Okay so it's time to change out the rear pads so I do what I have to do and then I get to the part where the FSM and the Haynes manuel say "to retract the rear pistons use needle nose pliars to turn the piston clockwise until it contracts"

Well Jesus H Christ.. That is a lot harder than it sounds.. I spent 15 min twisting that stupid piston with my full strength and was only able to get it to make half a turn. My pliars kept slipping out and taking little bites out of the caliper metal.. I ended up giving up and just put the old pads back in..

Is there an easier way to do this? How many turns do I have to make to retract it all the way.. Is it supposed to be this hard... man..

Oh an no I didn't have the E-break on either..

 

I used a open wrench as pliars that more or less fit in there, and then on the close part of the wrench I used a long screwdriver. It will look like a T, turn the screwdriver and voila!

 

That's a GREAT idea.. I'll try that when I get home from work

 

You ever tried a big c-clamp? I usually stick a wooden shim in there so I'm not tearing up the piston. It's a piece of cake, and I can twist one back in under a minute. It helps if you make sure you're master cylinder has the lid off too

 

Why not just buy the tool from mazda that fits right into those holes and has the nice ability to be attached to a ratchet/air tool?

 

No it shouldn't be that hard. Sounds like the screw inside the caliper must be rusted or something. I use a set of needle nose pliers and typically can screw the piston back in quite easily. For more difficult pistons I clamp a pair of vice grips on the pivot point of the pliers.

If it is rusted try turning it in and out a little at a time and it will get easier then bleed the brakes when you are done as it may have some moisture in it.

 

After market stores, eg Pep Boys sell the tool also. If the piston is sticking badly, you won't be able to turn it in even with the tool. I have a Snap On set, and on 1 set of rear calipers, couldn't even move the piston.

 

On a sidenote. I had a set of front 4 pot calipers that were stuck. I ended up replacing them. 2 of the 4 pistons on each front calipers were frozen in place. I think that happens when moisture gets in there either due to old fluid or bad seals and then the inside of the caliper begins to rust.

It might be a consideration, to just replace the assembly. Hope your problem is simpler than that though

 

Not to "steal" this thread, but yes, condensation will deveolp within the system and usually attacks the lower pistons on the front calipers. The front calipers can easily be rebuild for @ $25.00 total if you have the time. The rears are a pain because of the internals. Better to buy rebuilt units.

 

The C calmp won't work on the rears, or at least your rear calipers might not work afterwards.

 

I agree with having the right tool for the job, however there is no need for on this case if you use the technique I mention above.

 

Why not?

 

It has to be screwed back in, not pressed in like most cars.

 

I mangled my rear calipers, then I bought the right tool for the next time or for when some one else needs it. if you don't want to buy that tool, use bigger clamps needle nose pliers are not good to use. lates Matt22

 

i got a universal rear piston tool thingy from pep boys for like 10 bucks.

 

That's funny....they worked good on the last 4-5 brake jobs I have done Nissan uses a very similar system on their brakes and my previous cars and my current other 2 cars are all nissan. If things aren't all rusted you can ALMOST turn it back in by hand.

 

the piston is frozen. just take a hammer and give it a good tap. then try turning it. should go down. You can use a needle nose pliers. the reason peeps mangle the piston is because its stuck in the bore. when its clean it is very easy to move with a needle nose pliers and it retracts 1/8 to 1/4 turns.

 

Well I just got home and decided to try this a second time.. I could not find and open end wrech that fit so I got a beefy pair of pliers and started turning.. at first it was a pain but then after about 3/4 of a turn it just eased up and it was almost effortless to crank down.

The second piston was even easier and I could almost turn that one by hand.

THANKS EVERYONE!!