WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

well i tried to put some new rear pads on and the piston woulding compress. opened the bleeder and still nothing. i heard i need to get some sort of tool to compress it. how do you guys get yoru rear brake piston compressed?

Shooff

Yes you do need a special tool that turns the piston clockwise while pushing it in.

TransAm98

iTrader: (3)

Been a while since i replaced them but i think they screw in. You can also use needle nose pliers to turn them in.

Jeffs99SS

FYI, Pep Boys sells the tool. Only like $10

Jeff

zombie1

I just put pads and rotors on the back on my camaro, and I didn't have to turn any part of the piston, all I did was use a brake pad in front of the piston and pushed in very slowly with a large pair of channel locks, unless brakes on a pontiac are different(which they aren't) the rear does not have an actuated piston, are you sure the pistons are not locked up?

TransAm98

iTrader: (3)

Took a look at an old rear end i got, zombie1 is right they are push in piston. Like he said channel locks or a c-clamp will do.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

Yep, all you need is a large C-clamp.

Shooff

Ooo 2000, my bad.

WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

i tried and was squeezing really hard, guess ill give it a shot again tomorrow

SRM

iTrader: (4)

This thread is a little old but I'm a little confused.

Do you need a special tool to assist in compressing the rear calipers or not? The write-up on installuniversity.com doesn't mention anything.

WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

nope mine was just hung up, when i took the caliper off the car and hit it with a hammer a little bit, it went right in. or u can put a screw driver in the center and put all your weight on it

SRM

iTrader: (4)

great, thanks for the quick response! I need to install new rotors/pads ASAP.

VIP1

Use the old pad and a c-clamp.

The screw in method is for cars with the parking brake (e-brake) integrated into the caliper. LS1 4th gen f-bodies have a separate parking brake mechanism that is a drum on the inside of the hat of the rear disks.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

LS1 4th gens have that. LT1's do not, they screw in.

VIP1

OK, I corrected my post.

The screw in kind is such a PITA. My mother's old 1990 Lumina had them. There was a trick to get them to compress. You couldn't just screw them in. After a couple turns, you'd get no progress and have to back up a bit to continue on. You also had to push while you turned. I also used needle nosed pliers which meant that I slipped alot. I didn't see the tool until after we got rid of the car...oh well.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

I just didn't wnat anyone to try to crush an LT1 caliper.

I bought the tool (it's a press/rotator) for my VW GTI that I had, but it works on most of them and has been quite handy. It's not cheap though.

This is the one, it's overkill for our cars, but VW's and many others require you to spin and compress the piston at once.

http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=270