I bought some speed bleeders and the threading of the rear speed bleeder valve is longer than the OEM bleeder valve. I screwed the speed bleeder into the rear drum brake as far as I could, but the threading near the head sticks out a bit. Is this OK? Thank you.

 

All good provided there's no leaking. the bleeder valve won't obstruct anything
I subsequently looked up the purpose and method of operation of these "speed bleeders". let us know how it goes using them

 

Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, I purchased the speed bleeders from these folks: http://www.speedbleeder.com/

Another question regarding the brakes: if I were to remove the brake line from the front caliper to clean it, what may I use that would provide enough pressure to clamp down on the brake line, so that brake fluid would not leak out?

I have a Honda fit 2012 Sport, and that brake line sure is rigid and does not want to squish together. Would vice grips be sufficient in this case?

 

Sounds like you want to create problems. Why would you want to crush a brake line with Pliers?

Brake fluid only needs to be replaced approx every 3 years. Not an expensive job at the dealers who know what they are doing. Mine has been done in '13,'16 and '19. Had pads and discs replaced once as well.

 

Vice grips of a good size would be capable of clamping rubber brake line closed. An alternative or something that could be paired with clamping that I'd recommend is purchase and use of a small variety of vacuum line caps as shown here:

 

Well, I'm a complete novice, so what do I know? Thanks for the heads-up though.

I've seen other folks on youtube using some kind of clamping tool to clamp off the brake line for the purpose of my goal mentioned above.

I have no idea if the brake fluid in my vehicle has ever been changed. It's quite disgusting and dark compared to the nice, fresh yellow brake fluid! xD

 

Time to change your brake fluid. Not really hard as you now have brake bleeders. Otherwise, it's a good thing to have a helper to pump the brakes.

 

It's cool to want to learn stuff, and all the more when said stuff can benefit not just the individual but also their friends, family, and community.

in regards to clamping the rubber brake hoses, they can be damaged through use of locking pliers if the hose is old and brittle, leading to a need for replacement of the section and bleeding of the whole system. But hey, it's unlikely that you'll need to repeat this process until or after the 20 year mark (from vehicle manufacture date). Everything has a shelf life/service life, and I myself have had to rebuild a couple brake calipers due to binding or ripping of the boot that grabs the piston. The less you squeeze those lines, the less likely they are to rupture/crack!

Lots of folks forego changing brake fluid since it does keep working long after the three year mark. It does however break down over time (maybe because it draws water, can't say) causing brake pedal (fade) feel/consistency of force applied when suppressing the pedal to get goofy, similar to having air in the lines minus the associated noise.
Having nice fresh fluid makes engagement easier and more consistent, which might just save a life as one would be less likely to accidentally jam on their brakes and get rear-ended/brake excessively and lose traction at the tires.
I personally use a funny brake fluid which seems to me to have a more aggressive feel and change it whenever I notice performance declining. I think that I've been doing it annually. Always fun getting somebody out to sit in the car and yelling:
"did you just let the pedal up after I said down?", "I can't tell if the bubbles are from rapid depression of the pedal or cuz there's air in it"

 

Brake fluid absorbs humidity. The fluid itself is not compressible, but water is. Also, water boiling point is lower than brake fluid, so if your brakes are hot and you have water accumulated in your fluid, at one point it can boil and transform to gas, which is even more compressible.

So if you want your brake ready when you need them, change the fluid every 3 years. If you use the 2 people method, it will only cost you 2-3 bottles of brake fluid and a half hour. Not much for security.

 

Thank you for the advice, folks. A new brake line hose is not that expensive, is it?

I actually stupidly damaged the rubber dust boot while trying to grind rust off inside the piston while working on the brakes the other day (I still have to change the brake fluid too, lolz).

I want to get a new piston, rubber boot, and the square-cut circular seal, anyways. Any advice for where I may purchase a set of these three items that are compatible with the 2012 Honda Fit Sport? Thank you,.

 

A new brake line hose shouldn't be too bad. But it also means lots of air in the brakes, being unable to drive til yuh get the part, yuh know?

As for getting parts to rebuild:

I've installed a centric brand wheel hub assembly before and was quite happy with the fit and finish.

One thing of note! It's not easy getting the pistons out of the calipers. Those that have the means use a compressor to blow air in and pop them out. Those that dont (such as myself) use vice grips and struggle a little.
In the past I've damaged pistons a bit as a result (was sure to keep the teeth towards the front end of the piston so as to not interfere with the seal) which led to some polishing work after.

I found a handy little trick though that may serve to help avoid such issues:

I think this is 5/8" fuel line (which i had lying around) Used for a similar purpose: avoiding marring the machined surface of the shaft belonging to the electric motor in the image.

It worked quite well, better than tape or heat shrink, it was exceptionally grippy. Just an idea anyways.
Oh and here's the link to rockauto: LINK

​​​​​They ship via fedex. been havin some issues with Fedex here in GA due to a plant halving its workforce, or so I'm told. shipping usually takes a week n costs like 8 bucks, varying depending on item size, weight, location n so on.

