Hey guys my rear brake pad is gone so im about to drive another car to autozone to buy some pads. I've done front brakes on my old maxima, but never rear brakes. I hear its harder. Please reply ASAP with directions on how to change it, im doing it around 9AM today because i have to work afterwards and this will be my only ride!!!!!

Also, do i need any special tools?

I did check the stickies but there's only front brake pads in there, no rear.

 

Two things. One is that to push the piston back into the calipar, you "screw" it in. There are indents on the piston. Use some needle nose pliers to turn the piston clockwise. It will take a lot of turns to get it all the way back in, be patient. Careful of the piston boot, try not to tear it. Also the shims may be corroded away, mine were. Get a shim kit at the Nissan dealer if needed. Good Luck.

 

Ok thanks i appreciate it, i was planning on clamping the caliper piston like the fronts!

 

one more thing. put some tire chalks under the wheels and release the parking brake, cause you're gonna have to take off the bolt that holds the parking brake cable to the car in order to get the calipers off.

 

also, somebody else im talking to says i need a special tool for the twisting, but you say i can juse use pliers...he said that it was impossible to turn with pliers. How hard is it?

 

Why would he need to take off the calipers when he is only planning to replace the pads?

 

there is a GD on Brembo rotors if yours are bad. I'm replacing mine along with pads....hopefully they will be in this week.

 

If you're heading to autozone anyway, might as well get the tool.

It's a little square thing you put on a wrench that lets you turn the piston easier.

It's possible to turn it with pliers, but that depends on the condition of the calipers. If they're old, it could be very difficult.

The rear calipers also have a tendency to seize after several years which means replacing them.

I think I'd leave the rears for a day when you have more time. Its a job that can sometimes turn into a long complicated one.

 

put the deposit down on the brake tool they have at Autozone to screw the piston back in. well worth the $35 deposit. bring it back and you get your money back.

screw the pliers...

 

I did that last summer. Long needle nose pliers won't work for me. You need to get a special tool, it looks like a big metal dice $12 at pepboys. Also you need a big plier to hold the bracket as you are turning it.

 

Turn the piston clockwise,one turn or two should be enough. I've used long nose pliers and i was not that hard at all. was my first time for rear brake. If u can afford a few bucks get the tool i'm sure it worth it. Cause it's hard to stick the pliers in the hole while turning specialy if it rusted. My piston boot went in front of the piston was not that fun replacing it so stop turning the piston if you see the rubber try to do that. Hand brake must be down cause it will ruins the rooms for putting new pads. make sure the car cant move and that u used candles(like we have to say that again).you can also untight the cap of your master cylinder tank,it's near the hood upper-left,just untwist it cause humidity is bad for that liquid. The presurre on the piston will be ''easier'' not 100% sure it's help that much but the more chances you put on your side the more time you will save. btw,brake cleaner isnt neccesary but really recommanded as if u doesnt use some your brake will not brake that much for a few times. just be carefull. I've done that last week so im still pretty into it. gl

 

If you know how to do your fronts....you can do your rear's no problem./
Good luck!

 

What would happen if the rubber boot around the piston was torn a little?

 

Bad things... the caliper will eventually fail as dust and crap will get in and scratch up the metal surfaces that are normally supposed to slide smoothly... =( Looks like time for a new Caliper, or at least a rebuild.

 

mine was completely ripped, there was only a small peice of it left so i took it out...


Ok guys this brake job is a B!TCH. First, i snap BOTH of the caliper bolts, so i have to drive to autozone for a new one, but they dont have it, then i drive to another car store, they dont have it, then i finally found it at Advanced Auto, but it was $26!!!!

I picked up the caliper piston tool at autozone so thats all good, but when i try to use it, its nearly impossible to turn! I took off the e-brake line, fluid started leaking, then i tried to twist the thing again, and i had to have somebody else hold it while i twist, and im not a weak guy either. I don't know how you guys did it with pliers, i found it almost impossible WITH the special tool.

Anyways....i got everything assembled and ready to roll, i go for a test drive, and the pedal is extremely soft, i have to press it all the way to the floor to get some stopping power at all, and it seems like only the front wheels are working...im guessing i need to bleed the lines, but my friend had to leave to work so i limped my car home and now im trying to figure out how to bleed the lines myself before 4:30 because i have to go to work then. Can somebody help me with bleeding it myself? i have the fluid

 

I was able to freely turn the piston back in with pliers...not to rub it in. If you have a haynes, it should say how to bleed the brakes, or it's in the stickies I think as well.

 

I know how to bleed the brakes with 2 people, and i didnt find it in the stickies either. What i need to know is how to do it with 1 person without extra tools

 

come on guys i need to go to work soon and its not safe to drive the car like it is right now.

