I'm thinking of removing my four brake calipers and painting them to color match my A4, then putting the calipers back on. Problem is I've never bled brake lines before, and I don't want to **** it up. Would Meineke or Midas be a good place to go? Or do you think individual/non-chain mechanics would do it for less? I know I'd need a heat resistant paint, but anyone know exactly what kind? Any help is appreciated, as always!

 

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Theres a bunch of them on ebay - I'm not sure about the quality, but I almost ended up getting one, then talked myself out of having painted calipers.

 

any particular reason why you aren't doing it?

 

Didn't you know that painted calipers work better?

 

Paint them without taking them off.. Its not necessary to do that. Kind of a PITA, but not as much as taking them off would be.
I mean unbolt them to paint, but keep the line on as if you were just changing pads.

 

Bleeding the brakes are simple and can be a one person job no matter what anyone tells you. I've bled my brakes by myself on every car I've owned.

After you paint them, press the front caliper pistons in with a regular C-clamp. You can use a C-clamp for the rear as well, but since you've never done it before, I would recommend a brake caliper tool. The rear calipers require you to twist while applying pressure.


Start at the caliper furthest from the MC, which would be the left rear (looking from the rear) IIRC

- Loosen the 11mm bleeder valve
- Put a piece of tube over it and put the other end of the tube in a tub of brake fluid.
- Hop in the car and depress the brake pedal... DO NOT push it to the floor, you can damage the seals in the MC
- Pump the pedal about 5-6 times, again, DO NOT push it to the floor
- Go back and tighten up the valve and repeat, RR, LF, RF

 

dont you put the brake fluid in the MC, then have it come squirting out the calipers, and keep doing until the fluid color changes?

 

If you're trying to flush the whole system...yea.

But 5-6 pumps on each corner should clean a bit of it and apply enough pressure.

 

Always flush each brake line until clean fluid comes out of the caliper. Old/dirty fluid is the number one cause of mechanical ABS problems. This is because brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air and this moisture causes crystals to from within the brake fluid. The crystals are abrasive and will wear away at the mechanical parts. You need to change all of your brake fluid at least every 2 years...whether you need to do a brake job or not.

 

yea do it your self. my first time i did it by my self, i used a haynes manual and i had no problems at all.