How to turn rear break caliper with tool??????????
 

Hi guys, (c30 2009 1.6d)

As you've probably guessed from the title...

Trying to change rear pads & disks, bought a caliper rewind tool kit, but cant for the life of me get the bloody thing to wined in. So far managed about 1/4 turn. It doesn't help being suspended from a bunji cord. Ive even tried clamping it in place and using an extendable wrench to get better leverage, but Im dicing with danger there because I'll end up breaking the pipes, because cant clamp it firmly enough.
If the caliper was completely removed Id stand a better chance, but that means break fluid everywhere doesn't it?
I wish someone had told me what a **** of a job this is, then I might have just stumped up the £280 to the garage.
Anyone got any advice how to wined the caliper back in? Short of taking it to the garage. Although wheels off now so cant even drive it lol

If it's got an electric handbrake then the motor needs to be removed and the shaft manually wound back OR (better in my opinion) the motor needs to be would back using a PP3 battery.

Check you are trying to turn the piston the right way, not all are a standard right hand thread

Ye it was righthand thread... and Oh shoot, I hope it hasn't got an electric motor, as thats the first Ive heard lol.
Straight after posting this I went back to it and the bloody thing turned didnt it, pretty easy as well because I could turn it with some bull nosed pliers. I tried them first and bent them initially lol.

So thats all sorted now. Second nightmare was getting the pins back in the caliper, OMG! I was using grips, hammer, lots of grease and Irwin clamp to get the bastards back through the rubber sock.

Now to top of a **** day Ive gone and snapped my locking wheel nut when putting the wheel back on, over tightening again. Thats going to be a challenge getting that off now! :shocked:

If the pins are really tight you may need to take the rubbers off and give the caliper a wire brush where they fit in.
I found on mine that the caliper had corroded and effectively pushed the rubbers in so they gripped the pins tight and caused some brake drag.

Its good to get the car as high up off the ground as you can (SAFELY supported with axle stands of course) so that you can better maneuver yourself within in the wheelarch area.

How do you take the rubber off? I was thinking this today but it didn't look like it came off without damaging it.

Got to do the other one tomorrow, but think it'll go a bit easier now I know what Im doing.

Mine were knackered anyway so I just pulled them out with pliers and replaced with new.

(I'm going to assume firstly that the caliper is free from the hub, that the handbrake is off and you've got the cap off the brake fluid reservoir).
It sounds to me like the piston is very tight in the bore, hence why it wont turn. Usually thats new caliper time. However, sometimes the flexible hose can break down and prevent fluid movement. Next try cracking the bleed nipple open and see if the piston retracts more easily. If it doesn't you're back to replacing the caliper, if it does, try replacing the flexible hose.

With the pliers you can get it to turn but it's very hard to do the turning and pushing motion at the same time which is what the caliper rewind tool does.

Did you have the master cylinder cap open while doing this? If not all of that pressure would have been working against you.

If you did then the piston in the caliper itself may have been very stiff or seized, mine wasn't that hard to get turning with the tool.