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Rear brake caliper piston issues!!
01-25-2011, 09:29 AM
#11
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 915
Go to autozone or wherever and rent the tool, it will save you hours of frustration. Some people manage to get away with simply turning the piston in a c/w direction, but in my own experience on both my Mustang and on the wife's van the pistons required compression effort along with turning. And btw, don't bother with that gay little square universal p.o.s. that snaps on to a ratchet, comepletely worthless.
01-25-2011, 10:58 AM
#12
I did exactly what you did the last time I changed my brakes. I used the gay little cube thing and sawed off two tabs so that it would fit my caliper and it worked like a charm. The last time I changed my brakes I didn't have this much trouble. But I did get my caliper piston compressed back in yesterday I just couldn't get the caliper to seat back onto the bracket properly. So i'm about ready to try again now.
01-25-2011, 01:23 PM
#13
Resident Ford Troll
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Delaware
Posts: 6,717
I did exactly what you did the last time I changed my brakes. I used the gay little cube thing and sawed off two tabs so that it would fit my caliper and it worked like a charm. The last time I changed my brakes I didn't have this much trouble. But I did get my caliper piston compressed back in yesterday I just couldn't get the caliper to seat back onto the bracket properly. So i'm about ready to try again now.
Did you read what I said? When you push the piston in completely its going to be off-center. You have to twist it back out a quarter turn to get the 2 indents in the piston to be straight up and down, so it matches up with the tabs on the new pad
01-25-2011, 01:24 PM
#14
UPDATE: Finally got the caliper back on. I figured out that the emergency brake cable was keeping the caliper from lining up to the bracket correctly. So I took the cable off and the caliper lined up perfectly. Now I'm having another issue. The piston on the caliper that I was having trouble with will not expand back onto the brakes and is still compressed all the way in. I keep pumping my brakes and even put more brake fluid in cause it was low and nothing is working. Help please!!
01-25-2011, 01:33 PM
#15
Resident Ford Troll
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Delaware
Posts: 6,717
You didnt have the e-brake on while you were doing the brakes did you? If so, you prolly wrecked the caliper lol. I really cant help you much more without being there. Sounds like you need a new caliper. Are both sides messed up? Have someone crack the bleeder while your pushing the brake pedal down...if fluid comes out then you have a bad caliper
01-25-2011, 01:35 PM
#16
Yes, I did read what you wrote and that still didn't help. Emergency brake cable was the culprit.
01-25-2011, 01:37 PM
#17
You didnt have the e-brake on while you were doing the brakes did you? If so, you prolly wrecked the caliper lol. I really cant help you much more without being there. Sounds like you need a new caliper. Are both sides messed up? Have someone crack the bleeder while your pushing the brake pedal down...if fluid comes out then you have a bad caliper
01-25-2011, 01:41 PM
#18
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,504
i don't see how the e-brake cable could keep the the caliper from seating. once the slots on the piston are lined up with nubs on the pad, its just a matter of holding the caliper down while you thread the bolts into the slide pins
01-25-2011, 02:07 PM
#19
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: KY, was MA
Posts: 2,797
You didnt have the e-brake on while you were doing the brakes did you? If so, you prolly wrecked the caliper lol. I really cant help you much more without being there. Sounds like you need a new caliper. Are both sides messed up? Have someone crack the bleeder while your pushing the brake pedal down...if fluid comes out then you have a bad caliper
01-25-2011, 02:32 PM
#20
Thats what I just did. But first I took the caliper back off, turned the piston so it would make contact with the brake pads and put the caliper back on. Had the wife press the brake pedal a few times while I opened the breather until fluid was steadily flowing out and then closed it. I think I had a lot of air in the brake lines at first cause fluid would just spurt out instead of flow out when the pedal was pressed. Seems to be working fine right now but we'll see.