i know theres a special tool you need to do this but i couldent find it at a local parts store ive had trouble getting one to compress and need help with this im also concerned about a motor mount or trans mount i can stand on the passenger side of my car and firmly put my hand on the intake if i grab the intake the motor actuall moves back towards me about 2 inches is this supposed to be normal or are one of my mounts giving away thanks and appreciate the info.

I wanna say, as far as the compressing, a basic c-clamp works, you just put the old brake pad on the side with the pistons, clamp on and go to town. May be a different vehicle I'm thinking of but I'm like 80% sure it was my Fiero. Just clamp down until you're at a point you're happy with.

Matthew

quote Originally posted by 86stealthfiero: i know theres a special tool you need to do this but i couldent find it at a local parts store ive had trouble getting one to compress and need help with this im also concerned about a motor mount or trans mount i can stand on the passenger side of my car and firmly put my hand on the intake if i grab the intake the motor actuall moves back towards me about 2 inches is this supposed to be normal or are one of my mounts giving away thanks and appreciate the info.

on an 84-87, the front calipers are compressed using a simple C-CLAMP that you can get for like $7.95 from your local Harbor Freight Tools or Home Depot or whatever.
The rears need to be rotated. There is a tool that you can buy from the Fiero Store for like $20 bucks that does this, or you can do it with a c-clamp that has a rotating face, and then a bunch of flat heads to try to turn it... or who knows....

But yeah, the rear calipers need to be rotated back in.

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Todd,
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convt. (Wife's)
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1981 EZ-GO Xi875-A "Miami Dolphins" Medical Cart
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter
1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 350

Check Ogre's Cave for how to compress the rear piston using a C-clamp. This is actually the preferred method and is the one shown in the GM brake recall bulletin. Some say you can't use that method on an 88 but I didn't find that to be true; works fine. The special tool is only needed to align the piston dents with the pad pins if needed once it's in the caliper. Many will tell you that's not the case, citing manuals that were printed before the procedure was changed. Do it whichever way you prefer but the C-clamp method is much easier and less likely to damage the seal or piston face. BTW, the piston can be extracted by using a wrench on the shaft once the brake lever is removed. No need for compressed air like on the front.

Motor movement is usually caused by worn dog bone bushings.

edit: Here's the proper way to reinstall the piston. Ogre's cave shows how to use a large socket over the actuator screw and a normal C-clamp rather than the special tool shown. The actuator lever must be removed when using this method.

[This message has been edited by spark1 (edited 08-07-2008).]

I used a pair of needle nosed pliers to rotate the pistons back into their bores on the rear calipers. worked fine as long as you're patient with it.

GM rear calipers are a huge pain in the ass. When you use some kind of clamp to push the pistons back into the caliper, the clamp has to spin the e-brake actuating screw in its thread to allow the piston to move. My method was developed while hunched over a wheel well on a Sunday night in a November drizzle, trying to get my daily driver ready for work on Monday. It's not as elegant as the rest, but it works.

Remove the E-brake actuating lever, and don't lose the nylon seal. With your fingers, screw the actuating screw almost all the way into the caliper. Using a c-clamp and a socket ( so the c-clamp won't contact the screw) push the piston back into the caliper. You'll find you can push it in as far as you screwed in the actuating screw. Repeat until the piston is bottomed in the caliper. Then reinstall the nylon seal & the actuating arm.

Another shade tree trick is to pull the piston in by using the actuator screw. Just put a washer over the screw and fasten a wrench onto the flats with the removed nut. This actually works well cause the force is centered on the piston but it’s not mentioned by GM as an approved method.

There is a special TOOl (Kent Moore)on ebay right now for the rear calipers. the twist to go back in. c-clamp for the front

quote Originally posted by Lou6t4gto: There is a special TOOl (Kent Moore)on ebay right now for the rear calipers. the twist to go back in. c-clamp for the front

It sold for $20. I was watching that auction.

A neat Tool, compressed & twisted at the same time. BUT, not really needed.

Do the rears as shown in my cave.... Unless your calipers have major problems it will work just fine. If it doesn't work then you're in desperate need of rear calipers.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top of every forum page...)

I just bought that tool a few days ago, it wasn't very usefull for rotating the piston as the 'tangs' on the tool are very small and kept slipping out of the piston notches.
In the end i just ended up using the clamp method which seemed to work fine even though the pistons didnt rotate.
Once compressed I rotated them by tapping with a hammer and flat screw driver at one of the notches it turened into position quite easily.

i just turned the pistons with the back of the brake pad that makes contact with the piston its much easier than buying a tool when the tool is already there.

quote Originally posted by Rafe Zetter: I just bought that tool a few days ago, it wasn't very usefull for rotating the piston as the 'tangs' on the tool are very small and kept slipping out of the piston notches. In the end i just ended up using the clamp method which seemed to work fine even though the pistons didnt rotate. Once compressed I rotated them by tapping with a hammer and flat screw driver at one of the notches it turened into position quite easily.

Fronts or rears? You either have to rotate the pistons, or the parking brake lever stud on the back for the REAR calipers. The front calipers only need to be compressed.

rears on the 88 i found this out after trying to compress them with a c-clamp and it slipping off and ruining the dust boot... FML any how ill be trying to rebuild all four calipers on my formula

For the rear. We use a special socket with prongs that will fit into the slots on the rear caliper piston face. Just grab a socket wrench and in less than a minute they are bottomed. Use of a C clamp and applying too much pressure can damage the caliper
If you attend Carlisle this month, you can pick up that socket head for about $5 at Sams tools who is at every show in a large open sided trailer.

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