5 Reasons Fixing Your Own Car Will Change Your Life

[newmisty]

I'm pretty sure my calipers are sticking because of the brake dust built up from the cheap pads I had on. I'm reading about guys with my truck rebuilding the calipers and I'm just starting to investigate further wondered if you guys had any experience in this regard. Either rebuilding or replenishing IE cleaning.

 

[newmisty]

 

[TAEZZAR]

I'm pretty sure my calipers are sticking because of the brake dust built up from the cheap pads I had on. I'm reading about guys with my truck rebuilding the calipers and I'm just starting to investigate further wondered if you guys had any experience in this regard. Either rebuilding or replenishing IE cleaning.

Misty, what, on your truck , is more important than BRAKES ?????
Put the best on & be done with it, it is far cheaper AND faster, than having problems & then doing it right !!!

Left over from my business days.

 

[Uncle]

I'm pretty sure my calipers are sticking because of the brake dust built up from the cheap pads I had on. I'm reading about guys with my truck rebuilding the calipers and I'm just starting to investigate further wondered if you guys had any experience in this regard. Either rebuilding or replenishing IE cleaning.

I'm assuming that with "sticky calipers" you mean that the pads are not released when the brake is, possibly prematurely wearing the pads.

The seals will go, start leaking, before the calipers start sticking.

Might be worth your time to remove the pads, clean the pad guides and tips. Regrease with copperslip or similar. Very little grease is more than enough.

If you do rebuild, take special note of any honing procedures.

Hope you find the solution.

Golden Regards
Uncle

 

[newmisty]

Misty, what, on your truck , is more important than BRAKES ?????
Put the best on & be done with it, it is far cheaper AND faster, than having problems & then doing it right !!!

Left over from my business days.
View attachment 190444

Thanks taez, you're right.

 

[newmisty]

I'm assuming that with "sticky calipers" you mean that the pads are not released when the brake is, possibly prematurely wearing the pads.

The seals will go, start leaking, before the calipers start sticking.

Might be worth your time to remove the pads, clean the pad guides and tips. Regrease with copperslip or similar. Very little grease is more than enough.

If you do rebuild, take special note of any honing procedures.

Hope you find the solution.

Golden Regards
Uncle

Thank you. The calipers are oh no more than half a dozen years old and I did what you suggested the other day after installing new pads and new rotors. I didn't like the look of the calipers but the truck's been stopping fine so I put them back on but now I'm trying to pinpoint this grinding and I still don't know what it is but in the meantime there's a lot of work to be done aside including and axle shaft seal and probably bearing U-joints on the front drive shaft and basically the whole suspension.

 

[glockngold]

Thank you. The calipers are oh no more than half a dozen years old and I did what you suggested the other day after installing new pads and new rotors. I didn't like the look of the calipers but the truck's been stopping fine so I put them back on but now I'm trying to pinpoint this grinding and I still don't know what it is but in the meantime there's a lot of work to be done aside including and axle shaft seal and probably bearing U-joints on the front drive shaft and basically the whole suspension.

First rule of repair forums, state the year make & model of vehicle.
When does the grinding noise happen? ( under load, stopping, on a curve, etc.)
You mention front u-joint. Do you see rust stains at the seals? Can you put 2 pry bars in the u-joint & get it to flex showing wear?
Back to your original tie rod question & photo, before disassembly, take a measurement from the stud center to another point on the assembly so when you put the fresh one on, it can be adjusted "close" to alignment before you take it in to an alignment shop.

 

[newmisty]

 

[gliddenralston]

If you were going have heart surgery would you accept the lowest bid?

Scotty for pres...why not.

 

[Goldhedge]

Something you don't see every day....

Driving Mercedes Benz 1886 ...Turning Over

 

[Irons]

It's never a good idea to throw parts at a repair, but sometimes you get lucky! . . .

I tested my 4 wheel drive the other day and it wasn't working and with snow coming that ain't going to fly. Luckily the 4WD system on these old USA made chevys are pretty simple creatures. You have a big vacuum actuator under the battery tray that pulls a cable when activated, and that pulls a spring loaded shift fork over a gear and bam, 4WD. Push the 2 wheel hi button and it releases the vacuum and the shift forks pulls off the gear.

Everything looked OK, no obvious broken shit problems but I could see the actuator wasn't pulling the cable very far. I could reach down and pull it the rest of the way to engage but it couldn't do it it's self. The shift fork pulled it's self back crisply so that was a relief. Tearing into the differential looking for a problem is probably out of my league. New cable and actuator is $95 at O'Reiley and they have them in stock. Advanceauto, NAPA and autozone you have to order both parts.

