changing my brake pads...HELP!
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ok...i looked for a DIY on changing my brake pads.... and this is it...http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...ght=diy+brakes...
well...i took out my old pads and put in 2 new ones on the driver's side...but the problem is...the caliper won't fit into the rotor now...there's just about 1/4 inch space between the new pads....any way i can increase the space between them?? or am i doing something wrong????
well...i took out my old pads and put in 2 new ones on the driver's side...but the problem is...the caliper won't fit into the rotor now...there's just about 1/4 inch space between the new pads....any way i can increase the space between them?? or am i doing something wrong????
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Rep Power: 268 Use a c-clamp and push the piston back in.
This step
"OPTIONAL STEP NUMBER THREE:
1. Make sure the brakes are not depressed (duh!)
2. Use a vise-clamp to push the piston in if you do not have enough clearance to put the caliper back onto the rotor with the new brake pads in."
This step
"OPTIONAL STEP NUMBER THREE:
1. Make sure the brakes are not depressed (duh!)
2. Use a vise-clamp to push the piston in if you do not have enough clearance to put the caliper back onto the rotor with the new brake pads in."
Last edited by MisterFrankieJ; 09-04-2006 at 05:10 PM.
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Rep Power: 399 Get a 4" C-clamp, put the old pad back on the inside and push the piston back in. Or open the bleeder valve, and push the piston back in by hand. You'll have to re-bleed the system if you do the latter.
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take of the brake fluid cap, get a c-clamp or a caliper piston clamp and push the piston back in using the old pad. Should be fine after that, pretty simple!!
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Rep Power: 265 I've always taken off the cap on the fluid resovoir before pushing in the piston on past cars. C-clamps work well, or you could use a large screw driver or something as a lever. Just don't cut/scratch/mess up anything with the screwdriver method.
Last edited by AmbulanceMonkee; 09-04-2006 at 06:41 PM.
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Rep Power: 0 don't have a C-clamp....so i decided to blled the brake fluid...do i just take the cap off at the end and unscrew it? it's just dripping....how long do i have to wait??
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Originally Posted by fullgrown
don't have a C-clamp....so i decided to blled the brake fluid...do i just take the cap off at the end and unscrew it? it's just dripping....how long do i have to wait??
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Rep Power: 0 ok...damn....i got the driver's side done....but the passenger side is messed up....i tried to bleed the brake fluid and push the piston...but the piston won't budge....i waited until all the fluid came out...but still it won't go in....could this be the reason why whenever i drive my car, there was a squeeking sound coming from my passenger side? even when i was going backwards...there would be a scratching some coming from there. or even when i was driving normally, there would be a scratching sound whenever i DIDN'T press on the brakes...any easy way to fix the piston?? or am i doomed and need to go to a shop???
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This is getting rediculous, just borrow a c-clamp and take off the brake fluid cover, push it in! What is the problem, now you got to bleed the brakes!! WOW!!
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Rep Power: 0 civydcex, that's what i did. i bleed the fluid and everything....i tried to push it in, but it won't budge. the other side went in easily, the other side won't. so i was asking if the piston could go wrong.
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Rep Power: 0 U need a C-Clamp to push the piston in, by hand is too hard. Just make sure you take the lid off the res. Then take the C-clamp and put it in the center of the calpier piston and turn it clockwise, Draining the fluid through the bleeder is a mess, this is much more easier.
#15
you dont need to take of the brake fill cap to push in the piston in. if that what these guys are telling you to do in fact its bad to leave it off for a period of time because brake fluid absorbs moisture witch meens you will have water in your brake lines thats one of the reasons why your suposed to do brake fluid flushes every so ofton
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Rep Power: 0 First off, you have to know exactly what you are doing before you start fooling around with your car, especially your brakes. Secondly, it sounds like you are going to have to take it into a shop to make sure you didn't mess anything up to bad.
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Originally Posted by em2kid
you dont need to take of the brake fill cap to push in the piston in. if that what these guys are telling you to do in fact its bad to leave it off for a period of time because brake fluid absorbs moisture witch meens you will have water in your brake lines thats one of the reasons why your suposed to do brake fluid flushes every so ofton
Last edited by AmbulanceMonkee; 09-04-2006 at 08:12 PM.
