Im changing my brakepads , I cant get the new pads to slip on the rotor , what am I doing wrong guys ?

Had similar problem, it was the calipers. wouldnt go back in far enough to put new pads on. what a pain. almost would go one but just not enough.

parts america has new remaned calipers for 9.99 each.

ahh but also check your rubber brake lines, soon after my left line locked. pressure would get through but not back out. sure was hard driving with the left front tire locked.

brake line 14.99

You need to collapse the caliper piston back into the bore. They make a tool for this....$5 at sears or just use a big pair of channellocks.

c-clamp always worked for me

The Cheap *** Way!

1)put on the pad that inserts into the pistion side of the caliper
2)leave other pad off
3)place claiper on rotor
4)pull against rotor like hell
5)remove caliper and quickly place outer pad in pace
6)quickly put caliper on rotor and bolt down

now your done and you didn't spend any money or put any foriegn objects into the pistion bore of your caliper

Thanx guys .

I use the c-clamp method, too. I take one of the old pads, and flip it around so the pad material faces the piston. Then I fit a c-clamp so the "fixed" jaw presses against the backing plate of the pad, and the movable jaw presses against the back of the caliper piston. Then I slowly tighten the clamp until the pad bottoms the caliper out.

Follow what TomP said, and also check fuild in the master, if it gets to high up, I use a new turkey baster and suck out the fluild (works great). Note: Brake fluild will damage paint . Once the pads are off, spray the area with compressed air. Do one side at a time, when one side is done, press your brake pedal to the floor a couples of times to set the pads and return fluid.

What ever you do make sure to clean off the sliding surface for the calipers. If you don't the caliper can seize up in one spot and wear one pad faster then the other. Be very carefull doing brake work. Sure it may seem like nothing at all, but trust me it is! One simple mistake could cause some serious consiquenses. Becarefull and take your time to do it right.

Oh yes and one last thing...make sure to pump up the brakes when finished, if you don't you will not have any braking power right away.

I feel like a big moron asking this question but ....whats exactly a "C-clamp" ?

Thanx as always for the help guys !

its ok!! Got your back....lol!

you know , I was wondering if thats what it was . but didnt think it was ...Thanx man !

bah a c clamp, that would get annoying, I just get a pair of my "plumbers" vice grips, and I do what tom said, get teh old pad and put it on teh piston and sqeeze!

Also when you are done don't forget to put some anti loc on there! I had that problem in tghe shop when I was working on a teachers infiniti, the garage that did it last didn't put any anti loc and brake sylicone boy that was a biotch!

C-clamp is actually a really good idea.

I just always take a small pry bar and gently applay pressure between the rotor and the caliper till its back far enough and then put it back together.

But That C-clamp Idea sounds like a must try.

Wheels & car supported off ground.
Before ya remove the bolts holding caliper to wheel, insert a BIG LONG STRONG screwdriver between pad & rotor & move the brake pad back towards the calipers.
Then loosen the caliper bolts to front wheel.
Slip pads out & insert new ones.
Keep other side "intact" for inspection of "How it should" look, before lowering car.
Yep, pump brakes after this job, til ya feel resistance.
PS You will exert ALOT of force to return piston into caliper housing. Expect that.
AND you kinda can't break "anything", as the parts are being replaced.

i just put the pad back on the caliper and use a pry-bar or flathead screwdriver to push it back in...but at car parts for 30 bucks each you can get loaded calipers...they have the pads and a new caliper all you gotta do is replace the calipers then bleed the front breaks...easy

Thanx for all the help guys . I used "Karl's method" Money is extremly tight right now with Christmas so I thought Id save my money and not buy a tool . I just went and drove the car in the neighborhood to test it out , I tell you guys , I didnt realize how bad my front pads were , I have good brakes again !

Glad to have helped make it that easy.
It kinda is, compared to drum brakes.
I can't stand working on drum brakes.......
The best working brakes is the cheapest auto insurance you can buy.
ALWAYS.

Yeah , Ive heard drums are a PITA ...I dont wanna touch those until I REALLY know what Im doing with them . And then I still may pay a proffesional to do that ......What is the "proper" break in procedure for my front pads ?

Thanx again Karl !

And thanx guys !

Drums should be left to someone with experience. As for the break in procedure, don't go around slamming the brakes on, let the pads work in softly. After a day or two of normal driving you should be fine.

