I am installing a set of EBC green brake pads and really need some help. First and most important problem is that the EBC pads are much thicker than the stockers. Therefore the caliper will not go onto the disc (not enough clearance). My problem is that I cant compress the brake piston. It wont go!!!! I have a C-clip and that did not help either. There is plenty of room for it to compress, I am 100% sure of that, it just wont go. What am I doing wrong??? I tried opening the bleeder valve a little to bleed off some of the pressure but that did not help either. Thats the biggest issue. Second thing is the emergency brake spring. How in the world am I supposed to compress that thing upon reassembly?? PLEASE HELP.........I'm really stuck here guys!!! Thanks
Rear brake pad install problems, please HELP!!!
- Thread starter MyZinc03
- Start date
I realize this may sound silly, but it may also solve your problem...
Did you uncap the brake reservoir under the hood??
You have to do so to release the pressure. You will never be able to compress the piston without doing this first.
Hope that helps.
Did you uncap the brake reservoir under the hood??
You have to do so to release the pressure. You will never be able to compress the piston without doing this first.
Hope that helps.
You need to turn the piston while pushing it in. Don't force it straight down! Rotate the piston while pushing in and it will compress. The two pins in the pad fits in the slot in the caliper's piston when it is up and down. Did that come out right?
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Go have a beer first, then take a deep breath. If you freak, you'll screw something up in there, guaranteed.
The rear calipers on Mustangs are not normal, they are Varga calipers. The piston will only retract after it has been screwed into the caliper body. It will not simply push in. This is to compensate for the parking brake mechanism, it's an adjustment.
You have plenty of adjustment left to install your pads in there.
PM me if you would like specific information.
The rear calipers on Mustangs are not normal, they are Varga calipers. The piston will only retract after it has been screwed into the caliper body. It will not simply push in. This is to compensate for the parking brake mechanism, it's an adjustment.
You have plenty of adjustment left to install your pads in there.
PM me if you would like specific information.
One more thing, even if you do it everything right, they still may be too thick. The Cobra rotor is thicker than a GT rotor. I ran into that on my 94. IF that's the case, you could change them one at a time, so one wears enough to fit the other new one on later. That could be a long time though, I don't think those news pads will wear very quickly.
I would highly recommend a kit like this to do the rear calipers.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40732
It will make it so much easier.
If you want cheaper, get the Lisle tool from the parts store. Round piece of steel with two tangs to engage the piston and a socket opening in the middle to turn it.
I would highly recommend a kit like this to do the rear calipers.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40732
It will make it so much easier.
If you want cheaper, get the Lisle tool from the parts store. Round piece of steel with two tangs to engage the piston and a socket opening in the middle to turn it.
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You'll never admit you did this, but did you release the parking brake? :-D
thanks for the reply guys. I used a set of needlenose pliars to turn the piston to the very end. I did not uncap the master cylinder, just let the pressure out throught the bleed valve. I turned it all the way in and managed to push the caliper on the rotor with the new pads. It is VERY tight and was a pita to get it back on there. Now that I have that done, any ideas on that park brake return spring?? There is no way I can compress it by hand.
Okay, I hope you guys read this. I have an '01 Cobra, and I purchased high-performance pads from AutoZone. When I got home, I found the pads were also a lot "thicker" than the original pads. I was able to force them in there, but they dragged a little, so I knew something wasn't right. Here's the problem: AutoZone had the wrong part numbers from the manufacturer... they couldn't even get the right part. They did, however, tell me the problem was not on their end, but and error on the part of the supplier. The bottom line is this: if the pads are noticably thicker than stock, they probably aren't the right part. I purchased a pistion compressor kit, and it takes me 5 minutes per rear wheel, including the time to jack up the car. If you're spending this much time, I'd venture a guess that you've got the wrong part. BTW - if you do have the wrong part, you run the risk of starting a fire. Be careful!
Yup, needle nose pliers will do the trick. That's what I used to retract the pistons. To get enough slack in the emergency brake cable, all I did was remove the bolt with the 8 mm head holding the bracket for the emergency brake cable to the lower control arm. This gave the cable enough slack to allow removal of the caliper to get the pads off. Raybestos PG plus pads were not too thick and easily allowed enough room to get the caliper back on over the rotor. The only problem is that the friction material of the Raybestos pads is inferior to stock and the car does not stop as well as it did with the factory pads.
Yeah, I should have done what you did with the ebrake cable, but instead I unhooked it completely. I did not think it would give me enough room to work if it was hooked up. How Im going to get that spring back on there, I have not idea.
Regarding the pads being too tight, I got them on there quiet easily and am able to move the caliper on the rotor with a little oomph. They will drag for sure though. These are EBC green stuff pads. I read on many boards that guys use these pads on mustangs all the time, so I hope they will be ok.
Regarding the pads being too tight, I got them on there quiet easily and am able to move the caliper on the rotor with a little oomph. They will drag for sure though. These are EBC green stuff pads. I read on many boards that guys use these pads on mustangs all the time, so I hope they will be ok.
Yea, you definatley got GT pads. They shouldn't be that tight. I'd take it easy at first and let them wear in at low speeds.
I unbolted the cable from the arm too, so can't help ya there..
I unbolted the cable from the arm too, so can't help ya there..
The GT pads are enough different that they are darn near impossible to get on uless you either file them or your rotors have alot of wear.
If in doubt, pull them back off and file the pads some just to be safe. (and make sure the pads are seated in the piston like mentioned above, that will deffinately make them tighter than normal).
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