Rear disc brake piston stuck?

(2011-11-14 15:20:16)

1. Niz Says: I have a 2005 honda civic with rear disc brakes. I changed the front discs and pads no problem by compressing the piston back in with a G clamp. Now...the rear brake pistons look different and have a grooved cross through their centreline, does this mean to compress them they need to be twisted, compressed or both to get them back in?

2. Dan Says: continue with the "C" clamp on the piston. Butt it up snugly. don't force it in. take a pair of channel locks an turn the piston clockwise. do it also carefully. you don't want to mar the piston. turn the piston about half to one full turn then tighten up the clamp and repeat until the piston stops screwing inward. it will still turn but wont move in any more. if the piston doesn't move inward then the caliper is bad. stop right there and go buy two calipers. if the piston moves in,align the dimples with the tabs on the pads and put it together. after its together move the "E" brake lever on the back side of the caliper to adjust the clearance between the pads and rotor. You can ratchet it until the tire stops when you engage the lever or e brake arm.
they say you need a "Special" tool to do any e brake caliper. BULL! I've done it this way fr over 20 years and have no problems.

3. Bobcat Says: Bluto is right, they need to be rotated clockwise to get them back in, they sell a tool (of course) just for this. It looks like a small metal square each side having smalls studs at varying widths apart, this is so you can use the tool on other applications, you would use this tool along with a ratchet to rotate the piston back in, it's fairly inexpensive and you can find them at the local auto parts store.

4. Gear Head Says: yeah I beleive you have to get a piston tool that fits across the grooves.Turn it clockwise to screw the piston in.Any PepBoys or AutoZone has it