Cougar
I was unsupervised today, so I used my organization skills to take all of the parts left in the trunk out and get them in order. I don't know half of what they are. And I definitely don't know if they work!
Please comment if you have any ideas here!
Also, in order to keep the interior in good shape, and save some time and cost there, I lathered the seats and dash in cocoa butter to prevent cracking.
It felt good to organize after yesterday's lack of progress with the brakes.
I had an ambitious day ahead! Hook up the front brake lines and hoses to the calipers, to complete the front brake setup.
I needed to remove the calipers in order to install the new brake pads. Once I found the bolts and had the right sockets, I found myself laying on the ground in the driveway wishing the car was jacked up a little higher. A lift would definitely be handy. After some seriously struggling, I was looking around for a longer socket wrench to get more leverage. I wasn't strong enough to undo the bolts with the wrench and laying on the ground.
My cousin came out of the house after about an hour, and said, "You don't have those off, yet?" I said, "I need a longer wrench to get them off"
He then walked over to the jack, pulled the handle off, and slid the pipe handle over the wrench and pushed down to loosen the bolt. As he walked back in the house he said, "Work smarter, not harder" I KNOW PHYSICS! I knew a longer handle would give me more leverage, what I didn't know was that the jack handle was a hollow pipe. UGH!
Now the calipers were off, and I removed the hoses for replacement. My cousin was cleaning up the calipers and testing them. Both had a frozen piston. No Good! New calipers will have to be ordered.
I spent the rest of the time today cleaning up the rotors and wheel wells. Incredibly frustrating to get nowhere fast today. Found the new calipers that can be shipped in a few days.
So, today I've seemed to have learned that the brake lines are probably put in first in the engine bay. They are a HUGE pain in the ass to get to.
They run along the back wall between other parts, hoses, and cables. After unhooking the lines at the master cylinder, I found it easier to just cut the existing lines and rip them out. I tried to save the brake clips that hold them against the wall, but will likely need to replace them.
What's nice is that my cousin was able to find a pre-bent brake line kit, that I hoped would all be installed today. I was only really able to snake the long front line across the back wall of the engine bay and into the wheel well into place. Rear brake lines would have to wait until next time.
