rear brake, help!
07-05-2003, 06:24 PM
#1
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 8
rear brake, help!
i'm having trouble compressing the rear piston on a 2000 maxima. am i missing something? i have the bleeder screw undone and the cap off of the reservoir. it compresses but it is very difficult and does not want to compress past halfway. thanks ahead of time.
07-05-2003, 09:49 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 453
Use needle nose pliers to turn it clockwise.
Here's a writeup someone on the .org did a while back on replacing front and rear brakes:
Rotor & Brade Pad Installation Notes
My notes from rotor and brake pad swap without disconnecting brake lines or bleeding brakes.
Brake Install Notes:
Tools/Equipment:
• Jack & Jack Stands
• Impact Wrench or Lug Nut Wrench
• 14mm, 17mm, 19mm sockets & ratchet
• C-Clamp
• Rear Piston Compression Tool
• Mechanics Grease or Anti-Seize Grease
• Brake Cleaner
• Rubber Mallet
Front:
1. Put the car up on jack stands and remove the front wheels.
2. Remove the bolts holding the upper piece of the caliper on...14mm...these came off without any effort...slide the caliper off and hang it on the coil of the spring.
3. Remove the brake pads...they pop right off...pay attention to the way they are seated.
4. Remove bolts holding the lower piece of the caliper on...19mm...these require some elbow grease to remove, but I did not need any liquid wrench or a breaker bar...slide the second caliper piece off and set aside.
5. Remove the rotor...requires some rocking and tapping to remove...my stock rotors did NOT have a bolt hole easy removal so I did some light tapping on the back side with a mallet as I turned the rotor.
6. Install new rotor...clean up the wheel hub first and rub some grease around the hub to prevent the new rotor from rusting onto the hub like the stock one.
7. Reinstall lower piece of caliper...clean it up first to remove all the brake dust...tighten up 19mm bolts good and tight.
8. Install new brake pads...ensure that you remove the backing plates off the old pads and install them to the new pads.
9. Compress the piston on the upper piece of the caliper...loosen cap on the brake fluid resevoir by the driver's side strut tower in the engine bay to make piston compression possible...use a clamp and equally distribute pressure as you compress...watch for brake fluid overflow.
10. Reinstall upper piece of the caliper...clean it up first to remove all the brake dust...tighten up the 14mm bolts marginally (remember how easy they were to remove).
You're all done. Differences for the rears:
• You must remove the 14mm bolt holding the mount for the emergency brake cable to get the upper part of the caliper off...underneath the caliper.
• Lower piece of caliper is held on by 17mm bolts instead of the 19mm on the front.
• Piston needs to be turned clockwise to be compressed...I suppose you could use pliers, but you can buy a small piston compression tool which hooks on to a ratchet and makes life really easy...the one they sell at Sears has a piston pattern which fits the rear calipers on the Maxima.
• Make sure you hook the emergency brake cable onto the spring mechanism before reinstalling the upper caliper piece as it will be hard to hook back on after the caliper is assembled.
Here's a good tutorial for the front brakes to get a basic idea:
http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/300
Here's a writeup someone on the .org did a while back on replacing front and rear brakes:
Rotor & Brade Pad Installation Notes
My notes from rotor and brake pad swap without disconnecting brake lines or bleeding brakes.
Brake Install Notes:
Tools/Equipment:
• Jack & Jack Stands
• Impact Wrench or Lug Nut Wrench
• 14mm, 17mm, 19mm sockets & ratchet
• C-Clamp
• Rear Piston Compression Tool
• Mechanics Grease or Anti-Seize Grease
• Brake Cleaner
• Rubber Mallet
Front:
1. Put the car up on jack stands and remove the front wheels.
2. Remove the bolts holding the upper piece of the caliper on...14mm...these came off without any effort...slide the caliper off and hang it on the coil of the spring.
3. Remove the brake pads...they pop right off...pay attention to the way they are seated.
4. Remove bolts holding the lower piece of the caliper on...19mm...these require some elbow grease to remove, but I did not need any liquid wrench or a breaker bar...slide the second caliper piece off and set aside.
5. Remove the rotor...requires some rocking and tapping to remove...my stock rotors did NOT have a bolt hole easy removal so I did some light tapping on the back side with a mallet as I turned the rotor.
6. Install new rotor...clean up the wheel hub first and rub some grease around the hub to prevent the new rotor from rusting onto the hub like the stock one.
7. Reinstall lower piece of caliper...clean it up first to remove all the brake dust...tighten up 19mm bolts good and tight.
8. Install new brake pads...ensure that you remove the backing plates off the old pads and install them to the new pads.
9. Compress the piston on the upper piece of the caliper...loosen cap on the brake fluid resevoir by the driver's side strut tower in the engine bay to make piston compression possible...use a clamp and equally distribute pressure as you compress...watch for brake fluid overflow.
10. Reinstall upper piece of the caliper...clean it up first to remove all the brake dust...tighten up the 14mm bolts marginally (remember how easy they were to remove).