What pads ya use (composition!)
Did you remove rotors to turn? I do not believe you did, correct?
IF NOT,
Raise car, go get a SMALL pad surface sanding disc, start sanding the disc surface to remove the previous built up glazing.
DO THIS TO BOTH SIDES!
OR
Do your brakes again to add, this time, removing rotors for re-surfacing
OR ya get lucky, like I have & just run the car.
Brake it this way
AND ADD CORRECTIONS, PLEASE!
Go find empty raod.
Get up to 40MPH, then step on brakes, but not lock them, do this several times
Again, I've done this trick/process w/o re-surfacing SOME vehicles rotors.
I've gotten lucky & others, not so, too!

i do drum breaks all the time at the shop...
the real trick is to do one side at a time, that way you can use the other side as a map or guide...then take the shoes off and lay them on the ground, still connected at all...then disconnect the shoes and while looking at the one that is correct...and make the breaks look identical to the other side...the hardest part is the E-brake cable...and thats not too hard...just whatever you do...dont lose the "oh $hit clip" (holds the e-brake arm in place on the shoe) if ya lose that you say "oh $hit im F'ed"

also i know napa shaves rotors for real cheap or bring em to a garage and get them shaved...if they are warped expect to pay 40 each for new hubbed rotors

Man, this is why I love the v6 section! Look at the friendliness! 20+ people to answer one guys question.

hahahahhahahaha :sillylol:

Karl ,
I have bendex pads ! ....Grandfather always liked those pads , so thats what I got ! I think I will just take my chances . I have alot of stuff to do right now .Maybe in a few weeks when things settle down I will take the time to do it though .

On my Firebird, I have yet to take off rotor for turing & three sets of pads, just thrown on.
I keep getting lucky.
I do know I gotta remove the rotors for doing it right.

just hope that those rotors arent warped or to thin...we cut mine to try to see if i could still manage with them, and we cut them too thin which gave me a really bad vibration and a hard pull to the left.
if i were you, id go safe and just get new rotors.

My 1985 S-10 Blazer (211,500 mi.),
still has the original rotor.
I screwed up on one and......

FYI
Blazer front ROTORS are the same as the 3rd gen Fbody.
Obviously the 2wd version.
Calipers are the same, too.
Brake hoses, "same" but different (maybe length?)
Pads are different part numbers & I still can't figure out why.
Haven't had a chance NOR DESIRE to remove my Blazer or F body brake pads & discover why....

the 2wd verson yea, the 4wd has diff. rotors...
the calipers...the only difference is where the break line connects to the caliper...thus the difference for length in the break line in that spot...hubbed rotors still cost alot...the pads are identical, and the caliper is identical except that on little part.

I stand corrected.
Except on pads,
I challenged the parts counter computer for that detail.
The computer called out two different part numbers for the pads.

Wow, that's gotta be tight; a C-clamp's about $3. Just playin around! Actually I think $3 would get you a small c-clamp.. you might want a bigger one for more leverage (easier to turn the... uh.. the lever? what the hell's that part called?? Anyway...) We have a Huge sucker that we use for the brakes. While the caliper's on the car, we remove the caliper bolts, then slip the c-clamp over the caliper (so the back of the c-clamp presses against the back of the caliper piston bore) and tighten the clamp. Then we remove the c-clamp, remove the caliper, flip a pad over, and compress the piston the rest of the way.

I use Bendix brakes, too... good 'ol part # MKD154! Once, I was broke as hell... bought the cheapest generic pads I could. Did the brakes, everything okay, drove around for a few months. One day, I'm racing some guy on a highway (yep, you can tell this was a long time ago! ~1996), winning of course and I come up on my exit. So I do my "usual", which was cutting across all three lanes, and flying into the exit ramp- it was a long exit ramp, with a sharp turn at the end, so I always had plenty of time to stop.

That is, always had time to stop- Except for this time! Midway down the ramp, the car stops slowing down, and I smell burning brakes. Yep, those cheap pads heated up and left me with nuthin'. I had to downshift and pull the e-brake, and managed to slow down just in time for that curve... the brakes cooled down by then and I was able to use 'em again, but man, I was shaking for a while after that.

That's when I found out that Bendix (and other Name brands!) have special backing pads that are thicker and can pull heat away from the pad material- and the pad material is also anti-heat. So never again have I bought cheap pads... always the Bendix. Oh yeah, just remembered; that BS brand was "metalazer". Sure I saved $9 (IIRC, it was $21 Bendix vs $12 Metalazer) but I coulda killed myself ... the extra $9 is definately worth it!! And I've never (ever!) had a problem with Bendix.