Okay this might sound REALLY stupid but i am having a headache changing the pads on my '88 gta. I have the caliper off (it was a bitch to get off) and i'm putting the new pads in. THen when i try to slip the cliper over the rotor to bolt it back in it won't go because there isn't enough clearance between the pads for the rotor. I have compressed the piston as much i can with a c-clamp and its still not close at all. So i decide i'll do it another time and i stick the old pads back in there because i have to get to work tomorrow and i run into the same problem. The ebrake still works so i know the caliper isn't frozen. Maybe missing something really simple but i don't know. I've replaced brake pads many times before i never ran into this problem. I have to get to work tomorrow and i can't drive there with a missing brake pad...........

 

Make sure the pads are totally flush to where they sit in the caliper,I have been thru that many times.It is usually just one of the pads isn't sitting in the caliper fully causing that headache to happen.

 

Something about winding/screwing the calipers parking brake back into the caliper?

 

yes you have to rotate the piston to undo the adjustment made by the parking brake.

 

You know it's funny, I had the exact same problem today! I also put the old pads back so I could drive to work tomorrow! I could tell that the piston would not budge due to the Ebrake mechanism, but I assumed that it was me who was missing something, and that there was something else wrong. I didn't chech the manual cuz ...I mean...who needs the manual, it's just pads, right? To make a long story short, I did end up checking the manual once the wheels were back on, and sure enough, it seems to screw in. The man. recomends a certain tool. Anyone know a better way?

Learnin' something new every day!

 

If you don't want to cough up the $5 or so for the tool to screw the piston back in, you can take the e-brake lever off the back of the caliper to let the adjusting screw turn freely, and then use a C clamp or something similar to press the piston back in. (I find part of a steering wheel puller kit works pretty good).

 

What's this "tool"? any p/n's?

 

You can get a universal tool at just about any parts store. It looks like a small cube with bumps sticking out of the corners and holes in the faces for a 3/8" socket drive.