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Rep Power: 0 everything seems fine...i guess i just need the c-clamp to push in the piston. too bad today is Labor's Day and all the stores close early today. maybe tomorrow or so....
ambulancemonkee...yeah, whenever i'm driving or going in reverse, it'll squeal. didn't notice car leaning towards one way or not...and when i took off the cap from the brake fluid reservoir, the driver's side piston went in easily, but the passenger side (where all the sound is coming from) was impossible to push in. could it be seized up? any way i can fix that? or do i have to take it to the shop.
ambulancemonkee...yeah, whenever i'm driving or going in reverse, it'll squeal. didn't notice car leaning towards one way or not...and when i took off the cap from the brake fluid reservoir, the driver's side piston went in easily, but the passenger side (where all the sound is coming from) was impossible to push in. could it be seized up? any way i can fix that? or do i have to take it to the shop.
Last edited by fullgrown; 09-04-2006 at 08:19 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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Rep Power: 265 In my experience, one needs a new caliper when it seizes. I'm not aware of any way to fix it. Possibly, it could be rebuilt, but I wouldn't bother. Faster and probably about the same cost to just replace. As far as actually replacing the caliper, I can't really help with a DIY. It sounds like you're new to fixing brakes, and I wouldn't experiment with the only thing keeping your car from hitting any number of hard, stationary objects. You're probably going to have to find a friend/co-worker with experience in this area that can come over and help, or put it back together enough that you can at least roll the car around and have it towed to a shop. The install of the new caliper, which also requires bleeding the brakes, will prolly cost you about $200. Let us know how this turns out for you. Good luck.
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Originally Posted by em2kid
you dont need to take of the brake fill cap to push in the piston in. if that what these guys are telling you to do in fact its bad to leave it off for a period of time because brake fluid absorbs moisture witch meens you will have water in your brake lines thats one of the reasons why your suposed to do brake fluid flushes every so ofton
Who are you speaking to? You may not need to take it off but in the case of there being to much pressure on the rotor to remove the caliper, or to much pressure being applied to the piston this will relieve some pressure. The period of time that this takes surely will not pollute your brake fluid with water. Come on man did you think i ment leave it off for good? Maybe you should help the guy instead of correcting everyone's advice!!! Do you know something we dont?
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Originally Posted by civydcex
Who are you speaking to? You may not need to take it off but in the case of there being to much pressure on the rotor to remove the caliper, or to much pressure being applied to the piston this will relieve some pressure. The period of time that this takes surely will not pollute your brake fluid with water. Come on man did you think i ment leave it off for good? Maybe you should help the guy instead of correcting everyone's advice!!! Do you know something we dont?
when you're changing your front pads it is very wise to change the rotors too,because the rotors will keep the "face" of the old pads on them and they will begin to get grooves in them. doesn't happen overnight but ti will happen soon enough.....
to the problem at hand, get a prybar like item (read metal rod) and hold the caliper tight in one hand or brace yourself against it while it's in your hand and rest the rod at the piston and the edge of the rod on that "m" outer side of the caliper and try to force it in that way if you don't have the c-clamp....
the reason you're hearing squeaking is most likely a bushing gone bad from dry-rot or just average lifetime use.
to fix the problem on the passenger side (it would have been a little better to have done the passenger side first but whatever{best to work your way from the farthest brake line component to the closest to the master clinder})
just use the c-clamp or rod to depress teh piston back into the sleeve. no it is not frozen or else you would have noticed it driving (trust me YOU WOULD'VE NOTICED)
as for cracking the bleeders open on each caliper. you're going to need to re-bleed the 2 rear drums and the 2 front calipers (it's easy but I really would suggest either taking it to a shop or finding a friend who is knowledgable on this)
hope this helps.
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Originally Posted by shroomster
you're refering to vaccuum pressure...there isn't any reason to take the cap off...period. HYGROSCOPIC FLUID absorbs moisture, water, liquids. it doesn't matter if it is off for 5 seconds or 5 minutes its gonna absorb moisture maybe not a noticable amount but it's gonna be there.
when you're changing your front pads it is very wise to change the rotors too,because the rotors will keep the "face" of the old pads on them and they will begin to get grooves in them. doesn't happen overnight but ti will happen soon enough.....
to the problem at hand, get a prybar like item (read metal rod) and hold the caliper tight in one hand or brace yourself against it while it's in your hand and rest the rod at the piston and the edge of the rod on that "m" outer side of the caliper and try to force it in that way if you don't have the c-clamp....
the reason you're hearing squeaking is most likely a bushing gone bad from dry-rot or just average lifetime use.
