sickboy2345

hi all

I just went through all the posts about changing brake pads etc but there was nothing about problems with brake calipers

what i noticed yesterday was that the nearside front brake pad is touching the disc, after closer investigation i noticed that the piston pushing the left pad is not pulling back all the way and is sticking out , i can push it back a little bit but after i press the brake pedal it stays in the same position....

what could it be? i mean do i need to strip the whole thing down? if so how do i do that? i know there is twoo big nuts to undo to take the caliper down but whats next? and what about brake pads itself? do i just need to take them clips off and slide them out?

and what after i change them do i need to get rid of an air bleed? how do i do that?

sorry for a long post and milion questions but i need to do it today and i've never done it before..

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Calipers aren't supposed to retract. They just relax the pressure against the pad, and the motion of the disc pushes back the pad very slightly.

Dave

sickboy2345

manual says something else.... im going to strip the whole thing down in a minute... see what happends..

Sandro

iTrader: (1)

Not sure what you have been reading but nothing seems to be wrong with your caliper. As Dave said, pistons are not supposed to retract.

To change pads, open the bleed valve on the caliper first, spread the pistons out (some fluid will bleed out from the bleed valve) to make room for the new pad, insert the new pad, then close the bleed valve.

- Sandro

BillM

iTrader: (4)

do you have both top and bottom return M springs on the pads

AzEKnightz

iTrader: (24)

As some1 mentioned earlier, it is NOT suppose to retract itself. What you can do is, first check if your brake fluid is high or low. If it is low, there is no need to brake the bleeder. If you do, it will be easier to push the piston back. So what you do is:

1) have all your tools ready
2) have a C clamp or something similar
3) OPTIONAL: break open the bleeder or not
4) use the C clamp to push the piston back. This is fairly easy =)
5) observe the boot and all the materials, make sure there isnt any torn or worn out parts like the boot
6) lube any metal to metal contact with anti-seize so it does not squeak after pad change =)

Good luck with your fix.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

IMO, this is not optional. While I know a lot of people do not crack the bleeder to push the pistons back, its hard on the MC when you are pushing the fluid back through the system instead of out of the bleeder. Not to mention that if the car is driven hard, the stuff in the calipers is not very pretty.

bajaman

I have to second this...especially the nasty fluid in the calipers and lower foot or two of the brake lines...it is often very dark, almost black.
It never hurts to get rid of this nasty crap.

sickboy2345

ok what i did in the meantime was :

taken off both calippers , pulled all pistons out, cleaned them , put some wd40 and pushed them back . then i bled the brakes, starter from the nearside rear,then driver rear,nearside front and driver front.

bleeding:

got the bleeder thingy loose ,had someone pumping brake pedal, waited untill there was no air bubbles (just clean fluid was coming out) and tightened bleeder nipple. done it to all wheels.

tell me what i have done wrong coz i have no brakes now... just wanted to go for a spin to test them but what happened after i pushed my brake pedal was ...nothing...had to pump it few times to make car brake..


what is going on?..(((

BillM

iTrader: (4)

bleed order - passenger rear, driver rear, driver front, passenger front. You still have air.

sickboy2345

someone told me that i have to bleed it like this:

-pump the brake pedal untis gets impossible to pump
-undo the bleeder nipple, the other person still holds their leg on a brake pedal untill it touches the floor
-once the pedal touches the floor , tighten the bleeder nipple
-repeat this with all the other wheels(same order)

is it this or is it the wrong order?(remember my car is Jap import - steering wheel on the right hand side)

Prophet7000

You probably still have air in the lines. Either get somebody who's familiar with brake bleeding to help you out or try something that makes brake bleeding easier such as the Motive Power Bleeder or some Speedbleeders. I peronsally use the speedbleeders, but I know a lot of people who have had a lot of success with the power bleeder.

