THE BEAST, '91 EAGLE TALON TSi

[crash]

1 tip. Don't use them bristle discs/scotchbrite or any other abrasive discs on a zippy grinder to clean gasket surfaces. They leave abrasive embedded, and leave you with a no longer flat surface. Use a scraper, and if you feel the need a sanding block.

Also when you replaced that keeper/retainer, did you inspect the valve? Usually when something like that happens the valve might not be in the best of shape. I would keep an eye on them.

Thanks for the advice. I did inspect the valve for damage and could not visibly see anything and the keeper channel still felt sharp and clean. I've had the valve cover off a few times since I started driving it again and have checked it for any movement. The damage to the keepers was likely caused by the rocker hitting it but I can't really place how the valve got pushed past it in the first place. I'm open to any thoughts / ideas.

 

[crash]

February, 2017 – Brake Rebuild

During my first drive my brakes decided to pay me back for my negligence to attend to them. My drive from work consisted of driving about 2.5 miles, parking for 10 minutes to cool down, and driving the remaining 2.5 miles, never going over 35 mph. By the time I made it home the front left wheel was smoking and extremely hot to the touch. I left the car in the garage for a couple weeks until I had some time to work on it and in the meantime ordered brake rebuild kits for the front and rears from Rockauto.

I did these one at a time, starting with the main culprit and working my way around the car, back to the rear left caliper. I started by removing the retaining clip and dust boot, then I used an air blower with 90 psi to pop the pistons out of the fronts. My car came with the small, 1P fronts so disassembly / reassembly was pretty straight forward. Using a block of wood to keep the piston from crashing into the caliper when it popped out kept me from damaging it. Although, accidentally putting a finger between the piston and the block of wood is not something I recommend....ask me why.

Once I got the piston out (and stopped the bleeding) I took off what rust I could using mineral spirits. As expected the front left was a bear to pop out and had a ton of rust build up on it. I got it pretty clean and reassembled then tested it with a C-clamp and the air blower for good, smooth movement. During reassembly I lubed up the seal with plenty of brake fluid to make slipping the piston back in easier, of course I used a C-clamp to aid in this.

The rears were a little more complicated due to the E-brake but came apart easily enough and went back together without any spare parts... The left rear was a little stuck, also as expected, so I did have to use some Groove-lock pliers to get a grip on it and twist it out. I used a rag between the teeth and the piston to minimize damage enough to clean it up afterwards.

After I reassembled and reinstalled the last caliper I bled all four corners starting from the right rear and worked my way back around to the front left. I use a bottle bleeder which works well and allows me to do it myself. Once everything was bled I put the wheels back on and took her for a drive. Finally the car was road worthy....mostly....

 

[streetraceboi]

Its quite interesting. I also have a 91 Black Cherry Tsi AWD, that I also purchased in 2002....that is also known as The Beast L O L. It has also been sitting for years, and am hoping to get it up again soon. Ill be following for motivation