Rear brake Caliper

[Roadog]

 '98 Tourer , Having difficulty pushing the rear caliper in to gain clearance for new pads.   The service manual says to push them toward the inside, but the pistons wont budge and there isnt much room for leverage.  no room for clamps, that's what I use on the car.  Short of cracking open the bleeder valve.  I have changed the rear pads before but I dont remember having this issue. Any advise would be helpful and thanks.

[old2soon]

The pistons might need a good cleaning. Seems like a good deal of the "stuff" stirred up by the rear wheel finds its way to the brake caliper pistons. If you find out you do need to clean them up new O-rings are a VERY good idea. RIDE SAFE.

[John Schmidt]

Pull the top off the rear reservoir and remove a bit of the brake fluid. Leave the cover off and slip a screwdriver into the area between the rotor and pads to press the brakes open. I use an old brake shoe adjustment tool with that crooked end on it...works great. By spreading the brakes open at the pads, it will cause back pressure in the system and the reservoir level will rise so keep an eye on it so it doesn't run over. That way you won't have a plastic tube getting in the way running from the bleeder and allowing air into the system.

[Valkpilot]

Pull the top off the rear reservoir and remove a bit of the brake fluid. Leave the cover off and slip a screwdriver into the area between the rotor and pads to press the brakes open. I use an old brake shoe adjustment tool with that crooked end on it...works great. By spreading the brakes open at the pads, it will cause back pressure in the system and the reservoir level will rise so keep an eye on it so it doesn't run over. That way you won't have a plastic tube getting in the way running from the bleeder and allowing air into the system.

I highly recommend cleaning the pistons first.  Brake solvent and a small brush or shoelace (use it like dental floss) will take care of all the grunge that you don't want to push back in to the caliper body.

[Bugslayer]

Pull the top off the rear reservoir and remove a bit of the brake fluid. Leave the cover off and slip a screwdriver into the area between the rotor and pads to press the brakes open. I use an old brake shoe adjustment tool with that crooked end on it...works great. By spreading the brakes open at the pads, it will cause back pressure in the system and the reservoir level will rise so keep an eye on it so it doesn't run over. That way you won't have a plastic tube getting in the way running from the bleeder and allowing air into the system.

I highly recommend cleaning the pistons first.  Brake solvent and a small brush or shoelace (use it like dental floss) will take care of all the grunge that you don't want to push back in to the caliper body.

I like the shoelace idea.... Good thinking. 

[hubcapsc]

Here's some pistons I cleaned, and then pushed out some more:



-Mike

[Valkpilot]

Pull the top off the rear reservoir and remove a bit of the brake fluid. Leave the cover off and slip a screwdriver into the area between the rotor and pads to press the brakes open. I use an old brake shoe adjustment tool with that crooked end on it...works great. By spreading the brakes open at the pads, it will cause back pressure in the system and the reservoir level will rise so keep an eye on it so it doesn't run over. That way you won't have a plastic tube getting in the way running from the bleeder and allowing air into the system.

I highly recommend cleaning the pistons first.  Brake solvent and a small brush or shoelace (use it like dental floss) will take care of all the grunge that you don't want to push back in to the caliper body.

I like the shoelace idea.... Good thinking. 

I can't take credit for it.  Someone else once mentioned it and it's such a good idea it just needs passing on!

[Roadog]

EXCELLENT suggestions,...Exactly what I was needing !  Thank you all !

Terry

[SpidyJ]

I would remove the caliper and pull out the pistons.  If you can clean the pistons up then just replace the O rings.