So I got the parts, put them on and she works like new. I couldn't tell how bad the cable was until I got it out. It was fairly restricted and gritty and the rubber diaphragm on the actuator was intact but really flimsy.

Good to go!

.

 

[Irons]

I'm pretty sure my calipers are sticking because of the brake dust built up from the cheap pads I had on. I'm reading about guys with my truck rebuilding the calipers and I'm just starting to investigate further wondered if you guys had any experience in this regard. Either rebuilding or replenishing IE cleaning.

I never rebuilt one but I got 21 years out of my front calipers by cleaning them good every time I changed the pads. 2 main reasons the calipers hang up (older GM) is the pins they move on freeze up or the pads themselves bind up in the grooves the ears fit in. The pins have little rubber boots over them that should be full of green grease. By the time you realize there is a problem the grease is gone, the pins are dry and rusty and nothing is moving anymore. The pad ears are supposed to ride in shiny metal clips with more green grease, but yeah, those go dry too.

When you have one off set it carefully upside down on something or the frickin' line will break. I use a jack stand I put in the wheel well with a chunk of 4x4 on it. Then make sure the piston pushes back in smoothly with a C clamp. If it doesn't want to move freely push it in a ways then step on the brake pedal and push it back out. Then squeeze it back in with the clamp. You can almost always get the piston moving freely again by manipulating it like that. Take the pins out and wire wheel the feckers until they are shiny again and also wire wheel the groove the boot fits over if that's rusty. A dremel with a few wire wheels is your friend. Literally fill the boot and the pin guide pocket with green grease when you reassemble it.

If the shiny metal guides the brake pad ears ride in are worn through replace them, they are cheap. If they are good clean them and run a file over them to remove any high spots. I use a small diamond file for that. You want to fit the pad ears to them so they move smoothly. I can't remember ever buying a set of pads that didn't need to be ground at least a little. Even just rounding off the sharp edges can be enough to keep them from binding up. Use more green grease on these.

You can buy a little tube of green brake component grease for like $12, or you can buy a small tub of Lucas super heavy duty high temp grease from hell for like $4. I go with the Lucas. Brake grease is a rip off.

I just did everything above to my rear calipers about a month ago. The rear disc brake system on my S10 is a freaking failure in progress. If I don't take them apart and grease them once a year they freeze up and stop working the second year. Yay GM!



.

 

[Irons]

A friend turned me on to this site...just started looking and impressed @ the prices ive seen
Anyone use them before?

https://www.autoshack.com/

Autoshack is a new one to me. Might be good for some stuff but things like CV axles, ball joints and steering parts I would stick to name brands.
Moog steering parts are ten times better than the shit parts GM puts on their trucks at the factory. GM pisses me off quite a bit.



.

 

[Irons]

Something you don't see every day....

Driving Mercedes Benz 1886 ...Turning Over

Reminds me of this old Fairbanks Morse. They used to power mines, lumber camps and even small towns with these.

 

[newmisty]

I never rebuilt one but I got 21 years out of my front calipers by cleaning them good every time I changed the pads. 2 main reasons the calipers hang up (older GM) is the pins they move on freeze up or the pads themselves bind up in the grooves the ears fit in. The pins have little rubber boots over them that should be full of green grease. By the time you realize there is a problem the grease is gone, the pins are dry and rusty and nothing is moving anymore. The pad ears are supposed to ride in shiny metal clips with more green grease, but yeah, those go dry too.

When you have one off set it carefully upside down on something or the frickin' line will break. I use a jack stand I put in the wheel well with a chunk of 4x4 on it. Then make sure the piston pushes back in smoothly with a C clamp. If it doesn't want to move freely push it in a ways then step on the brake pedal and push it back out. Then squeeze it back in with the clamp. You can almost always get the piston moving freely again by manipulating it like that. Take the pins out and wire wheel the feckers until they are shiny again and also wire wheel the groove the boot fits over if that's rusty. A dremel with a few wire wheels is your friend. Literally fill the boot and the pin guide pocket with green grease when you reassemble it.

If the shiny metal guides the brake pad ears ride in are worn through replace them, they are cheap. If they are good clean them and run a file over them to remove any high spots. I use a small diamond file for that. You want to fit the pad ears to them so they move smoothly. I can't remember ever buying a set of pads that didn't need to be ground at least a little. Even just rounding off the sharp edges can be enough to keep them from binding up. Use more green grease on these.

