96 Cutlass Supreme Front Caliper and Rear Strut Replacment

Question 1: Front Caliper replacement. I have never dealt with ABS before. Does the caliper get replaced and bled like a normal caliper? Do I need to do something different?

Question 2: Rear Strut replacement. Do you need to remove the rear calipers to get the strut off? What is the purpose and where (what two surfaces) do you "mark" the mounting bolts (relative to what?). I am purchasing Gabriels that have all the upper mounting hardware already installed (GABRIEL_ULTRA G56727 ) the salesperson tells me the rears are like replacng normal shocks almost. Looks like it shouldn't be to bad but.......

thanks

1. Yes, it is bled like a normal caliper.

2. (IIRC) removing the rear caliper will give you more clearance. The alignment marks are for the strut to the knuckle. If your knuckle has oblong holes and room for adjustment, you will want those marks upon reassembly.

What about the ABS system? simply just disconnect?

Also, the chiltons manual (which can be a bit "sketchy" alot of if's and so forth) states the system (master cylinder) should be empty of 2/3 fluid and system (brake pedal) be pump like 40 times to relieve the pressure. Now this may not apply to this model and I will take your word for it.

Simply release the bleeder, remove the hose, fill the new caliper with fluid install pads and so forth and simply bleed the brakes as normal is this correct?

Nope. No need to disconnect the ABS. The ABS only causes your master cylinder to pump the brakes when the sensors detect a lock-up condition. You can bleed your brakes as normal.

The master cylinder being 2/3 empty is a precaution, so that when you compress the piston into the bore when you are installing new brake pads, you don't put undue pressure on the rubber parts of your hydraulic system (certain hoses, seals inside the master cylinder). That's not something I would do when installing a new caliper. Your fluid will be plenty low when you start the bleeding process.

This may be overkill, but whenever I open the hydraulic system, I bleed all four corners, rear right, rear left, front right, front left, then the master cylinder bleed screws, the rear screw first, then the front. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, and by bleeding all corners, I assure that fresh fluid is in the hydraulic system, and that I always have a nice firm pedal.

that whole thing was easy enough... thank you

I noticed that doing the front struts is apparently a piece of cake simplyh replace the cartridge, no jacking car up, weight holds the coil down, undo 3 screwes, one nut, slide it out, make certain there is no fluid left behind, slide the new one in and reverse the install.....

Sound correct to you?

Yep - just that after the three nuts that hold the top plate on you will find (1) a shock jounce retaining nut (it holds that big rubber bushing down), (2) a special shock cartridge nut that you have to have a special tool to remove - your local part store should rent the kit if you don't have your own.

Upon reinstallation of the shock, it is important that you get the jounce nut tight. This is more difficult than it seems. The original shock piston on our car has a torx fitting on top, which the rental kit provides you with a torx T50 bit to keep the shock piston from moving while you remove the jounce nut. Your replacement however, probably will not have the torx fitting, making it harder to keep the shock piston from turning while you turn the jounce nut. If the jounce nut is not tight, your shocks will rattle something horrible. I ended up using an air gun to get the jounce nut tight.

The instructions that came with these Gabriel Ultra Cartridges stated that you should place 30 cc of oil into the receiv ers for the struts (this amounts to about 1.8 ounces seems just barely enough to coat the entire tube) does this sound correct to you?

Yep, thats right. I had to empty my strut chamber first, because my left strut was leaking and when I pulled it out, the chamber was full of hydraulic fluid.

DBC-7 BLEEDING PROCEDURES
Normal bleeding procedures can be used to bleed the individual brake lines provided no air has entered the ABS modulator. But if air has entered the modulator, the system will have to be bled using a pressure bleeder and scan tool.

To bleed the system:
1. Connect the pressure bleeder to the master cylinder reservoir.
2. Turn the ignition on.
3. With bleeder screws closed, pressurize the system to 35 psi.
4. Select the "Automatic Bleed Procedure" on the scan tool. The scan tool will then energize and cycle the ABS solenoids in the BPMV for one minute.

After this, the scan tool will instruct you to bleed each wheel. During this step the pump runs and the respective release valve cycles for one minute. This is repeated for each wheel. Finally, the scan tool performs a final 20 second cycling of the ABS solenoids to purge any remaining air.

5. Relieve pressure at the bleed tool and remove it from the master cylinder. Then check pedal height and feel to make sure all the air has been removed and the pedal is firm.