Color me baffled. I've got my wheel bearings and discs all bolted up properly but I can't get the pistons pushed back into the brake calipers far enough to accept the new brake pads I bought.
Any tips on how the hell I can do this? I've used sticks and brake spreaders but these things are incredibly difficult to move.
I'm guessing the pistons are actually pretty stuck and I'll have to rebuild the calipers. This would suck. I really don't want to do that. Somebody please come to my rescue and tell me what I'm doing wrong here.
Really. I've never found a pair of calipers this difficult to collapse.
The calipers on my 2000 Nissan Maxima don't press in. Instead, they need to be rotated, but the tool to rotate them is a special tool that connects in a way that something from Stargate would. I had to buy a special socket attachment from Autozone.
I hope this is helps.
1) Remove the master cylinder cap
2) Get a big C-Clamp
3) Put C-clamp on the caliper so that the elephants foot (swivle part) rests on the outer edge of the piston (not in the piston, there usually isnt enough material there and you can crack the piston).
4) Tighten C-clamp by hand until the piston is pressed fully into the caliper.
Once you do this and complete the install, you will need to pump the brakes a few times. to set the piston back in place. Then, check the brake fluid level.
Yes! C clamps!
I had the cap off the reservoir already so the clamps are pretty much all I'll need.
Oddly, I don't own proper C clamps. The closest I have are big slide clamps I use for woodworking.
--D
P.S. Stargate, or MacGyver. Maybe I just need to invite Richard Dean Anderson over to help me fix my brakes.
Glad it worked for you. C-clamps are still bigger than Phil attempting to do his neighbor's brakes a pair of channel locks, which was the last time I got this question.
http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/pagebuild_v2.cgi/?html=learnmore.html&productID=8211#
Raven-
Check the photo, yo. See that thing sitting between the caliper and the new brake pad?
--D
Justin-
Channel locks were totally insufficient for this nonsense. And I now own a pair of sweet c-clamps.
--D
hey there guys i took the caliper off a 96 isuzu rodeo, the right side was easy, piston went right in no problem, the left side is giving me issues, im using a large c clamp and the piston wont go back in, i tried to spray it a few times with both wd40 one time and PB blaster the 2nd and still wouldnt budge, i looked in there and theres a olt of rust on the piston, my brother told me that it looks like the caliper is froze and i need a new one, does it sound like its froze up? thanks a bunch
It certainly sounds like it's siezed. I had an impossible time moving the calipers with levers, but the C-clamps were a snap. If the clamps don't work, I can't imagine what would.
--D