TpCpLaYa

iTrader: (10)

like mentioned before, the rotor run-out is basically what pushes the piston back in ever so slightly. That and the square-cut seal for the actual piston flexes and helps return the piston slightly.

sickboy2345

ok bled my brakes 3 times today,there was no air bubbles at all when i done it last time... got'em back but they r weak, how many times do i have to do it?

Sled Driver

iTrader: (9)

Wow, classic example of trying to fix something that isn't broke!!

You obviously have zero experience, but still “felt” that something is wrong?

You had enough sense to ask for help. More than one person gave you an opinion that all was normal, but you still took it apart.

Someone should take your tools away from you, for your own good.

sickboy2345

ok again maybe my fault for lack of explanation but i will do it now...


my brake pads were touching the brake disc (on both sides but i spotted only the one on the passengers side..)

when i checked it (got someone to pump the brake pedal) i spotted that only one piston is coming out, one was pushing the pad to the plate so the wheel could bearly spin and other two wasnt working at all...

other side was nearly the same but there was two pistons actually working, i have taken the calipers off taken pistons out cleaned them, check all the seals etc, the external part of them was corroded and this was causing them pistons sticking to the caliper...i cleaned that with wire brush and sand paper...


now i bled the brakes again last night, took it for a spin and i got my brakes back as i had before i did all that...BUT

i still have a problem(i got confused now so i dont know if this is the way it should be) my nearside brake pad is still touching the disc and its not normal coz i didnt have this before, now i can actually hear it when i open the window...


are you saying its normal?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Wait a second - WD-40? Where? A brake caliper should not have WD-40 anywhere near it. Grease on the slider pins and brake fluid in the caliper.

If you put WD-40 on a brake piston that would be bad. Only brake fluid can be inside of a caliper, and only brake parts cleaner can be used to clean those parts. The FSM tells you all of this.

Dave

sickboy2345

does anyone have picture of frront brake caliper? i need to see maybe something is missing in my one, maybe thats why brake pad touches the disc....

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Were you reading? The brake pad is supposed to touch the disc. Where did you apply the WD-40?

Dave

jkstill

iTrader: (11)

Not optional. There's a check valve in the MC that will be damaged if you force the piston back without opening the bleed valve.

sickboy2345

is it? i cant believe it..so r you saying that the sound i hear(tearing - its quite noisy..) is normal? i have it only on my nearside front wheel, drivers side is ok....

i have applied wd-40 on the sides of each piston, i had to take 'em out(it was a bitch believe me, car hasnt been driven for ages and they were like soldered to the caliper) so i have been adviced to do it, my mate said put some oil so u can push them back easier, i have polished the sides with 1200 sand paper as well, they went in really easy but this stupid pad still makes the noise...

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

If I were you I'd just get a reman'd caliper and replace it. No WD-40 this time, just a proper bleed.

Julian

iTrader: (14)

ouch!! WD-40 probably now eatin the seals. Tear back down, wash in brake cleaner, fuild, install new seals , grease all as per manual or or replace calipers, ASAP

more to the point. While almost insignificant the "M" spring (installed on outside forward face of caliper, cliping wire ends into holes in pads) helps push the pads away from the disks ... otherwise no big issue kickback will keept hem away from discs.

ccanepa50

iTrader: (1)

2nd to dgeesaman, these are your BRAKES, nothing less than perfection is the order of the day, please get new or reconditioned calipers for yourself and call it done, the piston/seal relationship is SOOOOO critical, we sometimes take it for granted but shouldn't.
Polishing the piston even w/#1200 will still put abrasive where it does not belong, and the only assembly lube for brakes is brake fluid or specific caliper assembly lube. If the caliper was that stiff than the piston seal should be replaced anyway, these are your brakes........dont try to go on the cheap here, it is your life and the life of others you threaten. I you cant afford it right now then wait until you can............. please

T2 Tsunami

iTrader: (3)

you should just buy a brake bleeder kit from pep boys. bled the brakes in 10 minutes. Perfect.