Very Stuck Piston on PS brake Caliper (1 Viewer)

[crappyone]

I'm having a hell of a time trying to compress the lower inside
piston of my PS brake caliper.
I was able to compress all other pistons with no problem, but
that certain one has been locked up for awhile apparently.
I've tried sticking a small vise on it and cranked the s*** outta
it and it's still not budging. I've been putting some PB breakaway
(it's called something like that) on it for a few days.
Honestly I don't know squat about vehicles, but am learning.
Had a friend helping me on this, but he only wants to help when
he wants to help apparently and I need this vehicle fixed as I have a family.
I'm not sure what to do now. Also my rotors got some rust on them from
being exposed for so long to the weather. So what can I do about that too?

So my problems being I have alittle rust on my rotors and I can not for
the life of me get that last piston compressed.
Any help I could get would be very much appreciated.
Thank you

 

[d0ubledown]

did you try putting the caliper back on with the rotor, and using a pry bar? has worked for me before. or you can try pumping the brake pedal a few times to see if it can break free. of course try it with no pads in the calipers.

as for rust, is it on the rotor surface? dont worry about it as once its back together...it will just all wear off as the brake is used.

 

[YOTAFAN]

I've had this same problem on two different occasions. I could not get the one piston to go in while the caliper was still on. Once I took the caliper off and turned it upside down, the piston went right in without any fuss. Not sure why this worked, but again, if it worked for me twice, why not give it a try.

 

[96r50]

Be careful that the piston is not cocked at a angle to the cylinder. It doesn't take much of a misalignment to get one jammed.

 

[Tools R Us]

If it is misaligned, it sometimes helps to put the old pads back in and pump the brakes a few times. This will straighten the piston in the bore, then try again. If it's stuck because of rust, most times your better off with a rebuilt caliper or they tend to leak.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Some rust on rotors wont hurt.All of the above were ood ideas try them.Use a large C clamp also. Mike

 

[Elijah]

Leave the pad in and use a HUGE c-clamp on the pad and the opposite side of the caliper, it'll push both of the pistons in equally. At least that's what I always find to work for me. Do not worry about the surface rust on the face of the rotor.

 

[kidglove13]

I had the same problem about a month ago. I drained alot of the brake fluid off and actually took the piston out cleaned up the rubber gasket and piston and put alittle lube on her and she went in, it was still tight but she went in and all was good. After brake job refilled system and bled the brakes it worked out for me.

 

[crappyone]

Wow thank you much for all the advice.
We first tried with caliper on Rotor and with a screwdriver (that worked on all the others)
and then a pry bar. The thing wouldn't even budge.
A "C" clamp kept sliding off the other side of caliper. So I found a small Vise.
I've popped the top on my Brake fluid too.
I have Caliper off with it upside down. I've tried using the vise with it like that.
It's been stuck for awhile. My brake pads were worn out at an angle. It won't
move either if I pump the brakes.
I think I'll go measure around the sides to see if it's cock-eyed or something.
Thank you again for the advice.

 

[Elijah]

All else fails, get a rebuild kit, OEM parts of course. Or get a rebuilt caliper. Easy to rebuild and even easier just to swap the whole caliper for a reman.

 

[crappyone]

Yeah I'm trying not to do that. I have absolutely no money right now.

Ok I looked at some rebuilt kits and noticed they weren't that much, but
in order to do the kit I'll need to get that piston out and the problem is
I can't get it to budge.
Would taking the caliper apart and hitting the piston with a sledge (with
2x4 over pistons of course) do more bad then good?
If I did that I'd need to bleed the brakes and that's could be some
whole new problems couldn't it?

