ZacksZ34 Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Ok im in nthe process of puttin new rotors and pads on my z34 but i have ran into a snag on the drivers side rear! I can seem to get the damn caliper cylinder to claps so i can get both my pads plus the rotor! The first time i took the wheels off i only had one brake pad the outside on wasn't even there! How do i do I get the calipers cylinder to go in???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 you need to rotate while pressing the piston in. You can get a small cube shaped item for like 10 bucks. Your rachet pops in there and you can then rotate the piston. On every set I've done except for one, it was a PITA and I really had to press hard on the piston (by hand) while turning to get it to collapse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 thats what i tough cause i bought that cube tool and we started to do it but we couldn't get to to go in far enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 thats what i tough cause i bought that cube tool and we started to do it but we couldn't get to to go in far enough Your caliper is bad, get new ones... Anyone who has experience with ratchet type rear calipers that have a decent amount of miles on them knows to buy new loaded calipers along with the rotors. Loaded calipers are really nice since not only are they new and will work correctly, but installing them since they already have pads clipped into them should only take 10th of the time it would to compress the old one, install pads, lube them up, and slap the shit back together.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 GOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM NEVER GONNA GET THIS FREAKIN CAR FIXED!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 yeah, before I swapped to the new style of brakes I put no less then 10 rear calipers on the back of it. just buy lifetime warranty calipers and bank on changing everything anytime you do rear brakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 well i got some good news i only need to replace one and thats the driver side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 well i got some good news i only need to replace one and thats the driver side You NEED to replace them in pairs if you ever want your rear brakes to work right.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 well idk then i only got enough cash for one right now!!!! And i would like to have my car on the road asap so i can go back to job searching!!!!! besides who needs brakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Your caliper is bad, get new ones... Anyone who has experience with ratchet type rear calipers that have a decent amount of miles on them knows to buy new loaded calipers along with the rotors. Loaded calipers are really nice since not only are they new and will work correctly, but installing them since they already have pads clipped into them should only take 10th of the time it would to compress the old one, install pads, lube them up, and slap the shit back together.. yeah, before I swapped to the new style of brakes I put no less then 10 rear calipers on the back of it. just buy lifetime warranty calipers and bank on changing everything anytime you do rear brakes I must be the luckiest guy on Earth. I have two W bodies; a '92 (120K miles) and a '93 (136K miles)...and I have ZERO problems with them. I did replace the rear calipers on one of the cars, but the new calipers didn't solve the problem--replacing the brake booster took care of the poor stopping power, though. DON'T buy the stupid cube tool. Take off one nut, one washer, and one lever from the back of the caliper. Push the piston in with a c-clamp vice grip and a block of wood or the brake pad to prevent the vice-grip from damaging the piston. Why twist the piston to retract it when you can just let the threaded adjuster spin? Simple, easy, and no additional tool cost. Seems to me that rear caliper problems on these cars are GREATLY exaggerated--but brake boosters do seem to be a genuine shortcoming and they don't get enough attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intern8tion9l Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 i'm amazed at how many threads there are on compressing those rear pistons. i've always done mine with channel locks or a screwdriver and has never given me any grief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Your caliper is bad, get new ones... Anyone who has experience with ratchet type rear calipers that have a decent amount of miles on them knows to buy new loaded calipers along with the rotors. Loaded calipers are really nice since not only are they new and will work correctly, but installing them since they already have pads clipped into them should only take 10th of the time it would to compress the old one, install pads, lube them up, and slap the shit back together.. yeah, before I swapped to the new style of brakes I put no less then 10 rear calipers on the back of it. just buy lifetime warranty calipers and bank on changing everything anytime you do rear brakes I must be the luckiest guy on Earth. I have two W bodies; a '92 (120K miles) and a '93 (136K miles)...and I have ZERO problems with them. I did replace the rear calipers on one of the cars, but the new calipers didn't solve the problem--replacing the brake booster took care of the poor stopping power, though. DON'T buy the stupid cube tool. Take off one nut, one washer, and one lever from the back of the caliper. Push the piston in with a c-clamp vice grip and a block of wood or the brake pad to prevent the vice-grip from damaging the piston. Why twist the piston to retract it when you can just let the threaded adjuster spin? Simple, easy, and no additional tool cost. Seems to me that rear caliper problems on these cars are GREATLY exaggerated--but brake boosters do seem to be a genuine shortcoming and they don't get enough attention. to late I already did lol and i know it sucks ass!!!! lucky for me the local garage will let me borrow there good tool anytime i need to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I just replaced the rear calipers on my cutlass two months ago. Glad i work at a auto shop, since i got a huge discount on parts, and i was able to use a rack, plus all my tools are there. But i have owned my cutlass for about 8 years now, and this is the first time i had any problems with the rear brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I just replaced the rear calipers on my cutlass two months ago. Glad i work at a auto shop, since i got a huge discount on parts, and i was able to use a rack, plus all my tools are there. But i have owned my cutlass for about 8 years now, and this is the first time i had any problems with the rear brakes. x2, same as me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacksZ34 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I just replaced the rear calipers on my cutlass two months ago. Glad i work at a auto shop, since i got a huge discount on parts, and i was able to use a rack, plus all my tools are there. But i have owned my cutlass for about 8 years now, and this is the first time i had any problems with the rear brakes. x2, same as me.. well my driver side caliper was in alor worse shape then the passenger side so im guessin the driver side being the original caliper and the passenger side was replaced recently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviLette Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Replaced all four factory calipers on mine at like... 190kish? But they were really, really, really toasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I just replaced all four of mine too. Sitting for a year+ really takes a toll on these brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminaPower92 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 I have to replace my z34 ones, the front mainly but also back. Fronts bang turns out the boots are fangled up and the same goes for the back. As far as turning the calipers, I got that kit fron snap on with all the gm adapters in it. Mostly for myself, but you need it, specially on Z body malibu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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