You're all done. Differences for the rears:
• You must remove the 14mm bolt holding the mount for the emergency brake cable to get the upper part of the caliper off...underneath the caliper.
• Lower piece of caliper is held on by 17mm bolts instead of the 19mm on the front.
• Piston needs to be turned clockwise to be compressed...I suppose you could use pliers, but you can buy a small piston compression tool which hooks on to a ratchet and makes life really easy...the one they sell at Sears has a piston pattern which fits the rear calipers on the Maxima.
• Make sure you hook the emergency brake cable onto the spring mechanism before reinstalling the upper caliper piece as it will be hard to hook back on after the caliper is assembled.
Here's a good tutorial for the front brakes to get a basic idea:
http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/300
07-06-2003, 02:25 PM
#5
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 8
thanks for the help guys. i tried a search before posting but the links i got didn't work. i got the brakes finished with organic pads and i hope it will be a while before i have to do it again because that was a pain! 
06-15-2008, 08:22 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 140
Rear Caliper Tool
I realize this thread is old, but more the reason to post a pic here. I just changed my rear pads/rotors last week, and used a $17 rear caliper tool. I'm posting a pic bec. a pic. is worth a thousand words.
I've heard some shops rent the entire caliper compression set, but for the front, I use a C-clamp, and for the back, the tool in the pic below. Place the four "protrusions" into the caliper, and a 3/8" wrench on the other end, turn clockwise, and it works like a charm!:
Housecor has a great website, (thanks!) and I used his link:
http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/brake_install.html
and he linked maximafreak's site, which shows how to remove frozen rotors (thanks!):
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/351821/11
Use these links, and the downloadable FSM to determine proper torque specs, when tightening, and the caliper tool, and it should be an easy job.
I've heard some shops rent the entire caliper compression set, but for the front, I use a C-clamp, and for the back, the tool in the pic below. Place the four "protrusions" into the caliper, and a 3/8" wrench on the other end, turn clockwise, and it works like a charm!:
Housecor has a great website, (thanks!) and I used his link:
http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/brake_install.html
and he linked maximafreak's site, which shows how to remove frozen rotors (thanks!):
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/351821/11
Use these links, and the downloadable FSM to determine proper torque specs, when tightening, and the caliper tool, and it should be an easy job.
06-15-2008, 09:31 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 2,898
Housecor has a great website, (thanks!) and I used his link:
http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/brake_install.html
and he linked maximafreak's site, which shows how to remove frozen rotors (thanks!):
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/351821/11
Use these links, and the downloadable FSM to determine proper torque specs, when tightening, and the caliper tool, and it should be an easy job.
06-15-2008, 10:45 PM
#10
it is a b*tch isn't it? i can't stand doing the rear brakes on our cars!
wow... WHERE did you get that tool, from that housecor website? that thing looks hot.. it looks like it works alot better than that flimsy @$$ auto zone rental tool.. man i can't stand that freakin thing...
wow... WHERE did you get that tool, from that housecor website? that thing looks hot.. it looks like it works alot better than that flimsy @$$ auto zone rental tool.. man i can't stand that freakin thing...
06-17-2008, 07:34 PM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 140
Bought the tool from autobarn. Nothing special really. $15.99 + tax. I figured better to buy it, rather than rent it every few years.
wyche89 - this tool (just like all the right tools for the right job) made the caliper compression easy.
wyche89 - this tool (just like all the right tools for the right job) made the caliper compression easy.
06-25-2008, 06:04 PM
#12
Yeah, I changed my rear pads a couple of weeks ago and ended up snapping that 14mm bolt off the emergency brake cable holding the caliper on the passenger's side. Now I cannot use my parking brake at all. The only fix around this is to buy a whole new caliper because it's built in part of the assembly.
06-26-2008, 08:13 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 2,898
Yeah, I changed my rear pads a couple of weeks ago and ended up snapping that 14mm bolt off the emergency brake cable holding the caliper on the passenger's side. Now I cannot use my parking brake at all. The only fix around this is to buy a whole new caliper because it's built in part of the assembly.
06-26-2008, 01:00 PM
#16
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: OC, CA
Posts: 56
Autozone sells this tool. Just bought one a few weeks ago.
Each side has a different spanner configuration, so you can do brakes on probably every brand of rear caliper out there, assuming it is of the "twist piston to retract it" type.
Worth every penny. Don't remember what I paid, but worth it. So much easier and faster than needle nose pliers!
-AJ
Each side has a different spanner configuration, so you can do brakes on probably every brand of rear caliper out there, assuming it is of the "twist piston to retract it" type.
Worth every penny. Don't remember what I paid, but worth it. So much easier and faster than needle nose pliers!
-AJ
06-26-2008, 04:39 PM
#17
07-06-2009, 12:31 AM
#18
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 53
2002 right rear caliper frozen?
I thought I'd piggy back off this thread to ask a question about my right rear caliper on my 2002 Nissan Maxima.
Because of a grinding sould coming from the right rear of the car, I took off the right rear brake pads to inspect it. The outer pad was not worn bad at all BUT
the inside rear pad was worn at an angle on the outside edge and to the metal. I checked the inside rear rotor and it was also worn on the outside edge like the brake pad. What would cause this? A frozen seized caliper?
