I have been fighting my rear brakes on my 1972 Buick Skylark convertible ever since I had them converted to disc brakes. The problem is the rubber brake hose (on both sides) keeps getting pinched between the caliper and the frame. Eventually leading to the hose bursting when I hit the brakes harder than normal. Then I fix it, bleed it, and never trust it! For context, I converted the front drums to discs using a right stuff auto parts kit and they have been great, with no issues. Then I bought the same brand kit for the rear drums and had a guy do it for me while he was doing a couple of other repairs maybe 2 years ago. They worked, but eventually, this issue kept happening. Part of me wonders if they should have been installed the opposite way, or if the springs are just worn and allowing the frame to hit them on bumps, or with extra weight on the car. I'm curious to see if others have had this issue, or if you could look at my photos and see if I'm on the right track, any advice is welcome before I waste any more time troubleshooting this. Thank you! Ben
Looks like the calibers are on backwards. The fronts are mounting on the back of the rotor so why wouldn’t the rears be the same?
good catch.. Pic's 1,2,3. call looks to be on the leading side.... Pic 4 tailing side of the rotor...
Maybe I'm crazy, but I certainly do NOT see the bleeder screw on top... Maybe the calipers are upside-down and left on right... I know that you stated this in picture 4, but I don't see a bleeder in pic 1,2,or3...
Thank you both for those confirmations. Pic 4 is the same wheel as the other photos, I removed the caliper and started installing it the other way. Then I thought I should ask on this forum before going all the way though with swapping them to the other side Also, how do extend the e-brake cable? Do I need to buy a longer one?
The bleeder is on the top on either side I will put the caliper. Thank you for checking, that's why I love this community!
Bleeders should be on top to facilitate bleeding. I would also look into braided stainless flex hoses on the rear. You will need to get new park cables. That steel line looks pretty wonky- much longer than it should be. Duke
I agree with Duke's first line, but in a little stronger terms. If the bleeder screw is not on top you will not be able to bleed the brakes. My Wilwood 4-piston calipers on the Buchev have four bleeder screws so that the calipers can be mounted right or left, front or back. It's a lovely design, but for what they cost - it should be.
I've got a Right Stuff rear disc brake kit on my car and they aren't like yours. Mine are direct slider bolt to the caliper bracket and they are mounted at the rear or about 2 o'clock on the driver's side and 10 o'clock on the passenger side. Here's a shot of when I was test fitting it before I swapped rear ends. Bleeder isn't at the absolute top, which is a flaw in the Right Stuff kit they were selling in 2010. You had to remove the wheel, loosen the caliper and tilt it up with a block of wood in it to bleed it properly.
Definitely! I also wound up swapping rotors for a deeper hat version that cleared my factory Buick wheels. You an see the witness mark on the dirty rim in the pic above.
Thank you all for the replies. My kit from Right Stuff included the brake lines and it was for the stock 14" rims that came with the original car. They actually use a 1988 For Thunderbird caliper (1 bleeder screw on top design). Yes, I agree a bleeder screw at 12 o'clock would be best, but it's close. I'll use my power bleeder to get it as air-free as possible. So, my plan is to still mount on the rear of rotor (bleeder screw still facing up), I'll put new rear coil springs on to fix the sagging rear end and grab some new shocks while I'm at it. I'll look for a steel braided line, I see Right Stuff has one for this purpose. Finally, I'll need to get a longer e-brake cable to compensate for the extra distance of moving the calipers. I'll report back in a few days when it's done, so others can know if that fixed the issue. Thank you all again!
I agree. On my rear disc conversion. My caloper mounting brackets are on the rear. You may need to switch mounting brackets to opposite sides. Hoses connect to bottom of caliper, then hose mounts to tab welded to tube. Steel line straight shot to hose. Bleeder on top.. Check out. TSM Disk brake conversion kits. They also use the Cadillac integral parking brake Caliper. Which allows you to connect your parking brake cables. Can't see actually how yours works in the pics. Is you need pics, just ask.
In conclusion, for anyone who can learn from this. I mounted the calipers on the rear of the rotor for better braking. I replaced the rear spring coils, I purchased variable rate spring coils as I really don't want the car to ever get close to bottoming out again. This instantly added like 2 inches of height to the rear of the vehicle, I don't believe it should be getting close to bumping my brake line again. Thanks again for all your help!
Glad it worked out. How did the e-brake cable go? I figured you would have enough adjustment by not making that 180° bend and any slack in the intermediate cable adjustment to not have to change anything.
Why would mounting the calipers on the rear of the rotor (rather then the front) give better braking?
