yesterday i was about to change my rear brake pads but that thing you have to turn (either with a special tool or a pair of pliers) was hard as heck to turn clockwise. I used a pair of pliers and i kept turning it, and it started to move back, but after a while of turning, i still didnt' have enough space for my new pads. anybody have this problem before or have suggestions?? thanks in advance.

 

okay so it ends up my rear calipers are frozen. how hard are these to change and what should i expect to pay?

 

If you were changing the pads the only other step you'd have to do is remove the fluid line. Just make sure you bleed the brakes afterwards. Check with your local advanced auto parts or autozone for pricing. I think they are around $60-$70 bucks each.

 

Disconnect the line and keep turning it until it fits, bleed the lines to remove any air and you should be fine.

 

ya... i took my car to firestone and they even said my rear calipers are frozen. i think i've read this problem before where people had to get new rear calipers. they quoted me $190 for 2 calipers, and $100 for 2 new rear rotors and $100 for pads to be changed. i think i'll just do it myself to save money, and i have pads and i can find rotors but are the autozone calipers oem? any other suggestsions where i can get new calipers? thanks guys.

 

It seems like you have more time than money...if that's the case, you might want to rebuild the calipers you have.

IIRC, Nissan sells a rebuild kit (basically seals). I was going to do this (as well as paint/polish) before my transmission died.

 

sorry for the newbie question but whats bleeding the brakes?

 

im actually a fulltime student so i dont think i have THAT much time. but i'll make time to replace parts, whcih is why i think it would be easier to get new calipers. how does the rebuild kit work? i have a '95 in the midwest, so everything under my car looks like it's aged a lot faster than the interior =(
so if it's easier to jus get a hold of new calipers, wouldn't taht be easier?

 

autozone has cheap rear calipers. I had to replace both on my 96 due to the nice corrosion/pitting/rust on the pistons themselves. The autozone ones are on a deposit basis so inital cost is high but once you return the old ones you are set. I would recomend this especially since I live in Illinois also and nothing is worse then refrozen calipers on your brand new rotors and pads (especially if they are nice ones).

 

I don't have a parts list, but you'd get all of the seals/boots. You basically tear it all apart, clean it and reassemble with the new parts (unless there's something major wrong with it).

Here's the seal kit for the front (rear has no pics):
www.courtesynissan.com

Here's the seal kit for the rear:
www.courtesynissan.com

As far as I know, the kits take care of 2 calipers...so 1 kit for the front, and 1 kit for the rear is all that's needed to rebuild all 4 calipers.