I tried to push the piston back in with a C-clamp but it was a no go. However, after reading through some information, I found that I may need a special tool from Autozone or some needle nose pliers to actually push and turn the piston in at the same time. Because of the uneven wear on the rear inside brake pad, I am thinking of replacing the caliper because it has probably gone bad and is probably still frozen causing the pad to wear unevenly.
Should I replace the caliper or is there anything else I can do to save the current caliper. One thing to note is that the dust boot on the piston is ripped. What does a new caliper cost and where is a good parts store to get it from; online or locally (I am in the SF Bay area if that helps)? Thanks in advance!
Because of a grinding sould coming from the right rear of the car, I took off the right rear brake pads to inspect it. The outer pad was not worn bad at all BUT
the inside rear pad was worn at an angle on the outside edge and to the metal. I checked the inside rear rotor and it was also worn on the outside edge like the brake pad. What would cause this? A frozen seized caliper?I tried to push the piston back in with a C-clamp but it was a no go. However, after reading through some information, I found that I may need a special tool from Autozone or some needle nose pliers to actually push and turn the piston in at the same time. Because of the uneven wear on the rear inside brake pad, I am thinking of replacing the caliper because it has probably gone bad and is probably still frozen causing the pad to wear unevenly.
Should I replace the caliper or is there anything else I can do to save the current caliper. One thing to note is that the dust boot on the piston is ripped. What does a new caliper cost and where is a good parts store to get it from; online or locally (I am in the SF Bay area if that helps)? Thanks in advance!
Last edited by rcjunkie; 07-06-2009 at 12:47 AM.
07-06-2009, 01:42 AM
#19
LOL you have to have a specific tool that locks into the grooves of the piston, then turn it. I attatch the tool to a ratchet(it fits a 3/8 inch drive) with an extension and do it that way....
07-06-2009, 02:09 AM
#20
I
I took off the right rear brake pads to inspect it. The outer pad was not worn bad at all BUT the inside rear pad was worn at an angle on the outside edge and to the metal. I checked the inside rear rotor and it was also worn on the outside edge like the brake pad. What would cause this? A frozen seized caliper?
I took off the right rear brake pads to inspect it. The outer pad was not worn bad at all BUT the inside rear pad was worn at an angle on the outside edge and to the metal. I checked the inside rear rotor and it was also worn on the outside edge like the brake pad. What would cause this? A frozen seized caliper?
Besides needing new brake pads, the rotor may have to be replaced also, it may be too worn to resurface.
07-06-2009, 05:07 AM
#21
Yeah, I changed my rear pads a couple of weeks ago and ended up snapping that 14mm bolt off the emergency brake cable holding the caliper on the passenger's side. Now I cannot use my parking brake at all. The only fix around this is to buy a whole new caliper because it's built in part of the assembly.
07-06-2009, 05:11 AM
#22
If the caliper was seized, I doubt that the pad would wear the way you described it. I bet whoever did the last break job wedged the brake pad in on an angle. There are "ears" on the metal brake pad backing plate that go in slots in the caliper to hold the pad in alignment and its not that hard to put the pad in wrong.
Besides needing new brake pads, the rotor may have to be replaced also, it may be too worn to resurface.
Besides needing new brake pads, the rotor may have to be replaced also, it may be too worn to resurface.
if u want my passenger caliper hit me up via pm and we can work something out
07-08-2009, 04:07 AM
#23
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 53
Thanks for the offer but I picked up a new caliper locally at a Napa store since I needed it right away since my work requires a vehicle.
It turns out I had a bad frozen rear passenger side caliper. Car is running great now.
Thanks for the replies!
It turns out I had a bad frozen rear passenger side caliper. Car is running great now.
Thanks for the replies!
10-01-2009, 06:00 PM
#26
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Boston, MA area
Posts: 46
I had odd wear issues on my 01 rear brakes. Only 1/2 of the inside pads were making contact on the rotors. I tried the tool from AutoZone with no luck...couldn't crank them in. Also bought the "professional" set from Harbor Freight and broke that! I ended up getting A1 Cardone remanned calipers from RockAuto along with new rotors and the brakes work fine.
One note of recommendation on A1 Cardone remanned calipers (and probably most others)....PAINT THEM!. When they reman them they must remove any coating that was initially installed....probably sand blast them....and now they are rusting! Ugly but they work.
One note of recommendation on A1 Cardone remanned calipers (and probably most others)....PAINT THEM!. When they reman them they must remove any coating that was initially installed....probably sand blast them....and now they are rusting! Ugly but they work.
01-25-2010, 08:07 AM
#27
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 98
Thanks for the info on cranking the piston in for the rear brakes and the size of the bolt that holds the ebrake. I rented the tool from autozone but it didn't have the 4 points. It only had 2 which made it harder to turn. I used some WD-40 to help out. It took a while but finally got it done. Glad they don't wear out as fast as the front.
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