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Dodge Grand Caravan - rear caliper R&R


Eneto-55

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Had a frozen piston in the left rear caliper on my work car, a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan, so needed to replace it. I read on another forum where someone gave a hint about how to get some slack in the emergency cable, so that it can be removed at the rear caliper. They suggested pulling the main cable back as much as possible, then carefully clamping it with a vice grips. That gave me an idea that would avoid the use of the vice grips. Used a tie-down strap and hooked one end over the bracket that transitions from the single front cable to the two separate cables toward the rear. then hooked the other end to the back, on the coil spring. That gave quite a bit of slack at the rear caliper, to unhook the cable.
Someone on a youtube video had also suggested using an old ?? mm box end wrench and cutting a slot through it (like a line wrench, but I suppose they hadn't heard of that) to slide over the cable, so as to release the prongs that hold the cable housing bracket in place.  There are three prongs. I used an open-end 1/2" wrench to depress two of the prongs, and had a small vice grips clamped on the cable housing, so that I could turn it to line up the third prong with the slot in the bracket. (The slot is there so that you can slide the cable out of the bracket, once the cable housing end with the prongs is slid back out of the bracket.) The vice grips gave me something to get a good hold of the cable housing, so as to pull it forward and out of the bracket. Worked well for me.

ONE QUESTION: The banjo bolt (at the brake line attachment point on the caliper) on the caliper I bought has an 11 mm head. I DID use the new copper washers provided, and as it continued to leak there a bit, tightened it as much as is possible with a standard short handle 11 mm wrench, but there is still a very slight fluid leak there. I will watch it to see that it doesn't continue to leak, but it is possible that it will stop?
(I have never before replaced a brake connection that used this type of connection there - all my experience is with much older vehicles that use a threaded fitting. Also, most of my experience has been with vehicles that weren't here in the Ohio "Salt Belt" - I grew up in Oklahoma, where we never had to contend with the rust problems encountered here in Ohio and in places like Minnesota, where I went to college.)

 

I posted this on the Chrysler minivan forum as well, and one person said that I may have over-tightened the banjo bolt, damaging one of both of the copper washers.  But I only tightened it gradually, from 'snug' on up, as it continued to leak very slightly.  It is now just leaking enough that it was wet there after setting over night. (I did the job yesterday afternoon.)

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todays copper washer are a tad hardened compared to the better annealed washer in the past....you may wish to remove and anneal these yourself....last person who had this issue did anneal when it was suggested and solved his issue of leak....it is a shame we must come behind the makers today...but I would almost always suggest annealing before install based on the supply parts we are getting as a preventive step.  I often have the fear of breaking a banjo bolt cranking down to stop a seep.....they are already weakened a bit by their very design with the drilled holes.

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A hose clamp works real nice in place of the wrench trick to remove the cables.  Tighten it just enough to compress the tangs, but not so much that you can't slide the cable out.

 

As for the copper washers, PA's excellent point aside, they require a certain amount of force to properly seal.  Which is why there is a torque spec for them. 

 

Years ago I ran into the issue of new calipers coming with too thin a copper washer.  Back then Pep Boys had a selection of those washers in stock and I was able to find thicker ones.  We had to run the banjo bolt in hand tight, no hose or washers installed, measure the distance between the bottom of the bolt head and the caliper sealing surface with a dial caliper.  Then we measured the thickness of bot washers and the hose block, added those up and compared it to the bolt distance.  I for get what the difference was but I do recall we weren't comfortable with it so we went to Pepboys.   

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Common issue with the banjo bolt, thin washer is one concern. I often reuse the old ones. Annealing works. 
Make sure the sealing surface is clean, a piece of grit csn cause a leak too. I tighten/loosen bolt two or three times going a little tighter each time, and i often use a wrench. It is imperative there is zero fluid leaks. 
also with those calipers, notches on pistons must align with pins on brake pads, and cycle e-brake to wind piston out to take up slack between rotor and pads. Failing to do this will result in a low pedal. I have serviced quite a few of theses types of brakes. 

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27 minutes ago, Tooljunkie said:

Common issue with the banjo bolt, thin washer is one concern. I often reuse the old ones. Annealing works. 
Make sure the sealing surface is clean, a piece of grit can cause a leak too. I tighten/loosen bolt two or three times going a little tighter each time, and i often use a wrench. It is imperative there is zero fluid leaks. 
also with those calipers, notches on pistons must align with pins on brake pads, and cycle e-brake to wind piston out to take up slack between rotor and pads. Failing to do this will result in a low pedal. I have serviced quite a few of theses types of brakes. 

I saw mention of that deal about aligning the pins on the pads with the piston, but there were no pins on the old ones, and nor are there any on the new ones (from NAPA - indicated for this vehicle).  I don't know what to make of that.  I've only ever changed the pads on rear disks w/ the emergency/parking brake on the disks for one other vehicle, our 2009 Dodge Journey.  That was some years ago now, but I'm nearly certain there were no pins on those pads, either.

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