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Ok so i was trying to change my brake pads today cuz they are soo worn it's ridiculous, I was able to undo the caliper n everything. The problem is that once i put the brand new pads back in, i couldnt get the caliper around the pads and the rotor, it's like the pads were too big...I tried adjusting the smaller blots on the caliper that (if i read and understand correctly) adjust the distance that the pads sit from the rotor, but that didnt work.......I know and read the DIY on changing the pads and people said that you dont need to bleed the lines to just change ur pads ??....BUT it seems that if i bled the lines out...it looks like it would be able to fit back over the pads, but i dont know. Cuz if i can like push the piston back a little bit then i'd fit right over, but i dont wanna do that if it's the wrong thing to do obviously.... If you need a further explaination i can try as best as i can I'm not much a a gearhead so sorry if it's hard to understand...Thanks for ur helps guys

 
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Did you compress the piston before you put it back on?? take some channel lock pliers and carefully compress the piston back into the cylinder.

 
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are you working of front or rears...if you are doing the front..you only remove the bottom bolt.now swing the caliper up..replace the shims and reuse the retainers..put in the new pads with the wear sensor on the inside...now you must push in the piston....first go to the engine and remove the brake fluid cap...now push it using a disc pad spreader or a c-clamp..when you do this dont put the disc pad spreader or c-clamp directly on the piston if you can place a pad on the use that so you dont damage the piston....now the piston will retract and the pads will fit over install everything and put in the bottom bolt it gets torqued to 25ft/lbs......if you have rear discs...in my contact with rears you dont push in the piston but rotate it if that helps

 
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ok so if i understand you correctly, all i have to do is take of the brake fluid cap and push the cylinder back, sounds simple enough, but does that mean im going to have to bleed the lines after im done or no ?

- Secondly, the piston is like a big rubber O inside the caliper (correct me if I'm wrong) so when im placing in the C-clamp, where is the best place to put it so that i dont damage it, can i just put in the center of the piston and push it back or no ?...


- Thanks so much guys i really appreciate it

 
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Bleed the lines first before you take off the brake fluid cap because it can overflow when you push the piston back in. You don't want to have that overflowing brake fluid in contact with your paint

Yes, the piston is a perfect hallowed out "O" looking cylinder inside the caliper. Just like what jerseydetailer said, put a stiff pad on top of the piston first, then use a c-clamp to push the piston back in. I used a small wood block as a pad. Good luck.

 
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you really dont need to bleed the brakes. did you disconnect the brake line? did you open the bleeder valve for any reason? if you said no to both these questions, then likely you dont need to bleed the brakes.

just open the cap, push the pistons back in on the caliper, watch for over flow in the resevoir, remove some fluid if necessary, and when compressed they will fit over your rotors with the new pads.

i usually use a long pipe to compress the piston, put in between the caliper and pry the piston back into place.

 
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no i did not touch any of the brake lines or anything


- so once i push the piston back then it wont come forward again right ? That is until, i put back on the cap and start the car....?

by the way...The pads that i got from autozone, They come with shims that have adhesive on the back, do i have to use these or can i just use the ones that i pulled off the OEM pads??

 
Rep Power: 347

My OEM Pads came with 3 shims on them. I discarded the very outside one and only used two per pad. Make sure to clean the shims up with brake cleaner, though. I had a lot of crud on mine.

And all I did to compress the piston was clamp the soft portion of the brake line hose (The part that goes into the caliper) and then crack the bleeder valve open and then compress the piston. After the piston is compressed, then close the bleeder valve and voila

 
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i did mine today..if you or anyone has never topped off you fluid, you run absolutely 0% chance of spill brake fluid..you can have more fluid then what you started with....i had no idea i would need a 19mm open end wrench to hold this piece otherwise the bottom caliper would spin freely this is the first car that ever had that but i got it off and used all 3 shims then torqued the bottom bolt to 25ft/lbs.... kinda pissed that the factory manual didnt mention you would need a 19mm open wrench to get the bottom bolt off...anyone else run into that problem or did it come off

 
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the manual neglects to mention the use of alot of tools for various jobs. when I did the timing belt, I had to purchase a few tools that I figured out I needed before I started the job that the manaul didnt mention.

 
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Yea i think the hardest thing is pushing back the cylinder so you can get the caliper over rotor, thank god i had my friend there cuz there's no way i could of gotten enough force to push it back all the way and even still it was tight putting it back on....I kept the old pad in and just stuck my tire iorn thru the hole in the middle of the caliper and pushed it back...but after that it was absolute cake...

 
Rep Power: 347

It shouldn't have been that hard to push the piston back in. Doing it the way Grey outlined in his DIY, it only took gradual force from a pair of slip joint pliers to get it to go back in. I would be careful the next few days and make sure nothing got broken doing that...

 
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everything has been fine thus far...i looked at it to make sure it wasnt marred or anything, and it's not. and I've been driving on it all day



yea but i didnt want to have to go thru bleeding the brakes, so yea that sounds like a easier way, but i thought just opening up the resevior cap and pushing against the caliper with the old pad in, then it's all good...i just dont understand why i had to use alot of pressure, i mean nothing bad happend to the rubber on the cylinder, i made sure to check it, exteremly carefully and make sure i didnt tear the rubber....People also told me bleeding all the lines is a bitch and i didnt want to go thru it

 
Rep Power: 453

bleeding the brakes isnt hard at all if you have a second person with you. it is also necessary if you havent done it yet or have gone over 12,000-24,000 miles without doing it. not only does it bleed the air from the lines, you want fresh fluid in there.

 
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to push the piston back in all u need really is a C-clamp

 
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hope you remembered to press the brake pedal to make sure the brakes worked fine, before driving, other wise you probably shitted yourself as you rolled through a stopsign heh.