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rear caliper trouble.... 92 z34


z34dumas

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got new pads for the rear. i bought the special tool to turn the pistons back in but when i'm turning it seems like its not going in at all. definitely not far enough to get the new pads on. any ideas? I've never done the rears before.

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I've found what works great (read: not necessarily best for you, but worked best for me) is to have a big C-clamp, as you often do with the calipers. Then, tighten the clamp somewhat, not very tightly though. Use your choice of pliers/ channel locks to rotate the piston a little bit. Then tighten the C-clamp again more. Alternate these steps and the piston will fall right back in, unless it is rusted to holy hell, then good luck. Also, thanks to this terrific forum, I learned to figure out the direction of the piston to retract it, is to simply look at what direction the piston would turn when the E-brake cable is released. I hope this helps!

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The best and fastest way to retract the caliper piston is to remove the nut and washer from the back side, remove the park brake lever, and then PUSH THE PISTON STRAIGHT IN.

 

Spinning the piston back in is crazy. You've got all the friction from the big rubber seal fighting you. Let the park brake screw do the turning on the little O-ring. Way less friction, way less hassle.

 

Whether this works on the later-generation calipers I can't say. Maybe yes...maybe no. It absolutely works on the 93-earlier calipers, though. I've done it several times on my '92 and '93 Luminas.

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I've found what works great (read: not necessarily best for you, but worked best for me) is to have a big C-clamp, as you often do with the calipers. Then, tighten the clamp somewhat, not very tightly though. Use your choice of pliers/ channel locks to rotate the piston a little bit. Then tighten the C-clamp again more. Alternate these steps and the piston will fall right back in, unless it is rusted to holy hell, then good luck. Also, thanks to this terrific forum, I learned to figure out the direction of the piston to retract it, is to simply look at what direction the piston would turn when the E-brake cable is released. I hope this helps!

 

They make a tool that turns and compresses the caliper at the same time as well

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They make a tool that turns and compresses the caliper at the same time as well

Ya I know, but the last one I tried using didn't work very well at all (yes, I was using it correctly, :lol:) so I figured I would suggest the cheaper alternative there since most of us living on a shoestring budget at least have a pliers/ channel locks of some sort, right?

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