Hatzenbach

Hi,

I need to get my front calipers refurbished. After I took the calipers off (to send them to get refurbished) I need to move the car in the garage. That means I need to use the brakes. (For moving the car in the garage the rear brakes will do.)

Finally the question:
Does anyone have a good idea how to cap the steel brake lines that are now removed from the caliper and hang freely in the air, so that I don't have brake fluid shooting out when I apply pressure to the brake pedal?

user 72902

I just had this done to have all of my calipers refurbished but my car if moved was not stopped with the brakes. The brakes lines were sealed but not mechanically capped to withstand any pressure.

Ducati_John

Put a bolt through the fitting with washers on each side and tighten down a nut?

Or just pull the parking brake.

Iceter

I'm with Ducati_John in saying to only use the parking brake. Capping the lines in an attempt to stop the pressure of a foot on the brake is going to be hard. Just plug them so they don't leak down and don't put your foot on the brake pedal.

Plus, using the brakes with an iffy seal on the lines not only runs the risk of making a mess on and under your car (heaven forbid you squirt brake fluid on a painted surface), but also you will run the risk of pumping your master cylinder dry, which will add serious time and trouble to the job when you put it all back together.

German888

I used a thread protector from my local Ace hardware. Buy one that fits snug. Mine didn't leak a drop while I did my caliper rebuild and refinish. I also used them to plug the holes in the caliper while spraying.

nwGTS

I've done this. Don't use the brake pedal. Use the e-brake. does the same job. not worth the headache of mechanically plugging the lines and worrying you will bust a nut all over the garage floor.

Hatzenbach

resurrecting my old thread....
Well, since I have a PDK I need to apply pressure to the brake pedal when I start the car and select a gear, so I *had* to plug the brake lines.

Here's what I did:
I found on eBay "M10x1mm Female Thread Brass Pipe Fitting Hex Nut" (see pictures). Since they're open on both sides I plugged one side with a bleeder nipple and Volia I had my contraption to plug my brake line.
Worked like a charm.

Rikky001

Easy fixes are most of the time the best fixes.

Iceter

Clever.

kamkaz

Hey @Hatzenbach. I live in the area (San Jose). Where did you send your calipers repainted? Are you happy with them? I'm looking to get mine done shortly.

Climarepair.com

+1 on that!

Hatzenbach

@kamkaz I sent them to Wheel Dynamics
They did a great job painting the calipers, but there were two issues:
a) they didn't cover the holes where the pin goes in that holds the pads in place. That means that I had to take the paint off. That would have been easy if I had known that, but doing it with the caliper already installed was a pain ....
b) I had them repainted as they turned brown from the heat from tracking the car. Amazingly after 10+ track days the calipers are still red (good) but now the "Porsche" lettering on the calipers has turned brown

E39Nutz

LOL, reviving a 5 years old thread. Did you even read what the OP wrote?

workhurts

Is this what forums are going to turn into because of chatgpt and the like? Ugh.

Body In White

For a set of calipers I sent out for refinishing a few weeks ago, I capped my lines using a similar method. Instead of using a bleeder screw, I used a threaded plug with a silicon o-ring. They haven’t leaked a drop.