i have 90 gxl, disk breaks on all 4.

ok so i took the rear wheel apart and found out that i needed a break piston tool/socket to turn the pistons back so that they can accept the thicker new pads.

is it possible to turn by hand or another tool? i tried every hard and i think it might be stuck. i dont know for sure becasue i dont have the socket made for it.

what size socket is it? napa auto parts said theres two different kinds. one is for ford cars and the other is for (i guess) imports. he says ones smaller then the other.

i also wanted to know if the piston socket would work on the front calipers too or do i have to buy a different one when doing the fronts.

i notice the fronts calipers are different and that it is harder to access the piston. do i even have to worry about the pistons not clearing when changing the front pad to thicker new pads?

last question, front has 2 v spings on each side (totaling 4) and rears have 1 each totaling 2, correct?

thanks and i would prefer an answer today beacsue i would like to get my car off the stock jack, it doesnt look stable.

 

i changed my pads over the weekend, just get a good needle nose in there and turn it...it worked fine for me

the fronts are stupid easy-just get the needle-nose in there and push the pistons apart.

 

clockwise or counter? im guessing my pistons are stuck becasue i did that and they wouldnt move at all. what should i do now? WD-40? thanks LADY

 

You need a weird looking cube socket to get them to retract all the way. Go down to Autozone or etc and tell the guy you need to get the rear brakes off an import and need the "weird looking cube socket thing". They'll know what you're talking about and it should cost less than $10. You need to turn them clockwise untill they are flush with the caliper. They should fit in pretty good then. It's almost impossible to get the pistons down with some needlenose pliers and with that socket it takes less than a few minutes. Get a buddy to hold the calipers or lodge them between the rotor and the shocks like I did and start wrenching on it. You can also let off some pressure by bleeding the brakes a bit, but be sure to bleed them again when you're done since some air will get in. Hope that helps a little bit.

 

Turn the piston clockwise. If it's frozen in the bore, WD40 won't help as the piston is protected by the seal. Better off getting used, or rebuilt units for the rear.

 

you can use a flat head and a hammer

 

ive broken loose semi seized pistons by using a C clamp sometimes a little water gets under the protective boots and creates a little bit of rust you can still break loose, ive done this on a few cars, scoot the boot down and put a little grease on there, put the boot back up, and your good to go, they all still work great to this day, i mean, even if you break the piston, your no worse off then you were before

 

Agreed. A little finess goes a long way. The front calipers can be retracted by using a C-clamp. Simply put the threaded end into the piston cup and squeeze slowly. The fluid will back up into the master cylinder and you are ready for the new pads. A word of advice on the rears though. Only "dial" the piston into the caliper body enough to allow the new pads to clear the rotor. Calipers have been known to bind up if they are compressed too far.

 

good **** yall.

well i couldnt replace the pads today so i put it back together. i still have alittle tread left on the old BRAKE pads in the rear and they still slow down/stop the car when i use the ebrAKE. does this mean the pistons are not seized and that i just couldnt get them to turn becasue i wasnt puting enough pressure on them? i mean if the rear pistons are stuck then they wouldnt even work correct? thanks and HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME I WAS USING THE WRONG BRAKE TERM. i feel hella stupid, but i guess thats what two jobs, school and no sleep will do to ya.

 

using the ebrake to slow down the car is not such a good idea. seriously man, change your pads. i had no idea using a needle nose, yeah its nice to have the right tool, but a good pair of pliers will work almost as well.

 

here's the tool everyone is talking about


easy thing, will do all imports brakes(well almost all imports)

for me to change the front brakes, was tricky as hell until I realized all I had to do was pull the clip that holds the pad pins, and then the pins off the caliper and then the pads slid out and new ones slid in. No compressing the pistons or anything. I swear the 7's front brakes are the easiest one I have ever changed.......

You should always read the FSM. works every time.


|M|

 

Needle Nose Pliers from SEARS, turn clockwise like you are putting the cover back on you peanut butter jar. just push and turn. worked fine for me on my '88 10th AE all for corners. if you are worried about it slipping go buy youself a new pair of needles and weld the old pair at the right size. then they won't open or close.

hope that helps,
Ryosuke

 

thanks for the replies

no i dont use the ebrakes to slow down/stop the car. just tried it to see if it was still working after finding out the pistons might be seized. if they were stuck then my ebrakes wouldnt work at all correct?

ohh yeah, fronts has 2 v spings on each side and rears have 1 each? or are there suppose to be two in the rears too? thanks

 

Just 1 spring on each side in the rear.

Are you pushing in when you try to turn the pistons with the needle nose?

An alternate "butcher" method to turn the pistons back in is to put pressure on the piston with a "c" clamp, carefully push back the piston seal, and grip the sides of the piston with some channel lock pliers to turn it. I'd never confess to using such a crude method, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that it works.