You can buy a little tube of green brake component grease for like $12, or you can buy a small tub of Lucas super heavy duty high temp grease from hell for like $4. I go with the Lucas. Brake grease is a rip off.

I just did everything above to my real calipers about a month ago. The rear disc brake system on my S10 is a freaking failure in progress. If I don't take them apart and grease them once a year they freeze up and stop working the second year. Yay GM!



.

good tips irons. I actually had to modify the new pads because the rare or squeal Bars were hanging up on the caliper I'm the outside pads and I just ended up snapping them off. I hadn't thought about modifying those grooves in the pad. Excellent tips because the way that the clips fit on this particular caliper are not all that splendiferous.
Oh and my grease is blue.

Well since you brought it up I guess I'll have to make a post when I'm feeling up to it about the current state of affairs with the truck...grab your popcorn and glasses..

 

[glockngold]

Luckily the 4WD system on these old USA made chevys are pretty simple creatures. You have a big vacuum actuator under the battery tray that pulls a cable when activated, and that pulls a spring loaded shift fork over a gear and bam, 4WD.

Unless...... you have a vacuum leak somewhere..... & I mean like anywhere.
It's been several years now, so no photos anymore, but my 96 S10 would not go into 4x4 unless the truck warmed up.
It's a farm truck only, so I live with more than a few inconveniences. (start truck, fill chain saws with gas, now truck 4x4 will engage etc.)
It of course got worse over time & eventually would take forever to engage.
I spent time on forums, had the battery tray off looking at the thing you replaced & was about ready to try the vise grips trick to pull the cable permanently into 4x4.
then.
I had a fella over that was buying something, we were chewing the fat, & turns out he was a mechanic.
"worked on a lot of them" says he, pointing to my pickup.... "pop the hood"
"yeah right" I think to myself. but ok.
He looks for, no lie, 30 seconds, points to a 4" black thing & says "there's your problem".
On the driver side, attached to some black plastic ball goober was what looked like a rubber wire that was actually a mushy collapsed vacuum hose.
Replaced that, & have had 4x4 ever since.

 

[Irons]

Unless...... you have a vacuum leak somewhere..... & I mean like anywhere.
It's been several years now, so no photos anymore, but my 96 S10 would not go into 4x4 unless the truck warmed up.
It's a farm truck only, so I live with more than a few inconveniences. (start truck, fill chain saws with gas, now truck 4x4 will engage etc.)
It of course got worse over time & eventually would take forever to engage.
I spent time on forums, had the battery tray off looking at the thing you replaced & was about ready to try the vise grips trick to pull the cable permanently into 4x4.
then.
I had a fella over that was buying something, we were chewing the fat, & turns out he was a mechanic.
"worked on a lot of them" says he, pointing to my pickup.... "pop the hood"
"yeah right" I think to myself. but ok.
He looks for, no lie, 30 seconds, points to a 4" black thing & says "there's your problem".
On the driver side, attached to some black plastic ball goober was what looked like a rubber wire that was actually a mushy collapsed vacuum hose.
Replaced that, & have had 4x4 ever since.

Yep, did all that a couple years ago. The first vac line to go is the one you described, it goes to the vacuum reservoir. Gen 1 S10's had the hanging ball reservoir the gen 2 has it in the fender.

Here is how I ended up finding and clearing or replacing all my vacuum lines.

Vacuum also runs all of your HVAC settings. Defrost, heater etc vacuum open and closes all the doors. The vacuum 4wd switch on the top of the transfer case is faulty from the factory and every one of them fails. Huge surprise right? Thanks GM! When that switch fails it starts sucking the tranny fluid out of the transmission into the transfer case and up into the vacuum lines where it ends up in every actuator and reservoir. If it goes on long enough tranny fluid will start dripping out of the HVAC controller in the dash and into the ash tray underneath it. I caught mine before it got that far.

I found a website where a guy explains the entire process and how to correct it. Long story short I had to tear the dash apart and replace every actuator under there and use compressed air to clear tranny fluid out of every vacuum and vent line before reassembling it. GM's updated 4wd vacuum switch has a blue line on it, bad ones have a green line. The main vacuum routing block is under the glove box.

That was a bitch of a repair. People have just junked their trucks over it because no mechanic wants to mess with it.


.

