| Author | Message | ||
     Tripp |
hi folks! i'm in the middle of a brake pad replacement on my little sister's POS car, it's a 91 hyundai excel. i'm doing the pads on the front brakes and have run into a big problem, for the life of me i can't seem to compress the caliper piston to get the assembly over the new pads. it's a single pot caliper and i've tried just about everything, i'm at my wits end! i've tried to squeeze it with huge channel locs, i've even tried resting the caliper on a wooden block and using another wooden block on the piston i tried pounding it with my 2lbs sledge and it won't budge! i'll post some pics when i get home, is there something i'm missing? i've replaced brake pads before on other vehicles and it was a 1/2hr job! | ||
| Sleez |
try opening the bleeder, and squeeze slowly with a "c" clamp with wooden blocks, be careful, if it has ABS and you don't open the bleeders, you can damage the system, very expensive!! | ||
| Tripp |
i've tried the cracking the bleeder open and it seems i can get it to squirt when i apply pressure with the channel locs, but i just can't seem to get it in enough to clear the inside pad. i have tried a c clamp with no luck. it's definitely not abs anyway. i will try clamp again slowly, thanks, i'll be back home in a couple of hours and give it a whirl. | ||
| Sleez |
pop the cap on the master cylinder as well then, as long as it's not abs. there may be corrosion inside the piston bore, may need a rebuild. good luck | ||
| Xring |
Yep, I'd consider that a stuck caliper, and get a new one. If you can't push it in with a C-clamp or equivalent, it is likely bad. Good luck, Bill | ||
| Dustykat |
NONONONO!!! Is there a big "X" looking shape to the piston? Try ROTATING the piston. counter clockwise actually, it should work it's way right back in. | ||
| Sleez |
dusty might be onto something, i know of those, just have never worked on one with the spin in type. news flash!!! just asked my pro mechanic friend, typically only ebrake calipers have the spin in type, the hyundai should be smooth press ins! (Message edited by sleez on March 18, 2005) | ||
| Tripp |
i had somebody at work here telling me it might rotate in but there are no indicators that it does, it seems to be a standard single pot set-up. i think maybe since i've yet to try even pressure all around (duh)using the c clamp (only on one edge of the piston), when i get home i'll try with a block for even pressure all around, i'll let u guys know how i make out! thanks for the input!!! | ||
| Ted |
abs on a 91 hyundai ??  | ||
| Sleez |
had to ask???  | ||
| Xring |
Ok, good call Dustykat. But if it is a standard caliper, it shouldn't take much pressure to push it back in. If it does, it will wear out the new pads, warp the rotor, overheat the wheel bearings, etc. Just a little push with a C-clamp or the big welding C-shaped Vise-grips should do it. If it is stuck, sometimes you can get a caliper rebuild kit; lately the whole caliper is pretty cheap. Good luck, Bill | ||
| Sammigs |
If the brake pads your replacing are really low, (under 2/32) then you probably cocked the piston in the bore ever so slightly. Put the old pads back in and reinstall the caliper. Pump the brake pedal until its not mushy anymore. The object to this is to try and recenter the piston under pressure. Now carefully try to push the piston back in. Don't forget to bleed them as your last step. | ||
| Emscityx |
Old Subaru caliper pistons (not ebrake) had to be screwed back in..I used to use a piece of steel bar stock that was bent to fill the entire slot in the piston....good luck.... | ||
| Tripp |
well, after much effort, i'm thinking the caliper is no good, i've tried all of the above remedies and it just won't budge. turns out, a new caliper is only $50, i'm picking it up monday so i should be able to get my sister back on the road monday nite God willing. incidentally, the pad on the piston side was metal on metal however, i had no luck pumping the the brake, i swore it was going to work too! either way my sis is making out good, if she brought the car to the local mechanic, he probably would'nt have had it done till monday anyway and hopefully i will have saved her some money by the time i'm done. thanks for all the good advice gentlemen! i always have had great responses when posting here with questions even when they're not motorcycle related, it seems that buellers are a little smarter than your average joe, must have something to do with learning curves or something!! anyhoo, thanks again for the help!! |
