Removing 356-C rear brake calipers....

[Lawrence Landes]

Okay, more help needed. Maybe I'm over analyzing but I'm confused now that I'm into the project.

Step #3 --"Loosen brake line at the brake caliper (prop brake pedal in slightly depressed condition to prevent spillage of brake fluid)."

Question #1 - Do I loosen the line where it enters the banjo fitting or do I loosen the banjo bolt?
Question #2 - Do I loosen only, or do I loosen and remove?

The line and the banjo bolt are in close proximity to the spring plate arm (If I'm calling the correct name) so not much room to work. I was going to loosen the hard brake line where it screws into the banjo bolt ("A" in my photo), but it's so tight the head is rounding. No way to get a closed end wrench on it so I'm stuck with the open end. Then I decided I could just remove the banjo bolt ("B" in my photo) but the head of it is only about 3/8 inch from the spring plate so I'm afraid I'll get it "almost" out but won't be able to unthread it all the way because the head will come in contact with the spring plate. That all led me to question #2, perhaps if I just "loosen" the banjo I'll be able to rotate the caliper away from the rotor.

Before advancing, I'd love someone's advice.

I took an image to illustrate. I tried to loosen "A" but the head rounded. If I loosen "B" I'm not sure I can unscrew it all the way.

Thanks for any input!

-Larry

[Vic Skirmants]

Loosen the caliper; you can then wiggle it so that you can remove the banjo bolt.
Pull the brake pads first.

[Lawrence Landes]

Is it possible to remove 356-C rear brake calipers without removing the brake lines.....sounds wierd, I know, but I just want to remove the brake caliper, let it hang (by the flexible brake line), then remove the brake disk, without having to subsequently bleed the brakes. I'm rebuilding the emergency brakes. Thanks for any imput!

CW

Thank you for the help Vic. I just came in from the garage and saw your post.

Well, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" as they say... and the answer to Charlie White's original question in this post is "yes". (At least in my experience.)

Not knowing what brake line bolt to remove (prior to Vic's reply) I tried the following steps and it worked.

1. Loosened the caliper mounting bolts but did not remove completely.
2. Used channel locks on the brake pad tangs with holes for the pin and forced the pads outward, compressing caliper pistons as if I were going to add new pads. (Image #1)
3. Bent down the little tab on the rear shock mount that wraps around the hard brake line. (Image #2)
4. Removed the two caliper mounting bolts. With the pads having play and the metal tab around the hard line bend down, the hard line had some play as well and the caliper was able to be maneuvered forward to clear the rotor. (Image #3)
5. Removed two flat head set screws and pulled rotor off. (Image #4)

All work was done without disconnecting any brake lines. That was the good news. But now the bad...

In my case, I was dong all this to install 10mm longer studs to run my Fuchs and 8mm wheel spacers. At photo #4 I realized I needed to remove the large castle nut. No way to do that with it all apart, so I had to put it all back together, lower the car with a wheel on it, have my wife stand on the brakes so I could remove the castle nut and then do it all over again! Much quicker the second time and it's all done now.

I'm stating the obvious, but after pushing the brake pads out in step 2 above, remember to pump the brakes when finished to push the pads back and firm the pedal up.

Hope this helps somebody, and Vic I appreciate your prompt replies and input.

-Larry

[Vic Skirmants]

Glad it worked for you. Check out Zim's new Torque Dude for future axle nut work. Just listed in Vendors.

[Al Zim]

Vic: Thank you for pointing out our new Torque Dude. No more 3/4 inch drive sockets and long breaker bars to remove and install the axle nuts and the flywheel gland nut. al zim

[Lawrence Landes]

Looks like a 'must have' tool Vic...That would have saved me.

My stupid mistake taking it all apart without realizing I needed the axle nut off, but if I had that tool, it would have been no problem. It's now on the list of things to purchase. Thanks for making me aware of it. Ingenious!

This is one tool my wife can enjoy too, (can't say that very often) as she won't be summoned to the cold garage in her pajamas to stand on the brakes while I use a cheater bar on the axle nuts. (Twice.... once for off and another time for back on) At least she's happy with the end result, as we now have longer studs in place to allow the 8mm wheel spacers needed for the 14" Fuchs. She loves this car and since it's on the road, all is well that ends well.

-Larry