 

[Casey Jones]

Yep, did all that a couple years ago. The first vac line to go is the one you described, it goes to the vacuum reservoir. Gen 1 S10's had the hanging ball reservoir the gen 2 has it in the fender.

Here is how I ended up finding and clearing or replacing all my vacuum lines.

Vacuum also runs all of your HVAC settings. Defrost, heater etc vacuum open and closes all the doors. The vacuum 4wd switch on the top of the transfer case is faulty from the factory and every one of them fails. Huge surprise right? Thanks GM! When that switch fails it starts sucking the tranny fluid out of the transmission into the transfer case and up into the vacuum lines where it ends up in every actuator and reservoir. If it goes on long enough tranny fluid will start dripping out of the HVAC controller in the dash and into the ash tray underneath it. I caught mine before it got that far.

I found a website where a guy explains the entire process and how to correct it. Long story short I had to tear the dash apart and replace every actuator under there and use compressed air to clear tranny fluid out of every vacuum and vent line before reassembling it. GM's updated 4wd vacuum switch has a blue line on it, bad ones have a green line. The main vacuum routing block is under the glove box.

That was a bitch of a repair. People have just junked their trucks over it because no mechanic wants to mess with it.


.

Gee.

My old (1994) and my old man's old (1968) Jeeps (I had a Wrangler; he had a Wagoneer) both had mechanical levers to engage 4wd. On the Wrangler, it was right next to the floor shift, up against the aftermarket theft-resistant console. On the Wagoneer, it was on the passenger-side of the hump (his was an automatic), a large, heavy bent lever that hurt his back to pull on.

He saw the later Chevrolet electro-vacuum switches and thought that would be the way to go; but after the Wagoneer wore out, he went with a conventional car.

Turns out, though - and I've long felt this - simple is better, even if not convenient.

FWIW, the YJ Wrangler had a vacuum front-axle disconnect (took the place of locking front hubs) - which I removed in favor of a heavy cable engaging setup. Worked fine.

 

[Someone_else]

Many years ago, I had a 4wd Toyota Tercel. It had a lever on the console for 4wd. Just let off on the gas a bit, pull the lever, and it's in 4wd. To disengage, let off on the gas and push it back. The gear teeth were probably cut at an angle so it stayed engaged from the torque. Someone told me it was a "dog clutch", a very simple, cheap, and reliable connection.

 

[mtnman]

Gee.

My old (1994) and my old man's old (1968) Jeeps (I had a Wrangler; he had a Wagoneer) both had mechanical levers to engage 4wd. On the Wrangler, it was right next to the floor shift, up against the aftermarket theft-resistant console. On the Wagoneer, it was on the passenger-side of the hump (his was an automatic), a large, heavy bent lever that hurt his back to pull on.

He saw the later Chevrolet electro-vacuum switches and thought that would be the way to go; but after the Wagoneer wore out, he went with a conventional car.

Turns out, though - and I've long felt this - simple is better, even if not convenient.

FWIW, the YJ Wrangler had a vacuum front-axle disconnect (took the place of locking front hubs) - which I removed in favor of a heavy cable engaging setup. Worked fine.

This is 4x4....

 

[Irons]

Gee.

My old (1994) and my old man's old (1968) Jeeps (I had a Wrangler; he had a Wagoneer) both had mechanical levers to engage 4wd. On the Wrangler, it was right next to the floor shift, up against the aftermarket theft-resistant console. On the Wagoneer, it was on the passenger-side of the hump (his was an automatic), a large, heavy bent lever that hurt his back to pull on.

He saw the later Chevrolet electro-vacuum switches and thought that would be the way to go; but after the Wagoneer wore out, he went with a conventional car.

Turns out, though - and I've long felt this - simple is better, even if not convenient.

FWIW, the YJ Wrangler had a vacuum front-axle disconnect (took the place of locking front hubs) - which I removed in favor of a heavy cable engaging setup. Worked fine.

Many years ago, I had a 4wd Toyota Tercel. It had a lever on the console for 4wd. Just let off on the gas a bit, pull the lever, and it's in 4wd. To disengage, let off on the gas and push it back. The gear teeth were probably cut at an angle so it stayed engaged from the torque. Someone told me it was a "dog clutch", a very simple, cheap, and reliable connection.

This is 4x4....

View attachment 191773

Those were the days! By 2000 reaching down to engage 4 wheel drive with linkage on the hump was no longer an option on GM. The last S10 I had that had the 4 wheel drive on the floor was a 1996. That was also the last S10 I could get air conditioning and a manual transmission. By 1998 if you wanted AC it only came in the package with an automatic trans. Feckers. GM pisses me off.

