Just revived a 164. Added some gas, couple of cranking later the baby just started right up! been sitting in the barn for 4 years ... Drived around a little, the transmission shift OK (4 speed Plus OD.) Now eager to get her on the road. Need to fix the brakes. The two front brakes are both seized---when jacking up the front wheels, I hadn't been able to turn the wheel by hands. While driving, can barely push it above 40MPH and both front wheel turned hot to the touch. And brake pedal is almost rock solid firm. I had the factory manual and had read about this on the net. My plan is replace the brake hoses and rebuild the calipers. But I do have some questions about how to unmount the calipers since the pistons are solid against the pads and the pads against the disks, and assuming the piston are frozen in place ( a very likely situation), How do I take out the pads without retracting pistons? Brute force? Is there a better way? Or maybe it is easy to dismount the calipers in situations like this. I dont know. I am just trying to go through the whole procedure in my head first, in case there is surprize ahead. Also about the rebuild kit, which brand is the best? What about Volvo kit? Are they worth it. These are ATE calipers. Are there any silicone braided fornt brake hoses? Frankly I've nevr done this job before, only had replaced pads on some TOYOTAs ( floating calipers.) My plan is to leave the calipers connetd to the brake system so I can push the pistons free but not completely out using brake pedal pressure once the calipers are freed from the hub/disks. Any suggestion from the group will be appreciated. Also since this is 30-year old car, although not much rust on it, the brake hose/line connections probably are hard to free, PB blaster a week before would do it? I have some impact tools, dont if it is useful or not. Also got some visegrip and hose wrenches. Just dont want to ruin the brake lines. Bruce Remove uu to reply
not unusual for the hoses to be completely blocked. Open the bleedscrews and see if you can get the blocks to move
At the very least you will need to replace the brake lines, and possibly the master cylinder. All of that heat might have warped the rotors, too. Disconnect the brake lines at the calipers (they're toast anyway - don't worry about breaking 'em). This will relieve some pressure. Pull the pins and see if you can wedge a flat blade screw driver in there to gently retract the pistons. Don't use too much brute force or else you will ruin the seals. Of course, if you are going to rebuild the calipers anyway, this is probably a moot point. Now, slide the pads out. Voila... Tools? Lots of PB blaster, your vice grips, wrenches and a screw driver. Impact tools are good for stripping s**t. Parts? My opinion is that OEM is the way to go when it comes to things like brakes, suspension, and steering. IPD sells steel braided lines. Take a look at the front wheel bearings while you have everything apart. Might as well feel around the outer tie-rod ends and ball joints while you're there, too.
