dspy

Just finishing up with a front & rear brake job and it was going very smoothly, too smoothly perhaps.

After finishing the rears I pumped the brake pedal a few times so the brake fluid level would drop a bit (ie uncompress rear pistons). After this, the front drivers side piston won't compress using the brake tool. It appears that it was slightly overextended and now only compresses a 1/4 of the way and refuses to go any further(I am afraid to force it). I've tried bleeding the stuck caliper but this didn't help. Any suggestions or am I going to have to completely dissasemble the caliper? (passenger side seems completely uneffected btw)

EGainer

my shop saved the caliper though... if you want, i can give them a call to find out how they did it. but you willl have to wait til morning for their response.......

(my situation was... i couldnt get the rear piston in at all (wrong tool) so i figured id try driving it anyway (d'oh). well first brake depress and piston shot out as far as it would go (it wasnt on the rotor either) and brake fluid was all over the inside of the wheel well... my shop saved the caliper while another wanted to replace it)

RKA

And check the brake fluid reservoir. It's not over filled, is it?

Ritz

If it's hanging up that means the piston bore is likely crapped up/corroded. They're not THAT expensive to replace. Even if you manage to get the piston in, it will likely continue to hang, causing premature wear of your brake pads on that side, warping of that rotor, and possibly cause erratic braking. It just isn't worth the risk to save a few bucks.

RKA

Every time, I just used a little extra leverage, pushed it back, and everything went back to normal. If the caliper does bind...he can just keep an eye on it the first day or two. If the rotor turns blue, or the pedal doesn't feel right, stop driving and replace the caliper before you destroy the rotors and pads. Odds are...the caliper is not going to get stuck.

dspy

Ot is it free floating. basically do I need to seat the piston before compressing, I am worried that it is off the track/slider

thanks

RKA

A cylindrical object inside a cylinderical hole. Visualize. Odds are it just needs a little more force to push it back. Theoretically, it could jam up if it wasn't lined up properly inside the hole, but I don't see how that would happen, nor have I ever seen it happen. If you want...crack the bleeder valve open as you're pushing the piston back...but only do this if you're prepared to bleed the system when you're done.

Braineam

did you open the brake fluid reservoir cap? maybe it's preventing the calip to retract completely?

dspy

I did, wish that was the issue

dspy

were you able to get any info from them by chance?