 

Sounds like your caliper is toast and seized... =/

Normally you're supposed to start at the point farthest from the brake master cylinder. So basically, [Edit: See MDeezy's Post]... but this isn't always the case, especially if there is an ABS module in play...

Best bet is to jack the entire jack up and put it on jackstands (if you have some, otherwise this is going to be a PITA).

You're supposed to get a line (I like clear fish tank air tubing) and you hook one end of a 2 foot line to the bleed valve, and the other end submersed in fluid in a container (i.e. a soda can, soda bottle, something). Then you have a friend pump the pedal and then hold after like 5-10 pumps, crack the valve open a 1/4 turn, let out the air and repeat 5-10 times at each point. Then repeat the process until there is no air.

The EASY way is to go get SpeedBleeders... but they're not normally available locally or on short notice (I always order mine in advance).

And its a real pain to attempt to bleed the brakes yourself. To be honest, you need to have someone drive you to work today, and tackle the problem when you have more help/time. =/

 

I just did my rear (still have one more to do). Work is same as the front but screwing in the piston was a mighty task. It took a lot of strenght to twist that thing all the way in.

Use brake cleaner on the rotors, on shims, and other parts just to get the gunk off. I re-greased the caliper pins, just because I'm sure the greese in there is probably as old as the car. It was still good, but did it anyway.

Bleeding brakes.

Rear Right, Front left, Rear Left, Front Right.

Without speed bleeders, have some one by the caliper, person in car, step on brake all the way, other person open the bleeder quickly and close it, repeat till no bubbles are seen.

Or you can get the hand pump at autozone (you can rent it) then just open the bleeder,and pump all the old fluid out.

 

If there is 1 person only! You need a pressure bleeder something like "Motive products", but don't brother to buy one if you are only changing the fulid every few years. This is one of the equipment you should have if you take your car to the track. It is very easy to use. Btw, please don't drive the car until you bleed the brake. Common Sence!

 

Because the calipers hold the pads in place...

 

You don't need to undo the e-brake cable in order to take the caliper off. You can take the caliper off, it just won't have as much free play as would if the e-brake cable wasn't attached.

 

If fluid was leaking out, then you took off the brake line, not the e-brake cable. The cable is just that, a cable attached to the rear of the caliper. The brake line is the rubber hose.

 

You know, you can reply to multiple posts, quoting each of them, all in one post right??

 

Yea, I know. I thought of that, actually, after I did those three replies.

Just trying to get the correct information out there.

 

I know, just pulling your chain... but you're right on your points though... pulling the e-brake cable from the caliper should not have spilled fluid (unless the caliper piston is REALLY toast). But yeah... sounds more like he broke loose the line... which also explains the spoungy brakes...

 

Ok well i had to limp my car to work and back, but now im about to get a friend and bleed the line, but only the wheel that i actually changed cause im doing the other ones later and im not taking off the brake line next time. The wheel is the left rear, i know its not the correct order, but i dont see how it would be a problem if im only bleeding 1 wheel.

 

Thing is, air can get trapped anywhere... and it will move through out the system... to limit the air, you bleed the system starting at the farthest point from the master cylinder (i.e. the longest line) to remove the air from that point, and them move closer and closer removing all air... if you just bleed the one corner, you will develop problems in the future. Take the time and do it right... bleed all four corners at LEAST once minimum. I'd say 4 times... but obviously is sounds like you'll be jacking each corner one at a time... =/ Best luck

 

Thanks for the advice man, i'll bleed everything the right way later when im not in a rush to make this a safely drivable car. I bled the one corner for now and the brakes are perfect right now.

 

Sounds like you're ok for now, but definitely take the time to do it right as soon as you can (i.e. this weekend worst case).

 

Ok sure thing. One more thing, we were bleeding it for over an hour and even after all that time, mass air bubbles were still coming out, so i thought i was doing something wrong. I just said screw it lets just try it out and see if its any better, and it ended up being perfect, but there were mass air bubbles coming out on every release of the bleeder.

 

Problem is it may "feel" fine... but the air in the system (i.e. the bubbles) expands more than the fluid does when heated... i.e. when the system/car is cold... everything is good... the first time you do some excessive braking and heat up the calipers and the fluid... your pedal is going to go to the floor as the air bubbles will expand creating a much bigger pocket in the system that you will be working against to attempt to brake... =(

The reason you continued to get bubbles is you were not bleeding the rest of the system... its very difficult to get all the bubbles out from the entire system by bleeding it from just one valve... =/ Best thing to do would have been to spend 15 minutes at each corner bleeding in circles rather than an hour at one corner... but definitely go back and rebleed the system later.

 

k thanks for the info

 

I did my rear brakes a couple of months back and I didnt replace the shims. Is it bad that I didnt, because they werent in good condition? thanks in advance