 

Woah, thank you for sharing that website! That's amazing.

I take it the "Hydraulic Hose" is the technical term for "brake line," or is it referring to both brake line and brake hose as a combonation?

Yeah, I watched a very informative video from Eric The Car Guy, and he used an air compressor to get the piston out. I happen to have an air compressor, so .

Also, I take it that on the rockauto website, every part under Honda -> Fit - > 1.5L L4 is compatible for our Fit, aye?

Lastly, those vacuum line caps will completely seal the end of the brake line from leaking out, aye? The brake line, as in "(A)," and not the brake hose?


I just realized this: up above on my second post, I actually meant the brake hose, not brake line. xD I thought the brake hose and brake line were the same thing. I just learned by this image they are not! :X Whoops. Therefore, for clarification, I was referring to what would be good to crush the brake hose to not let the brake fluid leak out?

In fact, instead of doing any clamping of sorts, is there any way to just screw the banjo bolt ("(C)" from below ) from the brake hose into something? That would probably prevent any leaking, right?

 

No problem, site is pretty much always open on my phone anyways. Been sourcing stuff from them for five years I think, save when it's urgent. Almost everything on there will fit your vehicle. Yeah, everything on there will fit. If there were differences between the base and the sport, it would specify on the part which one it was for, but they're the same mechanically (aesthetic differences like front bumper, fog lights and so on).

In regards to lines v. hoses, I use/d the terms interchangeably.

A compressor is on my list, actually, at the top of it.. I've got my eyes fixed on a 20gal Ingersol to be my first and hopefully last. What did you go with, if I may? (not a judging thing, I've never had one as I couldn't decide on what would best fit the need)

Glad you found a vid, and he's pretty decent by my measure. It's not all bad living in the tech age.

It's been a few months since I last rebuilt brake calipers and I don't rightly recall, but it isnt what the caps are purposed for.
​​​​​​ They're meant to cap air lines. But they are rubber, and a bit stretchy! If the fit is good and there's room for it, it'll hold. If not, it'll either drip, fall off, or be too small. I usually have a small selection somewhere in the garage because I find uses for them.
Thinking about it now, I'd likely just pinch the rubber and have a shop towel or two wrapped around the opening, but use your best judgement. Really, the plugs should be irrelevant unless there's a nipple on the fitting that attaches to the caliper. Even then, kinda silly, so I apologize for that.
​​​​​If you did buy them, I promise you'll find a use eventually. Easy to cut shorter too!

EDIT: As for sealing the line with the banjo bolt, I feel like I've tried something similar and it leaked, but you may be right! When you're dripping chemicals, well, you go with the fastest solution, whatever it is or however lame it looks.

 

Rock Auto is very good to know! Cheapest price for parts, at least in Canada (even if most of the parts come from the US)!

For brakes, just discovered Max Brakes. Ordered a set, will know later on what they are worth... (79$ cdn for both front rotors [coated] and ceramic pads, delivered to my door)

 

Damn that is cheap. Let us know how they work.

 

Just got them right now. They really seems of high quality. Rotors are all black (anti-rust coating). Pads come with the backing plates and all new metal clips.
Will probably install them at the end of October or beginning of November while changing to winter tires.

Can't wait to test them. Their prices are crazy low! If they are quality, it will be nice!

Note: many people have told me great things about Max Brakes, so they should perform well!

 

Good to know, thanks.

Gotchya.

I purchased this one back in 2015 at harbor Freight. I wanted to get the largest gallon, oilless, air compressor, and I think at the time this was what was available. However, I think after my first or second use, the nozzle, or whatever it's called (circled in yellow) began to leak air. Thus, every time I use it some air leaks out. It's annoying, but it still does the job. Lolz. Moreover, I think there is something wrong with the sensor knowing if it has reached the max PSI, so I always have to monitor it to make sure it doesn't get too high in pressure (I usually turn it off around 100 PSI) and blow up on me, effectively becoming an IED.





Actually, I realized that the banjo bolt has that little hole for the brake fluid to exit out from, so I think at best it would only slow down the flow of the brake fluid, if the banjo bolt was bolted in to something, or even if a nut and washer was placed over it. I'm really not sure though.

What I think I am going to actually do is just let the brakes completely bleed while I work on the caliper, then just refill the master cylinder when I am ready for re-pouring new brake fluid in. I mean, it's OK for the vehicle to be completely drained of brake fluid, then filled back up and then get a normal bleed for air release?

 

Well lets hope they are quality. I paid $450 for Honda pads and rotors and labour which I had installed at my local Dodge dealer who does quality work and reasonable prices. Wow It is almost 5 years since I had that done. I do not drive much being old and retired and nowhere to go now with Covid.

 

$450! Just for replacing the front brake pads and rotors? That's daylight robbery.

I'm sorry you had to pay that much.

 

Well first Cdn dollars. Honda rotors are $100 each and Pads another $100. Plus tax. I think was about 1 hr labour. I am happy Still got lots on brake so one change in 11+ yrs not bad.