 

[PHIL O]

crappyone, before you give up (and it looks like you have tried almost everything except one), why dont you heat it up with an acetylene torch. but just enough to loosen the piston from the caliper's rubber ring. too much heat will damage the caliper though. if you have some doubt about this, let the guys at the machine shop do it for you. i do this if all other techniques fail. this is how i do my service my calipers.
1. take off pads and brake hose.
2. blow compressed air through brake hose slot (pistons usually pop out effortlessly)
3. if #2 fails, put brake hose back and pump brake fluid till pistons pop out. (messy though)
4. if #2 and #3 fails, i'd take them to the machine shop and have the guys heat it up with acetylene torch. (always works)
here's some photos of a badly rusted and stuck up piston that wont come loose until they heated it up. and its back on the truck working fine with new pistons
here you could see that i tried almost everything (compressed air, wd40, prying off with tools, etc)

 

[kidglove13]

Have you tried holding in the other pistons and then pumping the brake padel to get it to pop out?
That is what I did, it is messy but it worked.
Then I just inspected the piston, cleaned it up really good, drained off alot of brake fluid and re-installed piston and it right back in with a little work. No matter what you will have to bleed the brakes and it is just time comsuming to get them right.
It also depends on how corroded the piston is, mine was pretty clean so I did not need to replace or rebuild.

 

[crappyone]

Cool thanks for that Phil.
I'm going to try taking a 5lb hammer to it first. I don't have a torch
and I'm sure if I took it somewhere they'd charge me for it and I
honestly don't have any money to spend right now.
Thanks again.

 

[PHIL O]

no worries. just dont give it a direct hit with the hammer. i use a slab of wood to soften the blow. as you can see in the attachment, i use the board of wood to hit the caliper on.just pound the caliper on the wood and let gravity help pull the piston off.may take some time and sore your hands though

 

[crappyone]

Would a Toyota dealership be the best place to get a Caliper Rebuild kit?
I believe he told me they're about $35.

 

[PHIL O]

OEM is the best for our landcruisers. Front caliper kits are almost twice the price of the rear. here, it cost me $16 plus (converted from peso) for the rear and $26 for the front

 

[Tools R Us]

Would a Toyota dealership be the best place to get a Caliper Rebuild kit?
I believe he told me they're about $35.

On other Toyota rigs I have used aftermarket (IIRC Gates brand) with good results. But it sounds like your going to need a rebuilt caliper? Most times, when stuck as tight as your explaining, even if removed, there is enough corrosion where it wont seal even with a new kit.

 

[alia176]

Rather than forcing the piston back in, I'd take the caliper out of the vehicle and push the piston out by using compressed air. Then clean up the pistons and bores with a fine emery cloth and then put the piston back in nice and square. Be sure to place a wood to "catch" the piston as it flies out at 100 mph out of the bore using compressed air so exercise extreme caution when you do this.

A rebuild kit is somewhere less than $20 for the front end I think but all it has are new rubber boots, snap rings and little bit piston grease. You should be able to cheaply "rebuild" your calipers by reusing the old stuff after all has been cleaned up, not ideal but you gotta do what you gotta do. By separating the piston out of the bore, you also are able to drain the crappy brake fluid out and perhaps clean out the bleeder nipple as well. I don't know if your bleeder nipple is rusted shut or not but it's worth mentioning.

good luck.

 

[crappyone]

Well O'reilly's had a caliper for $47, so I just decided to get that.
I put it on and thought I bleed all the air out of line.
I stopped getting bubbles and I was seeing clean fresh fluid.
I've never bled brakes before, but looked online and it looked simple.
It took my wife and I about an Hour and half to bleed all the air out.
But when after I put everything back together and went for test drive
the brake petal would go to the floor until brakes worked.
I had hose hooked up to bleeder valve.
I would tell wife to push the petal half way down then I would open
valve and tell her to push the rest of the way down, then I would close valve
and tell her she could let up.
After each time I would tap/hit the caliper (well a 2x4 on the caliper) with a hammer
to help move air up to to bleeder.
And like I said after I didn't see air bubbles for about 5 times I figured it was safe.
So what did I do wrong?
Do I just lift truck back up and do that again and see if I see air bubbles?
Thanks