[eajohnso]

I'm changing my rear brake pads. I've tried rotating the piston but it doesn't seem to move in or out. Is it correct that it has to be turned clockwise? How far should it be turned? I assume that it only turns a few degrees so that the little pin stays in the slot. Should I see the piston move?

Help appreciated.

 

[apagios]

It rotates way more then a few degrees. I didn't have the tool for it so I just spanned the center circle with a pair of pliers jammed in the slots, I put a lot of pressure on the pliers and twisted, it worked to rotate the piston back.

I don't remember how many turns I rotated it, I just keep going until it stopped rotating. It could take a few complete turns. Just make sure to line up one of the grooves/valleys of the "+" with the center, you will see a small tab sticking out on the pads, this has to go in the valley for the pads to sit flat. So you can rotate the piston as far back as necessary as long as you align the "+" correctly for the pad.

Keep in mind as you rotate you are moving the parking brake back, so when you finish and get back in the car, BEFORE you drop it off the stands, pull the brake lever a few times to cinch the brake back down. The first couple times you pull the handle it will be very loose and offer no braking force. After a couple of pulls and you should feel it returning to the normal parking brake engagement force.

Also if you got that far you beat me! On my first brake job I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why the darn pads and rotor were stuck before I realized I left the parking brake on! [~][rofl]

 

[BLRich1]

Moved to "Wheels, Tires, Brakes & Suspension".

It does turn a number of times. You must push in and rotate.

Are you having this issue on both sides? I had a non focus with a similar rear brake set up freeze on me so don't rule that out.

 

[eajohnso]

Thanks Apagios! I turned the piston about 1.5 times and the calipers went on the disks with no problems. I indexed your FF Reputation.