to fix the problem on the passenger side (it would have been a little better to have done the passenger side first but whatever{best to work your way from the farthest brake line component to the closest to the master clinder})
just use the c-clamp or rod to depress teh piston back into the sleeve. no it is not frozen or else you would have noticed it driving (trust me YOU WOULD'VE NOTICED)
as for cracking the bleeders open on each caliper. you're going to need to re-bleed the 2 rear drums and the 2 front calipers (it's easy but I really would suggest either taking it to a shop or finding a friend who is knowledgable on this)
hope this helps.
when you're changing your front pads it is very wise to change the rotors too,because the rotors will keep the "face" of the old pads on them and they will begin to get grooves in them. doesn't happen overnight but ti will happen soon enough.....
to the problem at hand, get a prybar like item (read metal rod) and hold the caliper tight in one hand or brace yourself against it while it's in your hand and rest the rod at the piston and the edge of the rod on that "m" outer side of the caliper and try to force it in that way if you don't have the c-clamp....
the reason you're hearing squeaking is most likely a bushing gone bad from dry-rot or just average lifetime use.
to fix the problem on the passenger side (it would have been a little better to have done the passenger side first but whatever{best to work your way from the farthest brake line component to the closest to the master clinder})
just use the c-clamp or rod to depress teh piston back into the sleeve. no it is not frozen or else you would have noticed it driving (trust me YOU WOULD'VE NOTICED)
as for cracking the bleeders open on each caliper. you're going to need to re-bleed the 2 rear drums and the 2 front calipers (it's easy but I really would suggest either taking it to a shop or finding a friend who is knowledgable on this)
hope this helps.
Not for nothing but I feel like it helps and have always done it. I dont need to hear about moisture in my brake fluid, come on. This was a post to help someone not show off useless knowledge about moisture absorbing fluids. But more power to you for knowing so much
I wouldnt do it if not neccessary, but in my opinion its worth a shot
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Originally Posted by civydcex
Not for nothing but I feel like it helps and have always done it. I dont need to hear about moisture in my brake fluid, come on. This was a post to help someone not show off useless knowledge about moisture absorbing fluids. But more power to you for knowing so much
I wouldnt do it if not neccessary, but in my opinion its worth a shot
I wouldnt do it if not neccessary, but in my opinion its worth a shot
second, it's not my problem you're un-educated and make minutely brash decisions concerning your vehicle maintenance, don't come on here with your
head-stuck-up-your-***-attitude. give respect to earn respect.
END OF this side note back on topic now.
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Rep Power: 265 And this thread was going so well. For a while, it was actually constructive, before it turned into a pissing match. Lets not get into this, and instead let this one continue to be helpful for the little guy.
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Originally Posted by Hoosier282
Buy a Haynes Repair Manual for your car, review it and it should solve your problem
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Originally Posted by shroomster
first this wasn't directed at you, this was to help out full-grown, because he is always asking for help/input so I figured I'd do like everyone else.
second, it's not my problem you're un-educated and make minutely brash decisions concerning your vehicle maintenance, don't come on here with your
head-stuck-up-your-***-attitude. give respect to earn respect.
END OF this side note back on topic now.
second, it's not my problem you're un-educated and make minutely brash decisions concerning your vehicle maintenance, don't come on here with your
head-stuck-up-your-***-attitude. give respect to earn respect.
END OF this side note back on topic now.
Originally Posted by AmbulanceMonkee
And this thread was going so well. For a while, it was actually constructive, before it turned into a pissing match. Lets not get into this, and instead let this one continue to be helpful for the little guy.
Your right, i give in to the pissing match he can have it.
Last edited by civydcex; 09-06-2006 at 09:19 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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Rep Power: 0 I think he's confused about what "bleeding the brakes" is. Its not like how I think you are reading it. You dont let all the break fluid just drip out and your done. I started out by sucking the old fluid out of the resiviour and putting fresh fluid in. Make sure while you are doing this that the level doesnt get too low otherwise you'll pull air into your lines. What you do is have somone push on the brake pedal and while they have that compressed you loosen the bleeder valve and brake fluid will shoot out depending how much you loosen it. Once no more comes out you tighten the valve and have the person let off the pedal. Its very important that they dont let off untill you have tightened it otherwise you get air in your lines and braking will not work so well. You repeat this over and over untill the break fluid comes out clean then move onto the next caliper or drum. And about the c-clamp.... I say just go get one cuz you'll probably use it in the future too so you might as well buy one now. Good luck and pm me if you have any questions.