i've noticed that when i brake hard that my car vibrates. sometimes my brakes squeek when i'm just driving, not braking at all. so i bought new pads and took off one of the rear wheels to check the pads. the pad on the outside was okay but the one on the inside was stuck on the rotor!! i hammered it off and one side of the pad was considerably worn compared to the other side. so i tried to spread the caliper to fit in the new pads and it was VERY hard to spread. i guessed that my brakes were fuked so i just put back in the old pads and called it a day. what do i have to do? replace the caliper? are my rotors warped? please give me some advice. thanks

 

To spread the caliper to fit in the new pads you need to apply constant pressure to it and it will slowly go back in. Press on it with the old brake pad. Maybe you might want to resurface the rotors.
~Andy~

 

i replace my own pads and the trick to getting the piston to seperate is to turn it clockwise, if you look at it it's got an X on the face of it get something that will fit in the groove and turn it and it will open up. also make shure you add the brake grease or whatever it is to the back of the pads, it stops them from squeaking.


[Modified by mattL, 4:39 AM 1/14/2002]

 

Like Matt said, the piston has to be turned. It's a bitch to do, but just crank on it and it will turn.

 

Check your front rotors, they may be warped, which causes your vibration. Try to get them resurfaced or replace them. It is recommended that you either change or resurface your rotors when installing new pads.

Like someone said before, apply some anti-squeal on the backing of the pad and shim.

To push the piston back in, try using a needle-nose plier and turning it clockwise...or was it counter...not sure. For the front caliper, use an old pad and a "C" clamp to compress the piston. You could also see if your auto retail store has a "loan-a-tool" program, and borrow the tool instead of using the c clamp.

You said one side had more wear to it...check the sliding pins to see if they are stuck. They should be able to move freely and smoothly without much effort. Pull them out and clean them. Then apply some clean brake grease and re-insert.

Ohh, and one more thing...when pushing the piston back in, check your brake-fluid resavoir (sp) and make sure your brake fluid doesn't overflow! Have the cover open to check it.

 

A C clamp is your best friend. You will also need a impact driver and hammer to remove the screw holding down the rotor. I suggest new rotors. You can borrow the tools, but if you are going to do work on your own car it is a good investment. You need at least a 6 inch C clamp to get around the front calipers($10). Impact Driver($20), and a big *** hammer($10).

One last thing. You should remove the brake-fluid reservoir top before using the C clamp.

 

theres a tool that looks like a cube that you can attach to your ratchet.. it has little teeth (protrusions) to go onto the "+" pattern of the rear piston for you to turn it in and compress it. .i think its like $10 or something.. you can also use a needle nose plier on the "+" pattern on the rear piston if you dont want to buy the tool

for the front use a large C-clamp... use the old pad.. place it on the piston and tighten the c-clamp onto the old pad.. this will compress the front pistons.. make sure you open the brake fluid reservoir and wrap clothes around the outside of the reservoir as brake fliud may come out the top when you compress the pistons..

your rotors might be warped... i just finished replacing mine not too long ago because they were warped... as for the squeak.. apply some "brake quiet"...

 

The cube tool is pretty cheap at AutoZone, not even $10. Something like that you don't really need to go all out on some Snap-On stuff or whatever.

 

thanks for all the replies...... gonna try it again tomorrow