sm

I was able to remove the outer-rear-driver's side brake pad, but the inner one just didn't budge <img border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" title="" src="graemlins/cussing.gif" /> . I shot brake cleaner at it, tapped it with a rubber mallet and screwdriver, sprayed some PB Blaster on the sides of the pads where it contacts the caliper, tapped it some more and I STILL couldn't squeeze the pistons/pad back with a set of channel locks. Before I broke anything, I decided to just let it soak in some more PB Blaster overnight and give it a shot tomorrow.

On my way home, I was wondering if the pistons might be stuck in the extended position some how? The rotor turns, so that's not a cause of whatever the problem is. Should I try to remove the whole caliper and take the pad out that way? Has anyone experienced stuck pistons before?

Thanks in advance.

qoncept944

There's a tab in the brackets of the caliper, I bet its just stuck on that. Taking the caliper off isn't all that much work, so if you need to, go for it.

special tool

yeah - just pop he caliper off to see what is going on. 2 bolts - 3 minutes.

<img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />

IceWater

The other possibility (if your brakes are like the 968's) is that the calipers have corroded under the stainless steel plates and squeezed them together. This is a fairly common problem, especially after winter driving because of road salt. If that's what's happening, you'll have to take off the calipers and pound the pads out. Then, you can either file/machine the new pads so they fit, or fix the calipers (can be a pain in the ***...the bolts that hold the stainless steel plates on usually require some serious heat to get them out).

Hope that helps,
Tom

Luis de Prat

sm, before you go taking calipers off your car, I would try scraping in front of the old pads with a flathead screwdriver. I just did the pads on my S2 and found that a slight amount of grit was enough to keep them from sliding out.

I kept spraying brake cleaner and scraping the area clean until they came out. Another thing I noticed is that I had to incline them at a certain angle for them to come out, or they wouldn't budge.

Derek H

On the 968, 944S2, and IIRC, the early (non-turbo S) 951, the calipers are virtually identical. The pads should have vibration dampers stuck to their backing plates. These are like pressed metal cones that push into the open ends of the pistons. This makes it impossible to remove the pads unless the calipers are removed, because, unless the pads are very worn, the pads will be up against the rotor before the vibration dampers are clear of the pistons, even after pushing the pistons back into the caliper.

cheers
Derek

Luis de Prat

Derek is correct. I assumed that sm either a) had already separated the dampers from the pads or b) didn't have them installed at all, as is the case with many aftermarket brake jobs.

In any case, if he got one pad out, he must have seen whether the dampers were present or not. My car only had them in the front. PO's mechanic passed on replacing the rears.

I did all 16 of the suckers. You need needle nosed pliers to check the piston gaps and fit them in. They come in 4 different sizes, too!

sm

Thanks guys, but I can't press the brake *pistons* back at all. Is that a result of the brake pad being rusted onto the metal tabs in the caliper and not allowing anything to move? If so, does this mean that that brake pad never touched the rotor when I applied the brakes?

MHT

sm, How even was the wear on the pads? If they were worn to the same extent then your calipers are probably OK. It is possible for the pistons to get cocked in the bore and get stuck, if this happens then they will not move until you straighten them out. If there are dampers stuck to the back of the pads you may be able to separate them from the pads with a putty knife or something similar. If the pads were stuck or corroded in place the problem would be that they would not release or retract from the rotor after brake application. The force generated when you step on the pedal is tremendous. The force exerted to retract them from the rotor is very small, basically the brakes would be dragging all the time.