Rear brakes?
02-20-2011, 01:43 PM
#3
Service the rear brakes. At that time you can perform a full inspection of the components. You can use a caliper piston return tool to compress the piston, this may free it up, if it's incredibly stiff/seizes at a certain point you may need to rebuild/replace the calipers.
How many Miles on the car?
Do they stick on hard if you apply the E-Brake?
02-20-2011, 02:03 PM
#4
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 933
Was any work accomplished on the rear brakes recently? It's not uncommon where the person doing the rear brakes has not wound the piston in far enough/and or has not oriented the piston (the piston notch with the pad) correctly. This will cause the brakes to bind all the time and cause premature and rapid pad wear.
I learned that the hard way.
02-20-2011, 05:12 PM
#6
Thanks for the replys. I ended up taking the calipers off and spraying them down and inspecting. Everything looked good but when I went to try and compress the caliper with needle nose pliers they would not budge. Ended up just reinstalling and mostly everything is fine now. Went for a test drive and they were not hot anymore. Well the passenger rear was a little warmer than the driver rear. And now my ebrake is tighter. Not sure what I did but it worked. For now at least. I believe I will need new calipers sooner than later. Car has 170,000. I do most maintenance myself.
02-20-2011, 06:21 PM
#8
Thanks for the replys. I ended up taking the calipers off and spraying them down and inspecting. Everything looked good but when I went to try and compress the caliper with needle nose pliers they would not budge. Ended up just reinstalling and mostly everything is fine now. Went for a test drive and they were not hot anymore. Well the passenger rear was a little warmer than the driver rear. And now my ebrake is tighter. Not sure what I did but it worked. For now at least. I believe I will need new calipers sooner than later. Car has 170,000. I do most maintenance myself.
Oh man freaking
02-20-2011, 06:30 PM
#9
02-21-2011, 07:20 AM
#10
Just spend the twelve bucks and buy the little cube that goes on the end of your 3/8" extension with a ratchet. I fought with needle-noses, channel-locks, and vice-grips for years, and always ended up worn out, frustrated, and cussing because of my pinched fingers and hurt hands (although it usually eventually got the job done.) Trust me, you'll never look at rear calipers with trepidation again once you get this tool.
Take it apart and clean the crap out of everything - especially the pins. Lubricate it all and put it back together. Should help.
Take it apart and clean the crap out of everything - especially the pins. Lubricate it all and put it back together. Should help.
02-21-2011, 04:24 PM
#13
And if your calipers are stiff/seizing or have a hard spot, you aren't going to do jack with needle nose pliers.
Just sayin', you can do it however you want.
03-05-2011, 09:19 PM
#16
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 2
Was any work accomplished on the rear brakes recently? It's not uncommon where the person doing the rear brakes has not wound the piston in far enough/and or has not oriented the piston (the piston notch with the pad) correctly. This will cause the brakes to bind all the time and cause premature and rapid pad wear.
I am about to try and rebuild my sisters caliper on her 97 maxima with 4 wheel disc brakes. Someone said that the rears were very complicated because of the e-brake. Does anyone knoe if you just have to take out the piston and clean and replace seals or is there more to it? I am good with cars but always had chevys...
03-25-2011, 11:12 PM
#17
Found this thread on a search and had some questions.
I did my rear pads and rotors 6 months ago. I over-maintain my Maxima, so this includes 2 brake services per year all around (once before summer wheels and once before winter wheels), but here are 3 questions on our rear calipers if anyone can take the time to comment:
1. I remember needing a lot of strength to turn my pistons in with the cube tool, but it did turn with some elbow grease and with the cube attached to a 3" extension. Is this a sign of bad or sticking calipers that should be replaced? I am under the impression that rear caliper pistons are usually fairly stiff, and needs elbow grease to turn back, unless I'm wrong and they should turn in very smoothly and with minimal effort.
2. On cold mornings when I try to roll the car off the driveway in neutral, it does roll without hiccups, but rolls slower. Is this slow-rolling normal with the wheel bearings really cold, or could it be that the aging parking brake mechanism sometimes doesn't disengage fully until you hit a bump or when the brakes warm up with use???
3. Is it ever recommended to lubricate the parking brake mechanism with a thin grease like Rust Chek or WD40, or does this just cause more problems with road dirt accumulating into guck within the mechanism that causes more sticking??? Would an occasional blast of brake cleaner be okay?
Look forward to any input. Thanks.
I did my rear pads and rotors 6 months ago. I over-maintain my Maxima, so this includes 2 brake services per year all around (once before summer wheels and once before winter wheels), but here are 3 questions on our rear calipers if anyone can take the time to comment:
1. I remember needing a lot of strength to turn my pistons in with the cube tool, but it did turn with some elbow grease and with the cube attached to a 3" extension. Is this a sign of bad or sticking calipers that should be replaced? I am under the impression that rear caliper pistons are usually fairly stiff, and needs elbow grease to turn back, unless I'm wrong and they should turn in very smoothly and with minimal effort.
