and wrote up what he found and did.
 
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Bummer your having so much troubles with your calipers. I bought mine from car-parts.com like you, had a fellow ck5 member rebuild them for me, threw them on my burb and away I went. Stock lines, stock prop valve, stock everything and it works perfectly.
 
does this truck have the stock disk/drum master cylinder?
 
grape said:
does this truck have the stock disk/drum master cylinder?
Click to expand...

yup...

some people did not need the adjustable portion valve and some did...

part of my problem is stupidity...
Just realized on the passenger side... brake pad at the piston.. was on... ummm cough ... cough... back... cough cough.. wards..... :crazy:

also blead the brakes more so havent tried them out as I just took the front end apart....
 
aight need an adjustable portion valve..
what is a good one... but keepin it cheap too...

this $50 here and $50 there is getting expensive!!!
 
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