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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / January 2005Need help changing front pads on 1998
I went to change my front brake pads on my 1998 maxima and had trouble getting the caliper to fit over the new pads. The pads fit perfectly in their place, but I am not sure how to uncompress the "piston?". Do I need to bleed the brakes or is there an easy way to get what I think is the "piston?" to open up and fit over the new pads? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Ryan93LWB A real big c-clamp. You press over the entire assembly with the old pads still in place (clamping the cylinder side of the caliper, both pads, and rotor) - this will push in the piston and create an opening that will leave room for the new pads. I think mine is a standard sears 10" c-clamp, and it just barely fits over the caliper. Consider the next size up, as long as the clamp faces aren't much larger. Dave > I went to change my front brake pads on my 1998 maxima and had trouble > getting the caliper to fit over the new pads. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thanks, > Ryan93LWB You can use a 5 inch c-clamp if you go ahead and pull the caliper off the pads first. Lay one of the old pads across the piston and tighten the clamp. Be sure before you push in the piston, to remove the cap on the fluid reservoir, and then watch the fluid to make sure you don't push it out the top and make a mess (very bad for the paint). You may need to remove some fluid from the reservoir in this process. Don't forget to put the cap back on as soon as possible to avoid moisture accumulation. JM what ever you do ... DON'T push the brake caliper piston in without opening the bleeder screw on the caliper first. the reason for that is because if you don't you will be forcing old contaminated brake fluid that has been sitting at the lowest point in the in the brake hydraulic back up into the steel and rubber brake lines and possibly up into the master cylinder or the ABS servo where it could cause real problems. first open the bleeder. bottom the caliper piston in it's bore. close bleeder, and install it on the torque member > I went to change my front brake pads on my 1998 maxima and had trouble > getting the caliper to fit over the new pads. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thanks, > Ryan93LWB 1. I am assuming that if I open the bleeder nipple that fluid will shoot out when I press the caliper? 2. Do I just tighten the nipple immediately after the caliper is fully depressed? 3. Do I need to have the cap off the reservoir before pushing the caliper? 4. Finally, once the caliper is ready to be put back on the rotor, do I need to bleed the brakes? Thanks for all the help thus far. Ryan Well, I changed the pads this weekend. Everything went well except for one issue. The brake pedal is not soft when the motor is running and stiff when the motor is off. I would prefer to have more pressure in the pedal. Does this mean that I allowed air to get into the line? Do I need to bleed the line now? The reservoir is at the correct level. Any thoughts? Thanks 1) you probably got air in the lines 2) never a bad idea to bleed the brakes, and to replace the fluid entirely. You will need a helper to apply pedal pressure while you open/close the bleeders and keep the reservoir topped off. Dave > Well, I changed the pads this weekend. Everything went well except for one > issue. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Any thoughts? > Thanks Just in case someone else needed this info: when I replaced the pads on my wife's Maxima, I had to use a special tool to compress the piston back into the caliper housing. This tool has a couple of pins on the pressed side that fits in a couple of v-groove on the piston, so that as it is pressed in it also rotates the piston inward. (On other cars I've worked on, the piston simply moves in with just a pressure, no rotation is needed). > Just in case someone else needed this info: when I replaced the pads on my > wife's Maxima, I had to use a special tool to compress the piston back [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > on, the piston simply moves in with just a pressure, no rotation is > needed). That applies to rear disc brakes, not front. I think this is true for most all cars that have 4 wheel disc brakes. Dave |
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