2. On cold mornings when I try to roll the car off the driveway in neutral, it does roll without hiccups, but rolls slower. Is this slow-rolling normal with the wheel bearings really cold, or could it be that the aging parking brake mechanism sometimes doesn't disengage fully until you hit a bump or when the brakes warm up with use???
3. Is it ever recommended to lubricate the parking brake mechanism with a thin grease like Rust Chek or WD40, or does this just cause more problems with road dirt accumulating into guck within the mechanism that causes more sticking??? Would an occasional blast of brake cleaner be okay?
Look forward to any input. Thanks.
03-25-2011, 11:23 PM
#18
Why do you have to wind it to a certain point? What notch?
I am about to try and rebuild my sisters caliper on her 97 maxima with 4 wheel disc brakes. Someone said that the rears were very complicated because of the e-brake. Does anyone knoe if you just have to take out the piston and clean and replace seals or is there more to it? I am good with cars but always had chevys...
I am about to try and rebuild my sisters caliper on her 97 maxima with 4 wheel disc brakes. Someone said that the rears were very complicated because of the e-brake. Does anyone knoe if you just have to take out the piston and clean and replace seals or is there more to it? I am good with cars but always had chevys...
It's hard to explain without having the part in front of you, but if you google search a rear caliper piston, you'll see that there are usually 2 or 4 notches on ths surface. Those notches are for the caliper cube tool to grab on when you turn it back.
On the bottoms of the rear pads, there's a small round nib that you'll see if you had a set in front of you. What you have to do when you pop the caliper back over the pads is to have one of the notches on the caliper piston fit over this little nib. It's actually pretty fail-safe; if one of the notches doesn't fit over the nib, you won't really be able to position the caliper properly nor be able to get the bolts to thread into the slider pins properly, but I hope you get an idea of what I mean. A Haynes or Chilton manual with pics would also show this better.
03-26-2011, 12:53 AM
#19
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Will,
1)In my experience the piston should turn in with limited effort when using the cube, and especially when using the specialized brake tool sontakke illustrated. On the 3 4th gens I had and most recently on the 02 I now drive, difficulty in turning in the piston has usually resulted in dragging pads and caliper replacement soon after. I hate rebuilding brake calipers so I usually just buy rebuilt calipers and exchange the cores, but at a guess the sluggish turn-in is the result of corrosion of the bore/piston or of the adjuster/pushrod mechanism.
2) In my case it's mostly been a dragging parking brake when I experience that symptom. If we're talking -20C cold, then sure, the tolerances are tighter and the car will not roll as easily.
3) I lubricate the heck out of the mechanism now, and clean/relubricate whenever I am back there and I see dirt has accumulated.
1)In my experience the piston should turn in with limited effort when using the cube, and especially when using the specialized brake tool sontakke illustrated. On the 3 4th gens I had and most recently on the 02 I now drive, difficulty in turning in the piston has usually resulted in dragging pads and caliper replacement soon after. I hate rebuilding brake calipers so I usually just buy rebuilt calipers and exchange the cores, but at a guess the sluggish turn-in is the result of corrosion of the bore/piston or of the adjuster/pushrod mechanism.
2) In my case it's mostly been a dragging parking brake when I experience that symptom. If we're talking -20C cold, then sure, the tolerances are tighter and the car will not roll as easily.
3) I lubricate the heck out of the mechanism now, and clean/relubricate whenever I am back there and I see dirt has accumulated.
03-26-2011, 03:30 PM
#20
Will,
1)In my experience the piston should turn in with limited effort when using the cube, and especially when using the specialized brake tool sontakke illustrated. On the 3 4th gens I had and most recently on the 02 I now drive, difficulty in turning in the piston has usually resulted in dragging pads and caliper replacement soon after. I hate rebuilding brake calipers so I usually just buy rebuilt calipers and exchange the cores, but at a guess the sluggish turn-in is the result of corrosion of the bore/piston or of the adjuster/pushrod mechanism.
2) In my case it's mostly been a dragging parking brake when I experience that symptom. If we're talking -20C cold, then sure, the tolerances are tighter and the car will not roll as easily.
3) I lubricate the heck out of the mechanism now, and clean/relubricate whenever I am back there and I see dirt has accumulated.
1)In my experience the piston should turn in with limited effort when using the cube, and especially when using the specialized brake tool sontakke illustrated. On the 3 4th gens I had and most recently on the 02 I now drive, difficulty in turning in the piston has usually resulted in dragging pads and caliper replacement soon after. I hate rebuilding brake calipers so I usually just buy rebuilt calipers and exchange the cores, but at a guess the sluggish turn-in is the result of corrosion of the bore/piston or of the adjuster/pushrod mechanism.
