Turbodan

on the 951 I am in the process of changing out the old pagid yellow pads for new on the front big red brakes, I got the pads out on passenger side no problem but I removed both pads and was distracted by my wife, she had to go out so I had to take a break to watch the kiddies...anyways now all 4 pistons are extended and I can't seem to relaease them to slide in the new pads. I also started bleeding the brakes and have the motiv bleeder hooked up but the top is loose so no pressure. should I release the bleeder valves on the caliper and remove the motive bleeder and try? that is what I am thinking. going to get back to it in the am. also since the pads are out already should I use a screwdriver gently or a prybar or something else? my channel locks can't get in there as the pistons are extended.
thanks in advance for any help if any of you have experienced this. I did a search and found that I shouldn't have taken both pads out at the same time, but not what to do now.

VanhireBoys

I had this issue in my 87 tubo which is the same as an S2 caliper.. Black ! I released the bleed nipples top and bottom and the pistons went back no problem for me...! Are the pistons touching the brake disc ? If they are you might be better to take the calipers off the car altogether but remember to clamp the flexible brake hose or your wife wont appreciate brake fluid all over the garage floor...!

Tedro951

If you started using the motive without pads in the caliper, its going to be difficult to slide something in between the rotor and pistons, but probably not impossible. Obviously you'll want to remove the motive, then maybe loosen the caliper bolts to enable some slight wiggle to get enough room to get a putty knife or similar in there.

You mentioned "shouldn't have taken both pads out at the same time"... I'm not sure what that means, but its not that complicated. Just bleed the brakes after the new pads are installed.

Turbodan

thanks for the comments so far.
I removed the motive bleeder, opened the brake fluid reservoir, loosened both bleeders on the caliper and removed the caliper (brake line still attached) and still can't get the pistons to go back in. what am I doing wrong here?

pontifex4

This is surprising. Did anything come out when you loosened the bleeders? I can't understand why they would still be under pressure. It might be worth backing one of the bleeders completely out and putting a little pressure on the piston, if you haven't already.

jerome951

The pistons can't have any angle in the bores when trying to retract them if they've been extended real far. You'll have to play around w/ the piston angle until you find the happy spot then they should retract with some force (i.e. hard thumb pressure).

Don't use a tool to retract them as you could damage the inner 0-ring. You may find it easier to remove the caliper from the car to do this. When I rebuilt my calipers, getting the pistons back in the bores was the most frustrating part of the job.

RC713

I have used a "C" clamp to get brake caliper pistons back into the body of the caliper. As stated in one of the responses, crack the bleeders to give the fluid somewhere to go and put some hose on the nipple to prevent fluid from flying all over your garage. Also I would recommend using a small pice of wood to prevent the metal of the clamp from damaging the piston.

Tedro951

+1 on getting the angle right for the pistons to slip in. Some slide right back in, some need a little extra persuasion. Strong thumbs and some wiggling should do it.

Turbodan

thanks guys.

I took the caliper off after the pistons won't go back and took it to my mechanic and he will change the seals and see if it needs the rebuild kit. now I am going to take the other one off to take to him to inspect as well.
really appreciate the input.