Brake piston blocked

[Farfalla]

Am trying to remove brake pads with pliers but brake piston is blocked - rusty and unused for a few years -
Any suggestions ?

[thomasryan]

if the rotor has a ridge around the perimeter, try sliding the caliper off leaving the pads on the rotor. odds are that you will need a new or working used caliper.

[944 Ecology]

Originally Posted by thomasryan

if the rotor has a ridge around the perimeter, try sliding the caliper off leaving the pads on the rotor. odds are that you will need a new or working used caliper.

Time for new calipers. Don't trust your life to brakes that will not work properly.

[DannoXYZ]

Try PB-blaster around the pistons. Will dissolve most things that cause that kind of lock-up. After getting pads out, push pistons out slightly by pressing on brake-pedal. Spray more PB-blaster around pistons and let soak. Wipe off gunk and hose off with brake-cleaner spray. Spray on some silicon lube and push pistons back in. If they don't slide smoothly, time to replace.

[Farfalla]

Thank you all guys for your suggestions : was thinking to put calipers down, sandblast them paint in red and mount again.
Unfortunately here in Sweden i can only find wd40 and i'll try with it to smooth piston

[wildcat077]

White vinegar will dissolve rust pretty quickly ... WD40 is at the low end of the rust removal agents.
Do a search on Google , all kinds of cheap home made recepies that work really well !

[Farfalla]

Originally Posted by wildcat077

White vinegar will dissolve rust pretty quickly ... WD40 is at the low end of the rust removal agents.
Do a search on Google , all kinds of cheap home made recepies that work really well !

Thanks vinegar and salt are certainly working better but aren't ther going to damage or dry the rubber gasket ?

[acar24]

Take the hub off and put it on the grill. turn till done.

[Farfalla]

Originally Posted by acar24

Take the hub off and put it on the grill. turn till done.

Nope i like it mine..RARE

[wildcat077]

If your piston is stuck , more than likely you will need a rebuild kit with new seals anyways !

[Spring44]

Originally Posted by Farfalla

Am trying to remove brake pads with pliers but brake piston is blocked - rusty and unused for a few years -
Any suggestions ?

Wow, there is a lot of rust under that car. Are you sure that you even want to try and save the caliper? I see heavy pitting and metal loss in it and the suspension strut.

Are the rotor, caliper and pads all seized together? If so, then you will have to remove the caliper mounting bolts and beat the caliper off with a hammer. Otherwise you can't remove the hub/rotor from the spindle.

Once you get the calipers off then you can assess whether or not they are salvable. If you can't remove the pistons with compressed air or any other way, you may have to drill a hole in the caliper castings at the approximate center of the pistons and drive them out with a drift pin. Then tap the hole for a tapered plug to reseal it. Now you can examine the bores and pistons for pitting and other problems.

I don't want to be a "little Debbie Downer" but I wouldn't count on being able to reuse these calipers.

[wildcat077]

Yikes ... i just noticed the rust as well , what does the rest of the car look like ?

[acar24]

the inside pad should pry straight out unless there is a large lip on the rotor. if it absolutely won't move, chisel away the brake material until it will. once you have the pad out, stomp on the brake to get the piston to move before taking off. heat applied to the caliper with small torch or hair drier. Or

[Farfalla]

Originally Posted by wildcat077

Yikes ... i just noticed the rust as well , what does the rest of the car look like ?

the rest f the car ...look for yourself...interior without a tear after 34 years ! dashboard included. I usually don't answer such ironical questions but some says irony is a weak sign of intelligence rust abunds on the left side of the car but i'd like to see what is left of yours if you leave it to snow, rain and sun for several years....

[wildcat077]

Chill out farfeller ... i was just concerned about the possible rust on the suspension parts.
Now , for your comment about "weak intelligence " , i will ironically leave for interpretation regarding your questions about that caliper ...

Good luck with your car !

[djnolan]

Whatever, but the caliper isn't going to move if the cap is on the master cylinder.

[Farfalla]

sold as is.....