I have a huuge problem. I was going to replace the brake pads on the rear brakes on my Honda Civic 1.4 is. After removing the caliper there is just no way that I can get that piston to move back in. I got my wife to push the brakes to see if the piston was moving at all - which it obviously did - pushing it even more out. Making bad things worse. On youtube it seems so easy to push it back in. Has anyone experienced this. Does the piston lock somehow. The car is in neutral with handbrake off. I tried a wrench and I tried a c-clamp (hope that is spelled right).
Did you remove the top of the brake fluid reservoir? You may have a full reservoir which will keep the piston from moving back. It’s a common DIY mistake. A c-clamp should move the piston easily after that. Make sure to use a shop towel on the reservoir top because there could be pressure there.
Thanks for the answer - yeah I removed the top of that fluid reservoir - but I read somewhere that there is a thing called “threaded” rear brake pistons. The problem thought is that I am norwegian and I really do not quite understand what this means. If I have no more luck tonight - trying some other tools - I will lie awake tornmenting myself all night - and call Honda tomorrow morning. My wife just said - why did you do this - you know you can’t fix cars. So - that was another good reason not to give this up.
The rear brakes have the parking brake build in to the caliper as well on some cars. In those situations the piston has to be rotated in. Kind of like screwing the piston back in the bore. Look for notches or dimples on the piston itself. These are to attach a tool to help rotate the piston in. I’ve been able to do it with some pliers. Try long nose pliers or whatever you can think of to rotate the piston.
Just remember to loosen the bleeder screw before you screw it in, otherwise it won’t go anywhere. Loosen the screw and put a hose on it to drain. You won’t be able to push the fluid back up into the master cylinder.
On rear disc brake cars (most of them) the piston must be screwed back in as it’s pushed.
The piston is threaded onto a shaft.
Any piston that has a large slot in it or a couple of notches on the perimeter, etc. must be rotated.
Thanks so much guys. I will give this a try tomorrow morning. That will be an exciting day. I was just out in the garage - and yes the whole top of the piston looks like the top of a screw - with a deep cross in it. So you are probably right on - that it has to be screwd back in. But should I turn clockwise or counterclockwise; is it like screwing in a regular screw ?