I much prefer simple linkage and manual transmissions but hey, those things didn't break down so they got rid of them.
That did not fit in with the new rules of planned obsolescence. Most modern automatic transmissions don't even have a dip stick to check the fluid, or any way to add fluid. They are 5 thousand dollar bic lighters. When they stop working you throw them away, they prefer you throw the whole vehicle away.

All this fancy whiz-bang shit is supposed to break so you have to go borrow more money to buy another shiny piece of shit and make payments on it. Forever.


.

 

[Irons]

The old girl @ Healey lake for some late October treasure hunting.

 

[Casey Jones]

I much prefer simple linkage and manual transmissions but hey, those things didn't break down so they got rid of them.
That did not fit in with the new rules of planned obsolescence. Most modern automatic transmissions don't even have a dip stick to check the fluid, or any way to add fluid. They are 5 thousand dollar bic lighters. When they stop working you throw them away, they prefer you throw the whole vehicle away.

I learned that, the hard way - when I bought a 2016 Ford Transit Connect van as a hillbilly camper-sleeper.

Body was pristine, but it was a fleet rig - for an oversize-load escort company. Less than four years old, but it had 198,000 miles on it. Price was a quarter of KBB retail for the model. Runs great, though...

...except the transmission was leaking just a little bit. I didn't see it on examination before buying it, but my independent mechanic did.

He also told me the transmission was probably not original - it had been out. AND, no dipstick or add tube.

The independent auto-transmission expert was booked up two months, so I took it to the Ford stealer. Stealer says I need a new pan for it - and that'll be $595, thankyouverymuch! Just to add fluid would cost $200. I am not joking.

I'm not feeling so good about it, now...but, in for a penny, in for a pound. My other car is a 26-year-old Toyota, also with 190,000 miles...runs like a top, paid a grand for it. And from here on, that's how I'll go...so long as the Bidet-Xi government and Klaus Schwab let us drive our own cars.

 

[Casey Jones]

The old girl @ Healey lake for some late October treasure hunting.

View attachment 191827

Never in my wildest imagination, did I ever think we'd look back at the S-10 and say, that was a great rig, a great era, well designed. Those things, in the day, were thought of as TRASH. The V6 engine was so lame, Jeep, which had contracted to use it as the up-market engine in the XJ models, changed their minds and found a way to shoehorn their inline-six into the new, compact trucklets.

Actually, it was their Mexican licensee, VAM, that did the engineering work. They rejected the V6 as unsuitable and stuffed in their VAM six, which was a stroked AMC/Jeep six...but that's another story. Moral of the story is, standards have changed.

Gone straight down. Numb power steering; un-serviceable wiring and transmissions and probably much more; and Toyota has Mitsubushi design some of their less-expensive models.

A new era of Planned Obsolescence. Which I don't get, for vehicles that cost more than my first ($50,000) house did.

 

[newmisty]

Gee.

My old (1994) and my old man's old (1968) Jeeps (I had a Wrangler; he had a Wagoneer) both had mechanical levers to engage 4wd. On the Wrangler, it was right next to the floor shift, up against the aftermarket theft-resistant console. On the Wagoneer, it was on the passenger-side of the hump (his was an automatic), a large, heavy bent lever that hurt his back to pull on.

He saw the later Chevrolet electro-vacuum switches and thought that would be the way to go; but after the Wagoneer wore out, he went with a conventional car.

Turns out, though - and I've long felt this - simple is better, even if not convenient.

FWIW, the YJ Wrangler had a vacuum front-axle disconnect (took the place of locking front hubs) - which I removed in favor of a heavy cable engaging setup. Worked fine.

Simplicity is the highest form of sophistication.

 

[newmisty]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

 

[Silver]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

Ha, ha! I like to spend the majority of my wrenching time looking for my missing tools strewn about from other projects. Usually, by time I've finished a mechanic job everything is pretty organized, but still just everything in one place, not at my finger tips. Good thing I don't wrench much.

 

[pitw]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

Easy peasy. I buy cheap socket sets wherever I find them and have sets in every vehicle, tractor, sprayer, shop and house.
Then I go look for the one I need.

 

[gliddenralston]

Lock the shop and the kids don't get a key...ha ha if that were only true.

 

[Someone_else]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

I have four drawers in my tool chests for sockets, two for metric 1/4 and 3/8, two for standard 1/4 and 3/8. I also have a couple socket sets that have a molded plastic carrier for the sockets, with markings for the sizes.

