subestyle18 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I replaced the front brakes on my 87 2wd auto wagon and I had a hard time compressing the piston in the caliper back on one side. I ended up opening the bleeder valve and prying it back in far enough to get the caliper over the pads. Then bleed the brakes. I have replaced the pads before and it was never this hard. Well I took it out for a drive and it was clearly apparent that the brake wasn’t releasing on that the one side. After a minute of driving the brake was smoking. If any ones know what could be causing this problem it would be great. I don’t really want to take it to a shop. Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 If I lived in your area I would head over to Pick N Pull and get a caliper off another Subaru and swap it. I think thats going to solve the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 David you were turning the piston while you were prying it back, weren't you?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHATBRAT Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Skip, that makes no difference. I have C-Clamped quite a few disc brake calipers with no problems. I think his is just shot. Head out to a junkyard and pick up another good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partsman Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 You know, brakes are a fairly important system - you might want to go reman on that caliper instead of junkyard, where you never know exactly how contaminated the fluid is and how far gone the seal is! I show the cost as $69.99 exchange here at NAPA - cheap considering brake failure (esp. on one side) can kill you and the drivers around you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 On the early Subaru ones do have to be turned to get them to go inward, if you can get them to go in with a C-Clamp something is wrong with it. 90 and later Legacy models have the type you can C-Clamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 From my experience a used OEM caliber is more reliable then a aftermarket reman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subestyle18 Posted January 21, 2004 Author Share Posted January 21, 2004 Thanks for the advice i was not turing it as i was pushing it back in. How do i go about turing it, by hand or with a wrench. Is the direction important?. I'll give that a try. Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subestyle18 Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 I am trying to turn the piston but it doesnt seem to want to turn, is a lot of force required to turn them? Another thing is that the piston has two notches that line up with bumps on the pad. So the caliper will only go on if the pistion is in the position it is now and 180 degrees from it. Would i turn it a half or a full rotation Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flow Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 It took quite a bit of force when I did it. In fact it was a real pain in the a$$. I ended up making a tool for the job. Turn the piston in far enough to get your new pads on, however many rotations that takes, then line up the piston notches with those on the pad. This is going on the theory you have a properly functioning caliper. Also if your brake lines are still attached to the caliper when you do this you will displace a lot of fluid back into the reservoir. I used a turkey baster to keep it from over flowing. Check out these search results for the tool, I like the socket idea myself. http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=364&highlight=socket+brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Turning is deffinitly required on your car, and it takes some force. You should turn the piston clockwise and the easiest way to do it is to get a sprinkler key and grind the ends flat so they grip on the notches on the piston face. I've probably had to make as many as 15 rotations when the pad had been ground almost all the way down. I wasnt aware of the piston having to line up with anything on the brake pad or caliper. I've always just screwed it in until the caliper fit back over it with the new pads in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma-fia Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Most part stores have a special "tool" to turn pistons. Looks like a 1" brass cube with different "bump" patterns on each side of it to fit different pistons. Costs $4-5, and makes the job WAY easier. It goes on a regular 1/4" ratchet. I highly recomment to get it. I almost ruined my pistons trying to turn them with vicegrips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHATBRAT Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 OK Guys, I am gonna stick my foot part way into my mouth here. I sat here and thought about this for a while and I do recall turning those damn pistons back in. It was a real PITA at times. The part where the C-clamp came in was at the end when I couldn't turn anymore but still needed a little more room. I may have been thinking of some other vehicles at the time as well. Yes, the piston has to line up. I APOLOGIZE for the bad info on my part. I hope no one went out and said "Well, uh, PHATBRAT said you can just clamp it in..." I doubt anyone took MY advice anyway. Well, as hard as it is to admit when you are wrong, I'd rather look like an rump roast right now, then after someone messes up their car. Bring on the tar on feathers, I already know they are coming my way......It happens to the best of us from time to time *Disclaimer*(NOT SAYING I AM THE BEST OR EVEN ONE OF THE BEST, I AM FAR FROM IT.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma-fia Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Ph.B., do not feel bad, we all try to give "chinese advices" at times, as my grandfather used to say. I think everybody will agree with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 well, i'll chime in with the rest of ya.. get the little tool from the parts store.. the 1" cube with different pins on its corners.. this is the tool needed to turn the pistons back in.. and they are $4-$5.. every ea81/ea82 subaru i have ever worked on had to have the pistons turned in.. they would not go in with a c-clap.. (i broke a caliper once by forcing it with a c-clamp) sometimes they are stiff to turn but they will go in by turning.. after i figured that out (thanks to the help from this board) brake jobs are easy now.. i've gotten it down to an hour for all 4 corners.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostWater Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Make sure you loosen the bleed screw when you turn em back in as otherwise it is too stinkin hard and you screw up the face of the caliper with that stupid cube popping off (not to mention scraped knuckles or, in my case, broken finger). You should bleed your brakes after releasing the bleeder screw obviously. But they should be bled often anyways. Oh yeah, swap your fluid while you are at it as brake fluid is notorious for collecting WATER. MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partsman Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 The e-brake is the turning part - man, it freaked me out the first time I looked under my car and saw the brake cables going to the front! NAPA # for the cube is 775-9037 (taiwan tool) or 3163 (american tool). Flow, I love to hear about guys who can McGyver up a tool! More power to you! GLCraigGT, a reman caliper IS OEM, they just go through and put new seals/pistons/bleeders in. The casting is still genuine SOA. Just don't buy the cheapest piece out there - you do get what you pay for in a lot of cases. Failure rate on calipers at this NAPA store is next to nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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