4 piston brake caliper question

[1 Lucky Texan]

I'm trying to stretch my stock pads out for cooler weather but need to
put new pads on soon. Materil's getting thin.

I've never had a non-sliding caliper vehicle before. Any tricks to
pushing the pistons in on an 06 WRX wagon? Don't see how a C clamp
would work but I haven't had anything disassembled yet so.....

thanx

 

[S]

Hi Carl!

I'm trying to stretch my stock pads out for cooler weather but need to
put new pads on soon. Materil's getting thin.

I've never had a non-sliding caliper vehicle before. Any tricks to
pushing the pistons in on an 06 WRX wagon? Don't see how a C clamp
would work but I haven't had anything disassembled yet so.....

thanx

Hmmmm. I've never done one, but here's what I'd try:

First, see if you can't get the caliper to pivot away from the rotor
by removing one of the mounting bolts. Otherwise, remove both bolts
and the caliper. When you do this with a regular ol' floating caliper,
the pads stay in the holder, which makes replacement easy. With the
non-floating, who knows . . .

Anyway, use one of the old pads and a "C" clamp to compress the
pistons on one side of the caliper. Hopefully the opposite set of
pistons will stay put, but if they try to extend as you compress the
others, you will have to fit a second clamp to hold 'em in.

From there, the rest of the job should be pretty much business as
usual.

When you get 'er done, write back and let us know how things went!

ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[1 Lucky Texan]

Hi Carl!





Hmmmm. I've never done one, but here's what I'd try:

First, see if you can't get the caliper to pivot away from the rotor
by removing one of the mounting bolts. Otherwise, remove both bolts
and the caliper. When you do this with a regular ol' floating caliper,
the pads stay in the holder, which makes replacement easy. With the
non-floating, who knows . . .

Anyway, use one of the old pads and a "C" clamp to compress the
pistons on one side of the caliper. Hopefully the opposite set of
pistons will stay put, but if they try to extend as you compress the
others, you will have to fit a second clamp to hold 'em in.

From there, the rest of the job should be pretty much business as
usual.

When you get 'er done, write back and let us know how things went!

ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

I was afraid there wouldn't be clearance for a C-clamp. Now I think of
it, probably not much diffrence than a sliding caliper I guess....
And, since I plan to flush the fluid, perhaps opening the bleeder will
prevent the other side from moving. Like you, I assume I can leave a
bolt in and swing it up/down. If not, I have used a coathanger or
twine to suspend it safely. makes the process more 'fiddly' but it
works.

 

[S]

Hey Carl!

I was afraid there wouldn't be clearance for a C-clamp. Now I think of
it, probably not much diffrence than a sliding caliper I guess....
And, since I plan to flush the fluid, perhaps opening the bleeder will
prevent the other side from moving. Like you, I assume I can leave a
bolt in and swing it up/down. If not, I have used a coathanger or
twine to suspend it safely. makes the process more 'fiddly' but it
works.

If you don't mind losing fluid, you can probably compress the pistons
by hand with the bleeder off.

I have one of those power bleeder things that pressurize the fluid
reservoir. It's really a nice tool for bleeding brake lines. (And
hydraulic clutches as well.) 'Bout my only complaint is that I don't
use it often enough to justify keeping it full of fluid, and cleaning
it is a pain. Sure makes the job go smooth, tho.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[johninky]

Had brakes from an 02 WRX on my XT6 and don't recall there being
pistons on both sides of the caliper. When I change pads, I always
open the bleeder because I don't want to force fluid back to the MC
and a large screwdriver has always worked for me in compressing the
pistons. Once the caliper is swung away from the rotor and insert the
screwdriver between the pads and insert the tip of the screwdriver in
the rotor's "vents".

 

[mulder]

Had brakes from an 02 WRX on my XT6 and don't recall there being
pistons on both sides of the caliper. When I change pads, I always
open the bleeder because I don't want to force fluid back to the MC
and a large screwdriver has always worked for me in compressing the
pistons. Once the caliper is swung away from the rotor and insert the
screwdriver between the pads and insert the tip of the screwdriver in
the rotor's "vents".

02 WRX front brakes are 2-piston sliding caliper.