In a message dated 97-06-27 12:39:56 EDT,
JAMES_S_WALLACE@HP-Canada-om1.om.hp.com writes:
> 1. Go to your local auto parts store, determine which counter person
> is the friendliest, least harried one of the bunch, and get a brake
> line that will fit into your caliper where the one from the car
> normally goes.
> 2. On the other end, get whatever fittings and adapters you need to
> end up with a grease fitting connected to the piece of brake line.
> (This is where the ffriendliness of the guy comes in). Be aware that
> grease fittings have a tapered thread though, so don't be tempted to
> screw it into anything expensive (like your caliper).
> 3. Put it together, apply your grease gun, and voila! Out pop the
> pistons. (You'll have to clamp one while forcing out the other.)
>
> The secret to why this works is that grease guns apply a huge amount
> of pressure.
Jim:
I can attest to the effectiveness of this method. I use a slightly different
approach. I use an old brake line fitting which I have drilled and tapped to
take an old grease fitting. Total cost - $0.00! (yeah, I'm cheap!)
There is one very big advantange to using the grease gun, rather than an air
compressor - safety. Grease is non-compressable. If anything should break, or
spring a leak, under the high pressure, the pressure drops to zero instantly,
with no damage. When the piston pops out, it just falls safely to the bench.
Air, on the other hand, is extremely compressable. A break or a leak here can
be a disaster! When the piston does pop out, it will wind up embedded in the
wall (or flesh!) if you are not real carefull.
At the Nuclear Power Plants where I used to work, they used water to test the
various piping systems. The lines were pumped up to over 2000PSI for testing.
If anything broke, there would be a small squirt of water and the pressure
would go to zero (PSIG, that is). Some of these systems might be the
equivalent of using an air compressor with a several thousand gallon tank.
You can imagine what would happen if a break occured in a compressed air
system with a tank this large at 2000PSI.
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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