Kev's JDM 1997 Protege

[irishkev90]

It's a good feeling when primer is applied and covers all bondo filled spots.. it should give you the energy needed to keep on wrenching. KEEP IT UP!

Indeed. So glad to have the little dings and scratches taken care of. Can't wait to get it finished up.

I'm glad this is still progressing. It makes me happy to see someone still fixing up a BH. They're getting quite rare these days.

Agreed. I'm going to keep this thing alive for as long as I can. It's a shame they're so under-/unsupported.

[irishkev90]

Well, right side caliper is fubar. Doesn't want to retract after letting off the brakes. I replaced the pads and hoped that pushing the piston all the way back on my own would break it loose so it could work on its own. Nope. Even reused one of the old springs so there's two on that side to give it some extra push, still nothing. I think it's time to start the ES brake swap I've had sitting around for years.

[irishkev90]

Well, something got started. Cleaned up the calipers a bit and applied some silver caliper paint. Cleaned and greased everything up and loaded up some ceramic pads. New hubs were installed a few years ago, but never got around to finishing the swap. Purchased a set of Corksport braided lines years ago, as well. I thought I had a set of rotors laying around, but I either thought wrong or they got tossed while getting ready to move last year. I'll grab a set of rotors tomorrow and hopefully get everything swapped over.

The rears will unfortunately be staying drums for now. I still have to wrestle with the rear lateral link bolts that are stuck in the spindle. That's a problem for future Kevin, though.

[FE3-323]

nice n clean! im assuming new bearings too??

[irishkev90]

Yup. Everything is new except the spindles. Got all the components for the swap from Turpro years and years ago.

[FinoBuilt]

Shiny parts makes everyone happy and keeps you going.. Reminds me I got bearings to press on my piece today..

Nice feeling to get motivated by progress of other projects!! Keep on wrenching.

[irishkev90]

I agree.

I was able to get everything installed this morning. Went together fairly well. A few problems I'm having: The pedal still feels too soft/low even after multiple rounds of bleeding. The CorkSport brake lines come uncomfortably close to the inside of the wheel, the passenger side actually rubbed through the plastic coating on the outside of the line on a fairly short test drive. I bend the brake line bracket enough to get some clearance, but still too close for my liking. I'll have to fab up a new bracket and/or try to bend the line where it meets the caliper without screwing anything up. Switching the spindles has caused my alignment to go out of whack, so I'll have to do that again. Hopefully my dad has something at the shop that will make bleeding the brakes a little better, too.

I also disassembled the old caliper that seized up just out of curiosity. My suspicions were correct that the holes in the piston boot allowed moisture and dirt in and caused the cylinder lip to rust and rub on the piston, eventually seizing it in place.

Pictures coming soon. Until then, here's a preview on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/BtMfUHJl5Af/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[FE3-323]

#1
pull back virtually all of the slack to behind the bracket for the strut (grease the line with some vasoline and work it though the rubber grommet that it sits in for the strut). readjust the position of the line where you bolted it to the caliper to reflect a safe position. [tucked downwards from where you have it positioned now] once you've gotten it safely adjusted then try to bleed the brakes.
don't mess around your life is on the line.
my first install of SS lines i did exactly what you did. except had the line actually burst on the road with me driving. sketchy sketchy.

feel free to reach out to me if you need any tips.

[irishkev90]

So have the line come up from the bottom instead down from the top, you're saying? Didn't look like there was enough slack to twist it that way without kinking something. I figured they'd fit like the original lines so I had it set up like OEM, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the advice. Luckily none of the SS has frayed, just the plastic was worn through. I'm sure a longer drive would have ended up like yours, though.

[FE3-323]

just loosen the bolt at the back of the caliper on both sides and push the lines down until it doesn't really become an issue anymore.

[irishkev90]

I was able to push some more of the line through the grommet and shouldn't be an issue with the wheel anymore, but now it rubs on the back of the strut body when turned full lock (which again makes me uncomfortable). I might need to come up with a better bracket that can hold the line both down from the wheel and out from the strut. I tried turning the line all the way down, but was getting really tight and I was worried about suspension travel. It's late and getting cold, so I didn't get a chance to attempt bleeding again. Tomorrow is another day.

Out of curiosity, what are some of the BG brake upgrade routes? I know the BG guys have done other brake upgrades and since these ES calipers are the same as the BG, I was wondering if any of those upgrades would work on a BH. Obviously wouldn't be for quite some time, just wondering what some options are.

[FE3-323]

BHA astina. anything else is a nightmare for alignment geometry

[irishkev90]

Good to know. Thanks.

Just got back from getting an alignment. The steering wheel is still cocked to the left a little bit, but the machine says the wheels are all straight, so I probably have to take the steering wheel apart and try to straighten it on the hub.

Brakes still don't feel right. I reworked the lines this morning to clear the wheel and strut, all good there, but the pedal is still too low. Bled them again and was getting no air out of the front, so looks like I'll be doing a full round of bleeding soon. It's driveable, but not very "confidence-inspiring".

[irishkev90]

Update on the braking situation. Bled all four corners this afternoon using this type of setup. It was just me, so I set up my phone to record the bottle. After a few pumps of the pedal I checked the video to watch the air bubble out. I continued until I didn't see anymore air and decided to keep going until I saw clean fluid, too. Might as well, right? Did all four this way and all four had air trapped in them. Went for a drive and it stops, just like before, but I can still press the pedal all the way down. It doesn't seem right and I don't think it did that before the brake swap. My dad said it might be a vacuum leak with the master somehow and one of his coworkers (who used to be a mechanic) says I still have air in the lines. I guess he's going to bring his bleeder to the shop tomorrow so I can stop by and have them bled for the 4th and, hopefully, final time.

[FE3-323]

vacuum bleed the system. especially the rears. pulling through the proportioning valve seems to be the only real solution i've found (personally) that works