installed the new MC yesterday and got started filling/bleeding the system again. i rolled up a sheet of 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and ran it through the bore a few times with some WD40 to clean up the minor rust, washed it out with brake cleaner, then blew it out with compressed air. with a couple drops of fresh brake fluid on the seals the pistons slipped right in.
i used an old pump shaft to hold the pedal down while i cracked the bleeders open...
one of the remanufactured calipers i bought last year has had its nipples replaced with oversized, SAE bleeders that actually dont fit right: when they're tight, the wrench flats disappear into the countersink so far that you cant get a wrench and a drain hose on at the same time, a real messy pain in the ass, so i had to go to a hydraulics parts supplier and get special long ones. they're kind of huge, but they allow a wrench and will tighten:
left: original long-nose right: oversize SAE
what a relief to finally see some progress. it took many cycles around the car at each wheel but they pumped right up. in fact, right now they're as good as they were for the last couple of years that i was driving the car, and i'm not totally finished yet. with a helper to pump the pedal i can get the last few bubbles out and get it "high & tight". in the end the cheapest kit worked the best: maybe i can use that fancy-lad vacuum kit to siphon milk from my nose or something...
