Girling Calliper Seized

[360beast]

Make sure you are using a proper 11mm brake pipe spanner on the hard line. Heat the metal section of the Flexi and it should come undone, I've yet to be defeated by one doing it this way. Just be careful as the rubber can get very hot and melt and then you have boiling brake fluid to contend with, I've not had this happen to myself yet but it is a risk.

The other thing you can do is cut the Flexi pipe off so it is just the union left, get a ratchet with the correct size socket (14 or 15mm I think) and the brake pipe spanner. Ram the spanner up against the body so it can't spin and then use the ratchet to undo it. It would be worth heating it before doing this but again be careful as when you cut the rubber hose there is a potential to get a booboo from the brake fluid.

[Forrest]

Thanks Luke. I did wonder about cutting the rubber hose and trying an impact driver/socket on it but I had visions of it totally mangling the hard brake line if/when the 11mm rounded off. I've been trying to keep my interventions non-destructive thus far.

I've been using Gedore flare nut wrenches. They are fairly new since I bought them for this job but they are nowhere near the quality I remember Gedore being. I wonder whether they might be fakes. They claim to be made in Germany.

[Steve 940]

Hi Forrest,

Hope you manage to get this sorted, I always seem to have worst case scenarios running in my mind when doing jobs.

Think your option of having a replacement hard line, just in case, is very wise, or as you say, just get the garage to do it. Just depends if you're feeling brave😀

Cheers
Steve

[Ian21401]

Luke’s advice appears to be the way forward, especially as your replacing the hoses anyway.
I’m surprised that you didn’t deal with the flexi hoses whilst you were replacing the calipers.
Good fit brake line spanners are essential. In the past I have used frequent applications of penetrating fluid ( Plusgas) then some judicious heat and squirt penetrating fluid on again whilst hot. Don’t be tempted to try and move the unions far in any one direction at first. Be gentle with them. Tweak one way then the other way until they start to move a little further each time and watch for the hard line starting to twist. If it does show signs of twisting then tweak the union back the other way.
Then patience, thoughtfulness and not losing one’s temper with them.
Good luck.

[Ian21401]

Further to my previous post.
IIRC there is a “U” shaped spring clip which I think locks the end of the flexi onto the body bracket and prevents it from turning so if you wish to turn the hose end whilst holding the rigid pipe union it will be necessary to remove that clip.

[Forrest]

Now, I was trying to undo the pipe union with that clip still in position so maybe that’s what I was doing wrong. I thought it was just to hold the connector in the bracket.

[Ian21401]

Forrest,
I don’t think that you are wrong as, if the hardline union wasn’t seized it would still unscrew, then remove the clip to draw the flexi end away from the hardline and out of the body bracket.
I cannot be sure as it is quite some time since I replaced my front flexi hoses. The clip initially confused me at the time as I have never encountered a similar arrangement before. I removed it anyway then proceeded to loosen the hardline union. I think that the end of the flexi passes through the body bracket and is positively located into the body bracket then locked in place by that clip. Once the hard line union was loosened and the clip removed the flexi end could be withdrawn from the body bracket. If the clip is removed first it may be possible to ease the flexi end slightly from the body bracket far enough for an attempt to turn it whilst counter holding the hardline union.

[Forrest]

Well, this saga continues. I thought I'd reached an uneasy peace with the brakes in that they are actually working well and only perhaps dragging very slightly at the front. I'd pretty much decided I would wait until the MOT in December to get the garage to change the flexi pipes.

Then earlier this week the fluid low warning light started flickering on/off. No obvious signs of a leak on anything I've touched - which was just the front calipers. The fluid level had settled on the minimum. I've topped up to maximum and the light has stopped coming on. This may just be the new front pads settling and because I hadn't filled the reservoir to the maximum. However, it's meant I'm checking things more frequently for now.

I noticed that the servo, master cylinder and ABS module were all quite hot after a 20 mile run. Not burning hot, but you wouldn't want to hold onto them for too long. Is this normal? The hard brake lines didn't seem excessively hot.

When I changed the front calipers I didn't bleed the rear brakes but they seem to be working normally and the pedal feels firm enough. The rear pads were changed by a garage last year. I bled the front lines using a pressure bleeder at 25psi attached to the reservoir until there were no air bubbles coming out of the bleed nipples.

Is it worth doing a full bleed in the correct order? My gut feel is that it won't change anything. I don't see how air could have got into the rear circuit and I was only planning to do that if I decide to have another go at replacing the flexi pipes.

I should add that this is all at the level of niggles and slight concern at the moment. If I thought there was anything seriously wrong I'd seek professional intervention straight away.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Forrest

I noticed that the servo, master cylinder and ABS module were all quite hot after a 20 mile run. Not burning hot, but you wouldn't want to hold onto them for too long. Is this normal? The hard brake lines didn't seem excessively hot.

They're all fairly close to the heat coming off the exhaust manifold (and turbo if you have one) so are likely to warm up during driving, especially if you're a bit "enthusiastic".
The servo is black so will absorb heat which in turn will help to warm the master cylinder.

[griston64]

Is the abs module in the same place as a 940 on a S90 ? By that I mean on the opposite side to the exhaust manifold

If it is then it might be the dragging brake caliper that's heating up the fluid which would then heat up the module slightly