Rebuilt brake calipers and headlights go out / high beams

Since I service 4 vehicles at home, I bought one of these.

Branick G300

It's awesome!

Plastic or metal pistons? I've never seen plastic pistons that didn't stick.

time2roll wrote:

klutchdust wrote:
As a young man, driving my 1976 chevy van pulling a coleman tent trailer,I smoked the brakes coming down a steep grade, stunk like heck, used my manual trans to stop,brake pedal to the floor. After they cooled I drove home, removed the pads sanded them and re-installed. Drove it for another 40k without an issue. Same brake fluid. It passed state inspections every year in NJ where they drove your vehicle on a ramp them slammed on the brakes to check them, anyone remember that .It measured brake stopping power,IDK

And maybe with new fluid the brakes may have faded a bit but not failed. It is the accumulation of moisture in the fluid that reduces the boiling point.
One stab at the brakes is not a test of the fluid condition.

Maybe, no way to know for sure. i do know, looking back, 100% driver error. As far as NJ DMV procedures back then, in no way do I defend or accept their testing as anything but hogwash.

With that being said, i have been unable to find a reputable source to base the comments supporting fluid changes. Having wrenched my entire life and been surrounded by some of the best mechanics in the automotive Industry i have yet to find someone who does it or feels under normal situations it is necessary to change your fluid.
I want to read about how a person experienced an issue and can show that the fluid was the culprit. How was the fluid tested, what should one look out for, why now is it an issue and not 20 years ago.
Curious is all. I Had the oil from my Duramax tested and received lab results based on facts and analysis, where can I send my brake fluid to be tested and see actual lab results.

klutchdust wrote:
As a young man, driving my 1976 chevy van pulling a coleman tent trailer,I smoked the brakes coming down a steep grade, stunk like heck, used my manual trans to stop,brake pedal to the floor. After they cooled I drove home, removed the pads sanded them and re-installed. Drove it for another 40k without an issue. Same brake fluid. It passed state inspections every year in NJ where they drove your vehicle on a ramp them slammed on the brakes to check them, anyone remember that .It measured brake stopping power,IDK

And maybe with new fluid the brakes may have faded a bit but not failed. It is the accumulation of moisture in the fluid that reduces the boiling point.
One stab at the brakes is not a test of the fluid condition.

ksg5000 wrote:
Rigs that don't get used on a regular basis need to have their brake fluid changed on regular basis to keep the brakes from sticking.

I always find the brake fluid issue interesting. Having owned and driven too many vehicles to mention in some of the toughest weather conditions imaginable I can't recall having brake fluid failure. it was "changed" when we bled out the old "pump it up....wait wait wait, hold it down" method.
Now it is offered at a ridiculous price at oil change facilities and people are falling for it. Steer me to some research backed material if there is any, not looking for an argument but a discussion.

As a young man, driving my 1976 chevy van pulling a coleman tent trailer,I smoked the brakes coming down a steep grade, stunk like heck, used my manual trans to stop,brake pedal to the floor. After they cooled I drove home, removed the pads sanded them and re-installed. Drove it for another 40k without an issue. Same brake fluid. It passed state inspections every year in NJ where they drove your vehicle on a ramp them slammed on the brakes to check them, anyone remember that .It measured brake stopping power,IDK

It's usual for the low beam filament/light to be turned off when the high beams are turned on. It may be as simple as the high beam filaments being burned out. It's also possible that there's a blown fuse or malfunctioning relay or other component in the high beam circuit. It would be relatively rare for both high beam filaments to burn out at the same time, though quite often they do burn out at around the same time since they're both exposed to the same use and abuse and often both get replaced together.

Thanks for the responses so far. Regarding the head lights: when they are on and I go to flick on the high beams, the low beams go out. No lights..

Regarding the sticking calipers: I changed out the flex lines both sides 6k miles ago to avoid that check valve situation. I will check that also on the side with the new (rebuilt caliper) in case it was not the caliper actually.

Rigs that don't get used on a regular basis need to have their brake fluid changed on regular basis to keep the brakes from sticking.

Had issues on my ford diesel with calipers.
I have no idea if my info is correct or not but it might be worth looking into......
I was told the hoses were the issue. They build up debris on the inside and act like a check valve over time, allowing brake fluid to travel in towards the caliper but not back out, causing the freeze up.

I had the same thing happen with a rebuilt caliper a while back. Store I bought it from said it was fairly common to have rebuilds eventually freeze up. They happily handed me another one for free.

Do you mean the low beams go off when you turn on the high beams? That would be normal for most vehicles.
Or does everything go dark with high beams?