2) In my case it's mostly been a dragging parking brake when I experience that symptom. If we're talking -20C cold, then sure, the tolerances are tighter and the car will not roll as easily.
3) I lubricate the heck out of the mechanism now, and clean/relubricate whenever I am back there and I see dirt has accumulated.
Hmmm, I'll have to maybe looking into some calipers. The Nissan dealer in Toronto is charging $325 a piece for rebuilts, hahahaha.
Even aftermarket is almost $200 per!!
03-26-2011, 05:17 PM
#21
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Location: Montreal, QC,Canada
Posts: 256
Salut 
. YW, glad to share my thoughts Will. I've used a variety of lubricants, but most recently it's been some moly grease that I had floating around-the stuff seems to stick very well. I smear it at the base/pivot of the lever where the cable ends. I'm trying to limit corrosion more than anything, and I find it works better than Rust Check or Coat and Protect sprays (CT eh?). FYI, for rebuilt calipers I bought a fully loaded pair of Nastra through autoparts123.com recently. They came with all the hardware and brackets, plus semi-metallic pads for $170 including shipping (but I believe they only ship within the US-I may be wrong though) They charged me $74 for cores, which is refunded if you return them yours. I ship my US stuff to an addy in upstate NY to avoid shipping and UPS fees.
. YW, glad to share my thoughts Will. I've used a variety of lubricants, but most recently it's been some moly grease that I had floating around-the stuff seems to stick very well. I smear it at the base/pivot of the lever where the cable ends. I'm trying to limit corrosion more than anything, and I find it works better than Rust Check or Coat and Protect sprays (CT eh?). FYI, for rebuilt calipers I bought a fully loaded pair of Nastra through autoparts123.com recently. They came with all the hardware and brackets, plus semi-metallic pads for $170 including shipping (but I believe they only ship within the US-I may be wrong though) They charged me $74 for cores, which is refunded if you return them yours. I ship my US stuff to an addy in upstate NY to avoid shipping and UPS fees.
03-27-2011, 02:35 PM
#22
If you are turning the piston, with pliers or the tool, and there is any resistence then your calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced. Water and dirt gets in behind the seal and rusts the piston. Ive done rear brakes so many times Ive lost count.
Also check your parking brake cables. They can get pinched on the trailing arms or from a lazy shop employee when placing your car on a lift. Also water and dirt can get in at the boot. Try moving the lever on the caliper or have some one pull the parking brake. The lever and cable should move freely.
Also check your parking brake cables. They can get pinched on the trailing arms or from a lazy shop employee when placing your car on a lift. Also water and dirt can get in at the boot. Try moving the lever on the caliper or have some one pull the parking brake. The lever and cable should move freely.
03-28-2011, 05:14 PM
#25
If you are turning the piston, with pliers or the tool, and there is any resistence then your calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced. Water and dirt gets in behind the seal and rusts the piston. Ive done rear brakes so many times Ive lost count.
Also check your parking brake cables. They can get pinched on the trailing arms or from a lazy shop employee when placing your car on a lift. Also water and dirt can get in at the boot. Try moving the lever on the caliper or have some one pull the parking brake. The lever and cable should move freely.
Also check your parking brake cables. They can get pinched on the trailing arms or from a lazy shop employee when placing your car on a lift. Also water and dirt can get in at the boot. Try moving the lever on the caliper or have some one pull the parking brake. The lever and cable should move freely.
So even with a good parking brake mechanism and the fact that the car rolls down a slightly angled driveway with no noticeable drag, if there's still resistance while turning that piston in, one should still replace those rear calipers asap?
I know last fall when I had the rear wheels up in the air and then spun the wheel like Wheel of Fortune, it did turn, but not freely, i.e. with a big spin, it maybe turn 2 revolutions before stopping fairly abruptly vs. continuously spinning and then slowing.
03-28-2011, 07:11 PM
#26
03-28-2011, 07:17 PM
#27
Thanks very much for your feedback too!
So even with a good parking brake mechanism and the fact that the car rolls down a slightly angled driveway with no noticeable drag, if there's still resistance while turning that piston in, one should still replace those rear calipers asap?
I know last fall when I had the rear wheels up in the air and then spun the wheel like Wheel of Fortune, it did turn, but not freely, i.e. with a big spin, it maybe turn 2 revolutions before stopping fairly abruptly vs. continuously spinning and then slowing.
So even with a good parking brake mechanism and the fact that the car rolls down a slightly angled driveway with no noticeable drag, if there's still resistance while turning that piston in, one should still replace those rear calipers asap?
I know last fall when I had the rear wheels up in the air and then spun the wheel like Wheel of Fortune, it did turn, but not freely, i.e. with a big spin, it maybe turn 2 revolutions before stopping fairly abruptly vs. continuously spinning and then slowing.
There should be little to no drag from the brakes.
11-03-2011, 09:54 AM
#29
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 2
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