Blue, you should write your own maintenance manual. May I suggest a title?
"The Idiot's Guide to Saving a Little Now So You Can Spend a Lot Later."

C clamp
 

If you dont like the C clamp then you can stick screw drivers down between the pads and the rotors and pry them back... which is refered to as the cave man technique....

I change my rotors when they start sticking...I can buy them for about 60 bucks so that is why I change them... You can also rebuild them for about 20.

Yes, Craig I actually believe a guy should have a spare engine and spare transmission and change them out periodically....It gives a guy something to do in his garage over the winter. I will be rebuilding my spare transmission this winter... I am actually thinking about rebuilding my engine just for the heck of it...:D

Not to be confused with failing to change your brake fluid for 24 years, which is a totally different technique.

Does the Haynes Manual have a section on "rotor rebuilding" as well? Exactly how does one rebuild a rotor?

never
 

i never change my brake fluid..

I change my calipers, my master cylinder, my booster, my rotors,
and I put fresh fluid in and bleed the system... and since this occors
every few years there is no need to change the fluid...(not all at once)

so I have never changed brake fluid on a car....

MY 24 YEAR OLD CAR HAS BEEN THROUGH PROBABLY 4 SETS OF ROTORS AND 4 MASTER CYLINDERS...

Not sure why but
 

i've had several cars and never once had to change anything BUT fluid and pad's... if you changed fluid a bit more often you might didnt have to change everything else nobody else has to change...

Might save u a few bucks..

No further questions of this witness, you honor.

caliper
 

click above on buy parts and there is a caliper repair kit...

you replace the piston seals and such... I normally just buy new
calipers though...

Well, if you change the fluid when you change the brake pads, that is a fluid change. If you drive it like my dad who lives out in the country and changes brake pads very rarely, if at all, then you might have an issue. My fluid is constantly clear since I change it often enough. I go thru a set of pads every year and a half. It is easier to put a tag there and flush it when needed.

brake pads
 

when i change my brake pads i do not touch the fluid...
no bleeding...

i only bleed and replace fluid when i change calipers..

I want to see someone drive a heavily loaded truck down a big hill with 24 year old brake fluid. That hill on the I-17 north of Phoenix would do or that one on I-77 between 81 and 40. I will sell tickets for other spectators to watch and I want a life insurance policy on the driver and all film rights. Down shifting is not allowed and you don't get to wear your seatbelt or use the runaway truck ramps. Any takers?

If you change your brake fluid by the book you replace the bleeders before they start looking bad. Bleeders are cheap. They are never a problem if you maintain them. Some people have said to cover them with tubing and grease to help preserve them.

There are techniques to bleed ABS brakes without the scan tool. I have posted on this before. I remember ABS has been on production cars since the early '70s Lincolns. They aren't that special.

brakes
 

my bleeders are fine becasue my calipers are new... I understand now
why you guys have to open your system... you are opening your brake system when you do your brakes and so you are bleeding and changing fluid.

I can see it now... I remember back 20 years ago... having the wife in the car.. (push the brake pedal honey) (Hold the pedal down) (let up) I remember those days...

but I finally learned how to use a C clamp and now my system is sealed... I only open it when I change a caliper or a master cylinder... then I use a mighty vac.....:D

I just got my '69 220d back on the road after being stored in a garage since 1988. I didn't want to drop too much $$ into the car before being sure that it was a good candidate for restoration.

Anyway, I neglected to change out the brake fluid and sure enough, brake fade in heavy stop/go traffic. I was surprised it occured so easily (there must have been a lot of H2O in the fluid).

I drained and replaced the brake fluid and replaced a cracked cap on the fluid resevoir. The issue seems to have disappeared but I'm still driving very cautiously...

Your system is not sealed, it is vented, they all are. Moisture gets in, you can't stop it. By your posts it sounds like you change your fluid when something breaks and you have to replace parts.

edit...Deleted time dependent message...

What is the system sealed by? I don't see. Duct Tape, perhaps? Also, if it is so sealed as he says, how do you explain the black crud the fluid becomes. Assuming it is sealed, where did the crud come from and how good is it for the brake system?