mcnannay

ok so its time to change my brakes on the 83, well everything goes smooth, you know real simple basic brake change....BUT now the caliper will not go over the new brake pads,

the piston side goes over fine but the other side hits the pad...and yes the pad is all the way down against the rotor...what the hell is going on??

is there an adjustment to move the caliper over a bit, cause i have some room to spare on the piston side

please help!

ChasRX

I'm going to change mine, tomorrow. I'll be watching this post. Although it has been a long time since I've personally changed my pads (usually pay someone to do it), in the past, I think I used a small splint of wood and a simple C-clamp to compress the wheel cylinders in just a tiny bit. Then, it slipped over the pads. Is there another trick?

mcnannay

thanks man, im going to try it now, ill let ya know if it works

1stgen4life

iTrader: (1)

You have to open the bleed valve and compress the piston with pliers or something, and then close it before any air gets in. It really helps if there is another person to help you. Then it should slide right over no problem after that. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Stevan

iTrader: (17)

I believe thats it, retain the piston on the other side(if its not on) so it doesn't get pushed out, and watch the fluid level in the reservoir, thats where it will go.

ChasRX

I'll be using the Haynes Manual, myself, tomorrow. I won't forget that! And yes, I should clarify that I've used the small splint of wood and a C-clamp to compress the piston; thus, the wheel cylinders, placing the wood on the piston surface so as not to marr it. It has been too long since I've done this!)

Dom

If you're doing the fronts, then there is just one screw at the bottom of the caliper to take out and the caliper assembly swivels up. You then use a ratchet to push the piston back in. The piston should sit flush with the caliper so that it barely touches the new pad.

Slide the caliper off the upper pin and clean and grease the pin (I think this is where you're having a problem). Slide the caliper back on the pin and swivel it back down over the brake rotor. Clean and grease the lower pin and screw it back in.

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

i'm with dom. how easy did the brake housing swivel? i just got done with my back brakes and the housing took alot to swivel. so i tore them apart and did a thurough sand and clean job. got them slidin like a wet hooker. all it is a rod that it slides on, the only thing holding them in is the lower bolt wich should slide good too. good luck

mcnannay

well i tried that first method, i think the caliper is all the way down on the pin, and again its not a problem with the piston....this piston is compressed, its on the other side that the caliper is hitting the pad, it will clear the piston side fine

im gonna try puttin some caliper lube on the upper pin and see if that helps any...

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

if you can pull the housing off the pin, i'd bet it is rusty. then lightly sand the rust off and lube it.

mcnannay

so the caliper does actually slide off that top pin?? cause i was slammin it pretty good with the trusty old mallet

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

yeah. it's supposed to slide in and out freely. so as the pads wear they stay on the rotor.

bizarro

iTrader: (1)

when i changed mine way back when i had to turn the piston slightly to allow the knotch on the brake pad to slide into the v opening on the piston...iirc i used a small needlenose to turn them

Pele

iTrader: (28)

Is this front or rear brakes?

Regardless, yes, they should slide easily on and off those pins.

Any rusty ones that came into the shop got a good dose of wire wheel to clean off rust. Looked like new... Use good high temp grease when reassembling, in fact, clean the old grease out of the bore that the pin fits in when reassembling.

Have fun.

mcnannay

wow, i still have no luck, those bastards are not coming off the pins, i've slammed and slammed trying to get it to break loose...

now they are soaking in penetrating fluid, hopefully i can get em off tomorrow, i hope im not missing a bolt or something, but i don't see anything else it could be...

i noticed there is a hex head...well i guess not head...but its hex where i bet you can take out the pin if it needs to be replaced or something...well i kinda stripped that trying to get it out...wow what a pain for just a simple brake job, lol

and by the way, it is front brakes...its a stock 83 rear end so theres brake shoes back there

thanks for all the help guys, anymore input is appreciated though...im still tryin!

RandyTibbles

check the part number!i ordered brakes from advance auto parts and they gave me the wrong ones! also wires,dist.,and plugs!the recipt even said my make and model

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

another thing that helps is if you have a vice handy. clamp it in the vice and work back and forth , got one undone like that but the other i actually needed a air chisle-hammer to get it loose. that one pissed me off.

Dom

If you can swivel the caliper up and down, then shouldn't it eventually work its way out?
At most you have to use a screwdriver to leverage it out.

By hammering it you are bending the big round mounting plate on the strut. When I got my replacement strut from the junk yard it needed some, crowbar persuasion, to return it to factory spec...

You may have to remove the caliper slide mounting bracket (2 17 mm screws) to get a better handle the job.

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

yes it should, but when it takes a 12' cresant wrench hooked on for leverage and your only swiveling it a 1/4 of what it's capable of......well sometimes you need a little more pressure. and i agree, if you hammer the hell out of it in most places you can bend the crap out of it. but if you got a hammer and a punch or pipe or simply a air hammer and focus on the spot right next to the pin on the thick caliper side. well i didn't bend anything.

Dom

I saw that on Ebay there were calipers available that included the caliper mounting bracket.

Maybe that would be the better way to go...