# cap off rear brake hose? (ie removing the caliper)



## rjagodic (Feb 26, 2004)

Hi all,
The car in question is 89 GLI 16v with rear non-abs disc brakes.
One of the rear calipers locked up and since I am going to junk the car pretty soon (month/two) I was thinking of removing the caliper completely since it's not worth replacing everything. So, how could I remove the caliper and cap the rear hose off safely so that I can run without the caliper for a little while? My other concern is how to bleed something like that because even if the hose is capped off, if there is air in it, it's no good. Anybody done anything like that?
Thanks.


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: cap off rear brake hose? (rjagodic)*

if you want a serious rig job you could remove the caliper and carrier, but keep the hose connected, and tie it up and out of the way, then put a block of wood that fits tightly in where the pads would go and zip tie that in good. so when you hit the brakes, the caliper piston presses on that and dosent pop out, and you loose all braking pressure.
*THis is a TOTAL, highly unsafe manuever*, but in theory i'm sure it would work fine.
in reality what i would do.... unbolt the line from the master cylinder that runs to that circut and buy some metal plugs that thread into the master, and run it like that. the threads i think are like M10x1







someone else can chime in.


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## rjagodic (Feb 26, 2004)

*Re: cap off rear brake hose? (Banditt007)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Banditt007* »_if you want a serious rig job you could remove the caliper and carrier, but keep the hose connected, and tie it up and out of the way, then put a block of wood that fits tightly in where the pads would go and zip tie that in good. so when you hit the brakes, the caliper piston presses on that and dosent pop out, and you loose all braking pressure.

yeah, that sounds awfully sketchy. I dont think I wanna do that. Also, there isnt much space there.

_Quote, originally posted by *Banditt007* »_
in reality what i would do.... unbolt the line from the master cylinder that runs to that circut and buy some metal plugs that thread into the master, and run it like that. the threads i think are like M10x1







someone else can chime in.

what about the proportioning valve in the back? i was just thinking about putting a plug on the end of the brake hose where the caliper would go. However, I dont know how I could do that and still bleed that corner so that my pedal doesn't go to the floor. It would be great if that hose had a female end so I can just plug it with a bleeder screw (for easy bleeding).


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

How about go get a used caliper and start applying some common sense, replace the caliper and don't go get killed


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## rjagodic (Feb 26, 2004)

*Re: (screwedrrado)*

I thought about that but it's not worth it. I would have to get a new/used rotor, pads and caliper and that's just not worth it on a car that I'm going to junk in a month or two. And really, if I felt that I could get myself killed because of this, I wouldn't have thought about it. Supposedly rear brakes provide 30% braking power right? So that leaves me with 85% of the original... and considering that my car is lighter now (with all the rust holes







, and I do city driving 99% of the time, I am not worried.
I had a caliper lock up before and of course I replaced it since I knew I was gonna keep the car for some time.


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## EMunEEE (Mar 28, 2005)

*Re: (rjagodic)*

MKIV calipers? What about your parking brake?


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## rjagodic (Feb 26, 2004)

*Re: (EMunEEE)*


_Quote, originally posted by *EMunEEE* »_MKIV calipers? What about your parking brake?

parking brake is overrated








I think I figured out what I'm gonna do. I'll buy a female/female adapter, remove the caliper, connect it to the brake hose at that point and plug a bleeder screw into the adapter. Now it's just a matter of finding the adapter with suitable threads.


_Modified by rjagodic at 4:21 PM 6-18-2007_


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## vodka02 (Jul 26, 2007)

*Re: (rjagodic)*

To answer your question on trying to free up the caliper pistons and not having to remove a brake line and then bleeding the system.........well, the only thing I can think of is to: first try to remove the pads, if you can't do this because of the pressure still on the pistons you will have to the next step. Second: remove the caliper with the brake line still connected. This will be difficult and you will have to pry it off with a long bar between the rotor and caliper. Once you get it off, remove the pads. Now with the proper tool, press the pistons back in. they should move back, if not, you need to rebuild the caliper. If they go back in, replace the pads and reinstall the caliper. Pump up the brake pedal and check to see if the wheel turns free. If so, take a short test drive and make sure it's not still dragging. If it's still dragging, one of two things it could be: The rubber brake line on the right rear banana arm could be deteriorating. This will cause the pressure from the master cylinder to force the brake fluid past the obstructing in the deteriorating brake line, but there will not be sufficient back pressure from the caliper to let the pistons retract keeping them pressed up against the rotor and causing the drag. Chack open the brake line and see if this frees up the wheel? If so, it's a bad rubber line.
TO BE SAFE, I THINK IT'S TIME FOR A COMPLETE BRAKE JOB.
I believe I don’t need to replace my BMW brake hose for this…Hope this would help…


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## spasticone (May 31, 2004)

I thought disk rears were a true 50/50 front rear split. That sounds pretty deadly with only one side removed.. I used to have a Buick that only had front brakes. did awesome burn outs


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## spoolmy1.8 (Jan 17, 2007)

*Re: (spasticone)*

no.
Assuming there's no proportioning valve
Larger diameter front rotor, larger front pad size, and larger front piston size = Front brakes provide higher torque than rear brakes. Add a proportioning valve and it can be very different.
50/50 brake torque setup is not desired in a MkIV. It's a front heavy car, and when you brake there's even a greater proportion of weight on the front tires.


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## my_vw_sucks (May 13, 2004)

*Re: (rjagodic)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rjagodic* »_I thought about that but it's not worth it. I would have to get a new/used rotor, pads and caliper and that's just not worth it on a car that I'm going to junk in a month or two. And really, if I felt that I could get myself killed because of this, I wouldn't have thought about it. Supposedly rear brakes provide 30% braking power right? So that leaves me with 85% of the original... and considering that my car is lighter now (with all the rust holes







, and I do city driving 99% of the time, I am not worried.
I had a caliper lock up before and of course I replaced it since I knew I was gonna keep the car for some time.

This is probably some of the worst logic I've ever seen on the text. Seeing that this is a revived post, I'm curious if you ended up doing this and then promptly spun your car.







You now have a pendulum with one rear brake helping rotate the car where the back of the car has no reason to stop. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif


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