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Can't turn rear piston VERY tight. What am I doing wrong?

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Old 04-09-04, 11:58 AM
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Can't turn rear piston VERY tight. What am I doing wrong?

I am in the process of changing my rear pads and rotors. I started screwing one piston in with a needle nose and it got very tight just after two turns....then I opened the brake fluid cap (not sure if that helps). Afterwards, I screwed in the piston on the other rear caliper very easily. Then I went back to the original rear piston to continue but it is just too damned tight....the pliers slip and I'm starting to damage the piston with it. I put a little bit of wd40 around the piston but that didn't help either. Is there any way to loosen this thing up so I can screw it in???
Old 04-09-04, 12:00 PM
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e-brake disengaged, right? just checking...
Old 04-09-04, 12:02 PM
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E Brake is not engaged. Didn't disconnect anything ebrake related though, just released the ebrake before I started. Is that what you mean?
Old 04-09-04, 12:12 PM
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hey you are in luck. i just did this two weeks ago. couln't get pistons compressed worth a damn. this is what i did. loosen the brake bleeder valve and i put the old pads back infront of the piston. then i pushed on the pads really hard with a plier. that really didn't compress it all the way so i took a screw driver and pressed it on the pads using the rotor for leverage. u have to press really hard and you will see the brake fluid shoot out (like when you bust a nut). so put some towels on the ground b/c unlike most girls your car won't lick it off. hope this helps. kvn
Old 04-09-04, 12:45 PM
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Originally posted by fd3virgin
.....and you will see the brake fluid shoot out (like when you bust a nut). so put some towels on the ground b/c unlike most girls your car won't lick it off. hope this helps. .....
wow...just wow
Old 04-09-04, 05:04 PM
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Take the cap off of your brake fluid reservoir at the master cylinder. And be prepared to drain down your reservoir. You are pushing brake fluid back upstream when you are retracting the pistons.
Old 04-09-04, 05:14 PM
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He's talking about the rear brakes guys.

If your not using the special tool, then it takes a bit more elbow grease to turn the piston in.

I used a real long needle nose plyer and had someone hold the caliper and push while I turned, and finally got enough room for my pads.
Old 04-09-04, 05:47 PM
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just go to the store and get the generic "box" that has 6 sides to turn in rotors. it goes on the end of a 3/8 inch extension. or try renting the nice set from auto zone. you will spend more time fing around. a pair of channel locks will work a bit better if you are stuck. just try not to shread the boot. you have to apply some compression also. GL
Old 04-09-04, 07:03 PM
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oh the rear brakes...i just used a needle nose plier and turned it.
Old 04-09-04, 07:43 PM
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me too. just open up the brake bleeders or take the cap off the reservoir so that the fluid has somewhere to go.

also, don't forget to bleed them since you already opened the bleeders and got air into the system.
Old 04-09-04, 11:25 PM
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Re: Can't turn rear piston VERY tight. What am I doing wrong?

Originally posted by bleung
I am in the process of changing my rear pads and rotors. I started screwing one piston in with a needle nose and it got very tight just after two turns....then I opened the brake fluid cap (not sure if that helps). Afterwards, I screwed in the piston on the other rear caliper very easily. Then I went back to the original rear piston to continue but it is just too damned tight....the pliers slip and I'm starting to damage the piston with it. I put a little bit of wd40 around the piston but that didn't help either. Is there any way to loosen this thing up so I can screw it in???
Perhaps it won't move because you've already finished screwing it in. If you can line up the piston with the arrow on the caliper, and there is enough room for the pads to install, then you're done.
Old 04-10-04, 12:58 AM
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I recently did a brake job and had a similar problem. The brakes had worn soo much that they were metal to metal. At this point the piston was fully extended. Soo when they put the parking brake on ..the screw that the piston travels on was mashing the threads inside the piston.

This kept me from turning it in at all. What I had to do was turn the piston counter clockwise ( left) And pop it out. Then remove the dust seal. Check the threads of the screw and the piston.( I got lucky and was able to repair the threads) Clean everything up and put the dust seal back into the caliper.( easier if you put it on the piston and slide it down far enough to put it in the caliper..

Then start to screw the piston down into the bore. Make sure you be carefull and watch that the piston goes in straight as you can scratch the bore and render the caliper useless.. That's what I had happen recently anyways. Hope this may help.
Old 04-10-04, 01:59 AM
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Wink

c-clamp?
Old 04-10-04, 02:13 AM
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Originally posted by yodaddy
c-clamp?
You can clamp all day long but the piston is not going anywhere. The rear pistons screw into the caliper. You will damage the piston, screw adjuster,and caliper if you use the clamp.
Old 04-10-04, 03:05 AM
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Originally posted by fd3virgin
hey you are in luck. i just did this two weeks ago. couln't get pistons compressed worth a damn. this is what i did. loosen the brake bleeder valve and i put the old pads back infront of the piston. then i pushed on the pads really hard with a plier. that really didn't compress it all the way so i took a screw driver and pressed it on the pads using the rotor for leverage. u have to press really hard and you will see the brake fluid shoot out (like when you bust a nut). so put some towels on the ground b/c unlike most girls your car won't lick it off. hope this helps. kvn
holy crap, did you really need to get that descriptive???
Old 04-10-04, 07:27 PM
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finished!!

Ok so I was too lazy to open the bleeder valve and have to bleed the brakes when I was done. I ended up borrowing the brake tool from a local shop and within 1 minute had that sucker screwed back in. Actually, I thought the piston was supposed to be flush with the caliper but realized after 1 full turn, that there should be enough room for the pads to fit over the rotor. (I did try c-clamps but it did not budge). Ended up changing all 4 rotors to the brembo ones yesterday. looks nice! Also put in the pfc. Can't wait to install more parts on the car.
Old 04-10-04, 07:57 PM
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WHOA. From the title of the post - for a second there - I thought we had a stuck aft rotor...and I ain't talking brakes.

Damn, I was looking forward to a massive flame attack.

Oh, what the hell!

Happy Easter everyone. PEACE.

Last edited by RonKMiller; 04-10-04 at 08:00 PM.
Old 04-10-04, 08:53 PM
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Originally posted by fd3virgin
u have to press really hard and you will see the brake fluid shoot out (like when you bust a nut). so put some towels on the ground b/c unlike most girls your car won't lick it off. hope this helps. kvn
lmfao... ahahahahah!!!! thats ******* hillarious
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