BigBas83

I just changed my brakes for the first time. Well, I actually changed my brake for the first time; it started raining just as I finished the first one. Well, everything worked without a hitch. The only problem I had was that after reattaching the rotor and caliper mounting bracket, I had a very difficult time reattaching the caliper. I did use a C clamp and the old brake pad to push the calipers in as far as they would go, yet I still had a b1tch of a time getting the caliper on. I really had to use a lot of force to get the caliper lined up so I can screw it back in.

My question: Is it normally supposed to be that hard to reattach, or did I do something wrong? Should I try anything differently when I attempt to do the passenger side?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

BigBas83

Any ideas before I get out there today?

Derek @ EDO

iTrader: (73)

just use the head of the c-clamp instead of using it with the old pad.
Im assuming that the caliper piston isnt pushed in enough to clear the pads.

koolaid_kid

iTrader: (21)

I wasn't quite sure what the issue was due to the way it was worded. But yes, push the piston into the caliper using the C-clamp only. You should feel the piston bottom out. It is recommended that you remove the cap from your master cylinder while doing this, and put a rag under the master cylinder. That is because the fluid you are displacing while moving the piston in the caliper goes back up the brake lines and into the master cylinder.
Then put the pads on the caliper, and slip the pads, while in the caliper, onto the rotor. This is the hardest part, since the pads are new and very wide. You should make sure that they are completely on the rotor, not just partially. You will be able to tell by observation.
Once the caliper, with pads, is firmly on the rotor, then line up the bolt holes and go to town. Hope this makes sense.

BigBas83

So, Im at a loss. If I thought the drivers side was hard, the passenger side is imposible. I've gotten it basically all done. Rotors are changed. Caliper mounting bracket is back in, and the pads are in the mounting bracket. I cannot for the life of me get the caliper over the brake pads. I have twisted the C clamp until I felt like my fingers would fall off. The pistons are not moving at all anymore; yet, it will not fit over the pads.

What else can I do? Is it possible that there is too much pressure in the line? How can I relieve this pressure? I have already taken the cap off of the brake fluid reservoir under the hood.

taintedmeat

iTrader: (1)

You sure they gave you the right pads? They might have given you the wrong part number and they're a little too thick. I had that happen once when I still had my truck. I had no other car, so instead of taking the pads back to the part store, I just sanded on them with a belt sander until they were thin enough to go on.

You might just need new calipers though. If the pistons won't go in all the way, all you can do really is replace them. I think they make rebuild kits, but I wouldn't mess with that.

HFLDtA

iTrader: (5)

I Gggfffg

BigBas83

Well, I have given up. It is seemingly impossible

I ended up putting the old pads on the passenger side. I intended to take the car to a mechanic on Monday, and ask if he could finish the job for me.

How bad is it to have one side with new pads and one side with older pads? Will the car still stop? Also, I turned the car on to feel out the brakes, and I noticed that my pedal seems to bottom out. I pumped the brakes a few times, and it feels a bit stiffer, but it still has a bit of travel. Is there any rememdy to this? Does anyone know the cause?

Thanks for your help

5_02ls1

iTrader: (20)

lossen the bleedr then push the piston in your abs box may not be allowing the fluid to return to the master cylinder.on an abs vehicle this is really the right way to do it..dont forget to tighten the bleeder though

LS1_TA_2002

Quick question. Are you doing front or rear?

xserpint

I recently had a similar problem to what you have. Everything fit fine, but getting the caliper back onto the rotors was impossible even with the pistons fully compressed. Turns out the slider pins in the caliper housing were rusted to the caliper and preventing it from expanding and contracting like it should. You might try pulling those out with some vise-grips and checking for rust and cleaning out the holes as needed. Three out of four for my two front brakes were rusted in this way.

BigBas83

Here's my update:
I decided to put the old pads onto the new rotors on both front wheels. THe pads were still in good shape (I was changing the brakes because the rotors were warped) and the car is handling fine.

Xser... That is an interesting idea, and may be my problem. Can you give any more details about the solution? What exactly are the slider pins?

blownta00

the slider pins are the first 2 bolts you removed to get the caliper off of the caliper mounting bracket. they should be 4-5 inches long and have grease on them