92 Lumina rear caliper removal

[sbrent10]

Hey Iv'e browsed around here for a long time, but just actually joined for much needed help. My rear pads are completely gone and have damagd my rotors pretty bad. I went to replace the pads and rotor but noticed the rear calipers have the e-brake attached to it. How do i remove the caliper with the e-brake in the rear? I think i can remove the cable but the actually ebrake unit itself in the the way of the caliper bolts. any help is appreciated, thanks!

[95 vert]

Caliper piston needs to be "turned" back in. Special tool required. I've done it

with a pair of pliers and a clamp before. Try your local auto parts store. Most

will rent you the tool for free.

[White93z34]

Box and open end 18mm wrench is how I always worked those dumb bolts.

[Schurkey]

Caliper piston needs to be "turned" back in. Special tool required. I've done it

with a pair of pliers and a clamp before. Try your local auto parts store. Most

will rent you the tool for free.

'92?

 

Caliper piston does NOT need to be TURNED back in. In fact, that's the most-difficult possible way to retract it.

 

Remove one nut and one washer from back side of caliper--remove the little bracket that the park brake cable attaches to.

 

Remove caliper from rotor. Secure so it doesn't hang from the brake hose.

 

I pinch the rubber brake hose with a needle-nose vice grip or the special hose-pinching tools. (Can't do that with aftermarket steel braid-over-Teflon liner brake hoses!) Open the brake bleeder valve on that caliper. Push caliper piston back in with a C-clamp. The spinning is done by the shaft that the nut, washer, and bracket were attached to, not the piston. Brake fluid squirts out bleeder valve, might want to use a length of vacuum hose on the bleeder nipple to direct the fluid into a drain pan. DO NOT allow the old dirty brake fluid to push backwards through the system so that it contaminates the ABS hardware.

 

Remember that the caliper is adjusted by REGULARLY USING THE PARK BRAKE, so if you go months at a time without setting the park brake, expect caliper problems.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Schurkey

[GP1138]

'92?

 

Caliper piston does NOT need to be TURNED back in. In fact, that's the most-difficult possible way to retract it.

 

Remove one nut and one washer from back side of caliper--remove the little bracket that the park brake cable attaches to.

 

Remove caliper from rotor. Secure so it doesn't hang from the brake hose.

 

I pinch the rubber brake hose with a needle-nose vice grip or the special hose-pinching tools. (Can't do that with aftermarket steel braid-over-Teflon liner brake hoses!) Open the brake bleeder valve on that caliper. Push caliper piston back in with a C-clamp. The spinning is done by the shaft that the nut, washer, and bracket were attached to, not the piston. Brake fluid squirts out bleeder valve, might want to use a length of vacuum hose on the bleeder nipple to direct the fluid into a drain pan. DO NOT allow the old dirty brake fluid to push backwards through the system so that it contaminates the ABS hardware.

 

Remember that the caliper is adjusted by REGULARLY USING THE PARK BRAKE, so if you go months at a time without setting the park brake, expect caliper problems.

 

Uh, I'm 99% sure that all 1st gen rear calipers are turned back in... having done several of them myself...

[RobertISaar]

i did the "remove backside stuff" method before.... i think i did something wrong though, because then it would never seal back there again. or maybe the caliper itself was already failing when i got to it. either way, i ended up replacing with the 94-up setup due to that.

[95 vert]

i did the "remove backside stuff" method before.... i think i did something wrong though, because then it would never seal back there again. or maybe the caliper itself was already failing when i got to it. either way, i ended up replacing with the 94-up setup due to that.

 

THIS. Saves a possible fluid leak headache

[sbrent10]

How exactly do i remove the parking brake wire and bracket to get to the caliper bolts? The Chilton manual doesn't give the best directions or pics.

[Schurkey]

Uh, I'm 99% sure that all 1st gen rear calipers are turned back in... having done several of them myself...

That is the official procedure. My way is far faster and easier.

[Hairdo12]

What the hell is going on in this thread.... Driver side, needle nose pliers on the retainer clip and yank it off the ebrake cable holding the loop on the caliper arm. Then just pull the cable off the caliper using a flat blade as a pry bar. Unless the cable is seized, leave it on... 18 mm box wrench and a hammer is all you need to get caliper off. Passenger side I use vise grips to yank e cable out of the arm holder... But again unless e cable is seized or the caliper is being replaced, no need to remove the cable.

 

Now the pistons you defiantly twist back in, no question about it. I always crack open the bleeder slightly as it makes it 100x easier... Driver side twists counter clockwise and passenger twists clockwise. You push 92 rear calipers in with a c clamp go buy new ones as they are destroyed.

[Schurkey]

What the hell is going on in this thread.... Driver side, needle nose pliers on the retainer clip and yank it off the ebrake cable holding the loop on the caliper arm. Then just pull the cable off the caliper using a flat blade as a pry bar. Unless the cable is seized, leave it on... 18 mm box wrench and a hammer is all you need to get caliper off. Passenger side I use vise grips to yank e cable out of the arm holder... But again unless e cable is seized or the caliper is being replaced, no need to remove the cable.

Yup. That'll do it. Not the best/most efficient method--but that'll work.

 

Now the pistons you defiantly twist back in, no question about it. I always crack open the bleeder slightly as it makes it 100x easier... Driver side twists counter clockwise and passenger twists clockwise. You push 92 rear calipers in with a c clamp go buy new ones as they are destroyed.

Pistons definitely twist back in--unless you remove the one nut and one washer, and pull the eBrake cable bracket.

 

Pushing the piston STRAIGHT in with a c-clamp is a thousand times easier than spinning it back in, and there's no special tool needed. Instead of the huge friction from the large piston seal, you have very little friction from the small O-ring that seals the small threaded post that the e-brake cable bracket is secured to. It could not be easier--except to have a caliper that doesn't have the e-brake mechanism. All four of my rear calipers have had the pistons pushed straight back in, one car has been done two--three times as the pads have worn out. E-brakes and service brakes still work just fine. This does NOT destroy the calipers IF (big IF) you REMOVE THE NUT, WASHER, and BRACKET.

 

No promises on this working on the newer-style calipers, but it certainly works on the first-gen style.