Rear Brakes just kicked my $%#

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JESUS!!!!

3 hour rear brake job FOR THE Wi- oh wait no...THE SUCK MY BALLS, CAR!!!!!

I took some peoples advice on this forum after doing a search. Pads started to squeak about 3 days ago. and i hadnt done them in the last 2 years since i bought the car. So i read up on it and figured hey, its not gonna be fun but it shouldnt be THAT bad. 1.5hr quote from a post grayghost i think. Lotta people saying channel locks work well to screw in the piston.

First one went like this.... caliper mounting bolts off, caliper...hmm doesnt want to come off. pry the caliper off. old pads off. Oh hey time to screw in the piston lets grab the channel locks, it wont be tha- (slip) blood blister on my finger already! the first few turns sucked, after that it got easy enough that i could use a pair of needle nose pliers. got it back in, got that side bolted back up

time for side 2. caliper bolts off like butter. caliper comes off. pads off. time to screw in the piston. basically it wasnt going down. so i was pissed. after messing with it for about 25 minutes notice it wasnt going down i was mad. I noticed the shape of the metal part of the piston and it was getting chewed up badly. So i went to auto zone and rented the tool. If anyone is going to do there own rear pads, GET THE TOOL! its FREE and totally worth it! (you pay like 55$ but get all your money back when you return it). got the piston back in. time to do everything up again! pads on, caliper...hmm...caliper isnt going on at all. Oh hey look at this my lower slide is completly frozen. after messing with it for another 20-30 minutes i got it out cleaned it, re greased it and put it on.

Anyways, brakes work great now. Im fairly sure that was the 2nd set of rear brake pads on that car, and its at 120k miles almost. Only issues is that i was so frustrated and what it done with i forgot to line the notches back up so the pad dimple would slip into them. i only drove it about half a mile. didnt really slam on the brakes that hard. so hopefully i can save the pads.


anyways, my back hurts like hell, and that was nothing short of a bitch.

for future rear brake change pursuers, go rent the tool, its worth it. and pray your brakes have been changed.
 
I always like to say that if you don't hurt yourself at least once on each repair job then you didn't do it right. :D Congratulations
 
yea i dont know why i made this post. i just had to complain about what a PITA it was to someone i guess.

But, once again, i reigned supeior
 
can't do the job right with out the right tools... wow i cant believe people are using locking pliers on there caliper piston.... ouch....

I know if you do a search there is a couple people that said use the rental tool from Auto zone/Kragen...

what i did is rented and never took it back... bought it for 55 bucks... just like my 20 dollar serpentine belt tools and my o2 sensor sockets set LOL!

I always get the rentals beause they come in a nice storage case
 
lincoln00 said:
can't do the job right with out the right tools... wow i cant believe people are using locking pliers on there caliper piston.... ouch....

I know if you do a search there is a couple people that said use the rental tool from Auto zone/Kragen...

what i did is rented and never took it back... bought it for 55 bucks... just like my 20 dollar serpentine belt tools and my o2 sensor sockets set LOL!

I always get the rentals beause they come in a nice storage case
Click to expand...

Great idea!:p

I dont know what tool you guys are speaking of but you do know a piston tool could have been purchased at Napa for under 10$?;)
 
Those cheap rear caliper piston tools are garbage. The ones these guys are talking about are far superior to that crappy "tool".
 
Harbor Freight sales a really good brake tool for around $30.
 
I've always used a couple of old C clamps. They seem to work fine for me.
 
20$ is a good damn deal for that! that tool is a life saver, especially when you need to apply the downward force.

55$ seems a bit crazy now to purchase the thing from autozone. id rather rent it every 2 years for free, seems like a better overall deal to me!

they had a universal tool for 11.99$, and i looked at it and said, yea i dont think this is gonna help. basically it went on the end of a 3/8th ratchet. so i asked what else they had and they said the rental. even if they take the 3$ in tax i dont really care, thing was a life saver!

and i did have the right tools, according to some people lol. Channel locks or vice grips will tear that :q:q:q:q up in a hurry though.


But - im off to go fix that passenger side, or atleast double check it.

and my rims show up today :D
 
Wow. Had a similar experience a few months ago. Had blistered fingers the first time but not that time. The frozen caliper seems to be a symptom of the LS's rear brakes. I had to replace the entire bracket last time. The first time I was able to clean and regrease it like you stated. This last time it just wasn't moving even after a couple days of WD. Luckily the other side allowed me unfreeze it.
 
Autozone Sucks... Wal-Mart rejects behind the desk and worse then Wal-Mart quality parts..

Buy Oil and cleaning supplies only at Autozone ... Oh they are good for getting stickers for you car..
 
How are you gonna hate on some one who gives you a free tool to use?

I dont go to autozone often, infact the pads came from orielly's...but i dont hate autozone.

Freaking lincoln is still fighting me on this one...On the drive to return the tool the rear center cap fell off. who knows where it is. car looks terrible without it. i feel like everyone is looking at me thinking its a hoopty.

just bought a new one on ebay for 18$ tho. The stupid clips break all the time, anyone with a 00-02 with stock 16's knows what im talking about
 
I did the brakes a few weeks ago. 3 hours taking my time, upgraded to SS lines, new D/S rotors, and new pads.

On the rear brakes, I used a c-clamp to keep the downward pressure, and a pliers to twist the piston in. There were 2 of us, so one worked the c-clamp, while the other turned the piston. Took about 3-5 minutes per side. Remember to be patient. There were a couple times I almost lost it, since it seems to go so slow. But it does work.

That tool looks like it would make the job alot easier though.
 
Here is the easiest way to do it........use the old pad pushed up against the pistons.....this will give you an even distribution of pressure.....use a pair of pump pliers as your tool....wha la, no more blood blisters or cuts.

oh yeah....i did my front pads in 20 minutes.....both side. :D
 
You can do stuff like that with the fronts but unless you wanna do damage to the rear piston and its boot you need to screw it back in place.
 
JWerner2 said:
You can do stuff like that with the fronts but unless you wanna do damage to the rear piston and its boot you need to screw it back in place.
Click to expand...

alright, have not done the rears yet, i guess i will find out....i stand corrected.
 
Yeah the rears wont move at all if you try to just force them. They have to be spun and compressed at the same time because of the integrated parking brake.
 
Yes seriously, get the tool

I've done lots of brakes in the last 30 years, but the rear end on this car kicked my ass (until I got the tool). Autozone loaner is great no questions asked. Pick it up, bring it back, no charge. Buy one if you need to. Save yourself time and effort like everyone tells you. No bull. :D
 
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