quick brake question

[95 Tracker]

i need new brake calipers in the front and was wondering if the brakes are a split system. i'm hoping i can just bleed the front and do not have to worry about opening a can of worms in the rear.

[95 Tracker]

does anyone know if i have to bleed the rear brakes when i'm only replacing the front

[Lobster1990]

No you shouldn't have too ,brakes have a dual master cylinder

[95 Tracker]

not all of them, the only other car i blead the brakes on was a 76 buick skylark but it was obious it was a duel master cylinder because the reasovar is visibally split. this it's a plastic bottle with a single hole on the bottom so it does not look like it's split but the tracker is 19 years newer. so i figured it's like intermittent wipers or cats all the new cars have them ,but i don't know

[fordem]

Yes - you can get away with replacing the front calipers and only bleeding the front, at least I've done it - as long as you don't allow air to get into the system up near the master cylinder, you should have no problems.

What I did is leave the hoses connected to the old calipers and removed them and hung them on the springs with wire whilst I replaced the disks, pads and mounted the new calipers.

I then transferred the hose from the old caliper to the new ones and just bled the front brakes.

Now - here's the reason why I did it this way - I was changing out the front disks because they were warped and at the same time I was also upgrading to a larger ventilated disk rather than the original solid ones. The rear brakes had already been serviced and had new wheel cylinders, linings and the drums turned and the fluid in the entire system had been replaced at that time.

Unless you know the condition of the brake system, at the very least take this opportunity to flush the old fluid out and replace it - it's something that should be done every three years or so, and most people don't.

[rickf]

Why don't you want to bleed all the brakes
It is wise to flush the system and get rid of all the old brake fluid and get in fresh. Brake fluid absorbs water

[95 Tracker]

Originally Posted by rickf

Why don't you want to bleed all the brakes
It is wise to flush the system and get rid of all the old brake fluid and get in fresh. Brake fluid absorbs water

i don't want to make more problems considering how rusty everything is trying to loosen up the bleeder in the rear is riskey.but that is a good idea i don't know if the brake fluid has ever been changed so there's only one way to find out how rusty it is. is there an easy way to get the drum off

[onestoptakeaway]

Hi, hope you guys don't mind if I hijack this post and ask brake related questions rather than to start a new thread.

I was looking at the rear drum brakes but couldn't find where is the adjusting screw..... does it needs to be adjusted or it has some automated tightening mechanism?

[ranger88den]

Originally Posted by 95 Tracker

i don't want to make more problems considering how rusty everything is trying to loosen up the bleeder in the rear is riskey.but that is a good idea i don't know if the brake fluid has ever been changed so there's only one way to find out how rusty it is. is there an easy way to get the drum off

I'm with rick, bleed the whole system. Try a little penetrating oil on the bleeder screws (I like PB blaster) and tap lightly on top of the bleeder (don't mushroom it). If it's stubborn, use a little heat, just protect surrounding components and have a fire extinguisher handy. Good luck.

[pure_e]

I concur, recently replaced the rubber seals in front caliper pistons and then bleed every thing to flush new fluid thru whole system, rears were easier than fronts IMO and the blackest fluid I ever seen came out! nice and green now tho, and was only one side to bleed on rears too