Brake Help

[Stickman]

Replaced rears 2 months ago w/ same, new centric calipers, rotors & stoptech street pads. Result was no longer excellent stopping as I had before.

Was going to replace front w/ new rotors and stoptech street pads (vs posiquiests which stopped great), but centric 2 yr calipers were stuck, so replaced calipers w/ autozone, put front pads and rotor back on. And bled all lines.

Now stops even worse w/ much more pedal and mushy pedal.

Mechanic had assistant hold brakes down w/ engine off. front wheels are tight. rears can be turned w/ effort.
He thinks newer rears haven't been engaging tightly, which would account for poor stopping after rear replacement.

1) do front old centric calipers have more closing force than new autozone?
2) what would cause new rear calipers to not engage tightly?

Can't keep dropping money and getting worse results.

Help

 

[zhy]

hey mate, I just did the brakes on all 4 sides and here's what I think.
the rear calipers have a gear that you need to turn in order to push the piston forward or back. it can be accessed by removing the bolt that lines up with the piston behind the caliper
get an allen wrench and turn those clock-wise, and then the piston will slide foward.
you can test if you adjusted it right with the e-brake.. turn the gear forward, pull the ebrake, wheels cant be turned with hands... pull ebrake off, wheels should be loose
thats what I did, works perfectly
also, when you finished adjusting, touch the rotors once in a while and compare the front with the rear.. if theres an imbalance between the front & rear and pads would can worn out uneven

 

[Stickman]

hey mate, I just did the brakes on all 4 sides and here's what I think.
the rear calipers have a gear that you need to turn in order to push the piston forward or back. it can be accessed by removing the bolt that lines up with the piston behind the caliper
get an allen wrench and turn those clock-wise, and then the piston will slide foward.
you can test if you adjusted it right with the e-brake.. turn the gear forward, pull the ebrake, wheels cant be turned with hands... pull ebrake off, wheels should be loose
thats what I did, works perfectly
also, when you finished adjusting, touch the rotors once in a while and compare the front with the rear.. if theres an imbalance between the front & rear and pads would can worn out uneven

Yup, The rears are adjusted correctly w/ the allen screw. It just seems they don't grab well. The guy that installed 2 months ago didn't know about the allen screw and tried to press the calipers open when he replaced the pads, until I showed him the allen screws. maybe he wrecked the calipers, though I don't think so.

 

[Cosmic Wonder]

Good chance the rears are damaged...

Quoted from another thread:

DO NOT DO THIS ON A PROTEGE

IT WILL DAMAGE THE REAR CALIPERS


BAD INFO FTMFL Man..

Take off the cap
Use an Allen Key to Relax the Adjuster and it will go in without any force at all (Or braking a part because you are a giant nOOb)

 

[Jordysoso]

^ Brian knows his s*** too. I'd say the guy you had put them on, damaged the rear calipers.

 

[Cosmic Wonder]

Exactly. I figure if Brian said it there's a very good chance it's correct.

 

[Stickman]

​

Exactly. I figure if Brian said it there's a very good chance it's correct.

They are all weighing in on you, Brian.
Is there any way I can test before dropping another $200, $160 plus labor?
Thanks

 

[tweety2300]

Do it yourself it's pretty simple to do.

 

[Stickman]

Do it yourself it's pretty simple to do.

I believe you. since they just have been changed out, everything should come loose easily.
Need someone to walk me through. Virginia is too far to drive.

Do you know of anyway I can test the ones on, before I drop more $$$ ?

Thanks.