(good part) Today I was installing drilled/slotted rotors with Hawk HPS Pads on all fours!
(bad part) Can’t finish the job because I can’t compress the rear caliper pistons.
I’ve done tons of brake jobs and have never seen this. Started with the front and was a breeze. I get to the back and I put my 6” c-clamp on the caliper to compress the piston and it wont budge. Even with the bleeder open and too much pressure it will not compress.
Is my caliper bad? I haven’t noticed anything wrong before this (drives fine).
Anyone seen this before? Thanks in advance!
Brent

PS. Anyone have some stock rear calipers sitting around after an upgrade. Let me know.

 

The rear calipers require a adaptor tool that you can rent at Auto Zone. The piston "turns" to colapse. You can't simply "push" it back into the caliper.

Like this:

 

Isn't that something! I thought that might be the case, but had never heard of that. so if I go in and ask for a rear caliper compressor tool, they will know what i mean?

 

Yep, just returned one yesterday.

 

You can use a set of needle nose pliers, thats what i had to do b/c the autozones around here sell parts like that w/ plastic and the pos broke so i retuned it and used pliars the good old fashion way lol

 

Only thing plastic on the one I rented was the case it came in.

 

I asked if they had anything that was completely made of metal and all they had was this this thing that was like the one you posted above but the handle was like a door handle type thing that was made of plastic and it broke loose of the metal shaft so it would just turn freely

 

Yeah ask for the brake caliper tool, you just put the metal plate behind the caliper and put the two rivets in the piston and turn, works pretty good, turns it all the way in then go get your money back

 

Yeah to add to what was said earlier the back calipers on some cars, not only Nissan but other brands the piston has to be turned clockwise to get it back in. A little bit diferent from the front ones which can just be pushed in with a C-clamp.

One other very important thing though is that if you buy the Nissan brake pads for the rear, you will see a small raised stud at the bottom end of the brake pad on the side where the shims are placed. When you turn the piston back in with the tool make sure the slots are 90 degrees to the horizontal. Basically after it has been turned sufficiently far enough in you want to make sure the slots look like a plus(+) sign instead of a multiplication sign (x). This is best way I can explain it and the reason is because when you put the brake pads in place and then try to put the caliper back on if the slots don't line up with the raised stud it won't fit properly or you might not be able to line up the holes and put the screws in that holds the caliper in place. If you buy another brand other than the Nissan brand then I am not sure if they come with this stud or not. Just my 02 cents in case you run into this problem.

 

This screw in setup is for the parking brake and you can buy a universal tool at most auto stores.