1988 Dodge Ram B250. Just changed caliper, rotor, and pads on left front.

Do I need to bleed all 4 brakes? I did bleed them all but not sure if it was necessary and not sure I did them correctly. I used a one-man brake bleed kit from AutoZone. It was a pain in the neck to do them.

How much fluid should I put in the master cylinder? I topped it off.

Now it pulls to the right. Is this normal while the new pads break in? Or, did I bleed them incorrectly?

 

It's not a great idea to change only one front caliper - whenever you change one you should change the opposite side as well. Same goes for pads. Same goes for the front brake hoses. I'll assume you already have the two remaining front pads for the right side since they are sold in sets.

You've already opened the can of worms by changing just one caliper -- I know it's a PITA but you're going to continue to have brake problems up front unless you change it all. If the rotors are OK you can just have them trued at the machine shop, otherwise change those out too. Grooved or wavy rotors can make even brand new calipers and pads feel like crap.

As far as bleeding goes you should take the opportunity to replace all of the hydraulic fluid in the system by bleeding both the front and rear brakes. If you are lucky the bleeders on the rear wheel cylinders will not snap off, otherwise you may be looking at replacing the rear wheel cylinders. And while you're in there you should do the shoes as well.

If you end up replacing the pads and shoes on all 4 wheels then the master cylinder resevoir should be brought up to the Upper mark with hydraulic fluid. If you get lucky with the existing wheel cylinders and you keep the old shoes out back set the fluid level between the Upper mark and the Lower mark on the reservoir.

Sorry for all the bad news.

 

I kinda knew that would be the answer. I was hoping not!
The bleeders on the back opened fairly easily, although my wrenches went down to 9mm and the bleeders on the back were 8mm.
Thanks though.

 

while up front, you should replace the rubber hoses that feed the calipers... they tend to want to collapse internally as they get old and not let fluid back out of the caliper cylinders, therefore the pads get used up prematurely and mileage suffers becuase of the drag on the rotor... fortunately they are not that expensive or difficult to replace...

 

Ok, so, done: all new rotors, calipers, hoses, pads, and bearing on both sides (front)! Thanks for the help.

Master cylinder says, fill to the bottom of the rings. What does that mean? What "rings"? I guess I don't' know what upper and lower marks to look for. I don't see anything obvious that looks like a fill mark.

p.s. replaced all four tires with GoodYear Coopers. The thing is so quiet going down the road now it's unbelievable.

 

When you look inside the reservoir, it's the portion of the plastic body that goes down, a.k.a. the filler neck.

 

Is it possible to overfill it? What happens if I do?

 

Yes it's possible to overfill it. If you do the locust will return.

 

I knew I had special powers.

 

Should the clips that hold the caliper on be tight, or loose enough for the caliper to slide?