 

[Lt Dan]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

The tools and sockets that are organized are either not being used much or like mine, OCD keeps 'em all in there right place and all organized by size, type or purpose.

 

[DodgebyDave]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

in a 5 gallon bucket!

 

[newmisty]

Easy peasy. I buy cheap socket sets wherever I find them and have sets in every vehicle, tractor, sprayer, shop and house.
Then I go look for the one I need.

You must be fellow alumni from U-DO.
University of Disheveled Organizers

 

[newmisty]

The tools and sockets that are organized are either not being used much or like mine, OCD keeps 'em all in there right place and all organized by size, type or purpose.

What holds them? Strips?

I had bought a nice set of Craftsman off of eBay for a good price and it's in one of those molded cases that is the absolute worst POS feasible you might as well just toss them in a bag.

So naturally I have a couple sets of this a couple sets of that these over here these I got then so nothing is uniform in terms of storage so I'm trying to figure out the best route forward. A friend of mine is in a very similar position so he thinks it would be easier to just throw everything out and going by a kit where everything is in there all ready to go. I certainly see the Merit in that and after all I've been through trying to save time or money is only cost me time and money because I graduated from U-Do. The trouble with me is I've got nearly all the sockets I need already but I have a hard time keeping them in order.
I had bought 4 sets of a small Harbor Freight socket set I think they were like under $3. And I kept one of my truck and then a couple spares and then I lost a couple socket so I swapped it out with the new one and I'll tell you what that thing is done more work then I could have imagined.

The long story short is I got to find some sort of system some sort of container that can house my mixed batch but kept in order.

For wrenches I had bought one of those trays that you clip in and that never worked well and another one I had came with it but they didn't fit in right and would fall out. Then I ended up putting them on a long copper wire in sequential order but taking him on and off with a pain in the butt if you just need one in the middle. I can really start to see the Merit of buying one of those all-in-one kits where everything has a little place and when you're done you put it back. My mechanically inclined friend has been doing that for the past year or so with a Cobalt kit and I've been noticing how well it's working.

It's a real drain I'll tell you that.

 

[newmisty]

in a 5 gallon bucket!

So you must have that mechanic's eagle eye who can look in a 5 gallon bucket and know the diameter by sight.

Probably within the past year I've come to realize that I'm always at least one usually two sizes off myself so I started to aim high a bit the correct and can finally at least hit the target!

 

[Irons]

How do you guys keep your sockets organized?

These thingys. Saves a lot of space. I buy the individual ones because I have mostly 3/8 drive so I need more of those than 1/4 or 1/2 drive.

https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-socket-rail-set-3-pc-68103.html

 

[D-FENZ]

I had bought a nice set of Craftsman off of eBay for a good price and it's in one of those molded cases that is the absolute worst POS feasible you might as well just toss them in a bag.

Oh yeah... Open it up wrong or the cheap plastic latch with only a memory for a spring remembers that it was unlatched and the whole 201 piece 'set' will be scattered in the mud. And then it goes in the bag- minus that 10mm socket of course.

The tools and sockets that are organized are either not being used much or like mine, OCD keeps 'em all in there right place and all organized by size, type or purpose.

Embrace the madness of what they're calling 'OCD'. But there's nothing disorderly about it.

Repeat after me; it's OCO dammit- OCO...

 

[DodgebyDave]

 

[MrLucky]

When I do brake jobs on my cars I use a piece of a metal coat hanger to hang the calipers on within the wheel well. This way they don't hang by the hose or accidentally get knocked off the frame or whatever platform you might put them on. All my vehicles have 4-wheel disk brakes so I have custom bent hangers for each of them. Saves time.

And if you "ever" decide to try and move a stuck piston in the caliper with compressed air connected to the brake line connection.......KEEP your fingers out of the path of the piston. If it decides to come out it will come out with lots of finger hurting force.

 

[newmisty]

Yeah this looks like about right.

Irons, i tried that route using the strips. My experience was that some of the sockets wouldn't stay as the metal doohickey wouldn't hold it or the metal doohickey would fall out. I tried the plastic ones and those ended up breaking. That's why I'm posting this question because I feel like I want to buy those racks again but I don't want to have that experience. I've seen some of that are little posts that are incrementally taller in the sockets slip onto those which caught my eye.
Ok just did a search forv what's available out there and I I'm in love with the ones in the last picture now I just got to go find them and see how much they want.