Depress rear brake caliper?

[Cleric]

Yesterday I changed the driver's side rear pads, and simply using an allen wrench to turn the adjuster screw worked, but it started to rain and I ran out of daylight so I thought I would do the passenger rear today. But on the pasenger rear, as I turn the adjuster screw nothing happens, I've now learned the piston needs pressure against it, can I use a simple clamp to apply pressure, or do I need the brake tool that will apply pressure and rotate at the same time?

Cheers

 

[tweety2300]

Your caliper is locked up you shouldn't need to add any pressure

 

[Cleric]

If that's the case, how do I 'unlock' it? Or do I need a new one? Is it normal for a cliper to get locked in an off position? There is no rust on the rotor so I don't think it's been locked for long.

 

[OGLaughtzalotzz]

thats a definite seized caliper. just replace it. you can get them at a decent price from rockauto.com

 

[P-Funk!]

The brake reservoir cap is off - yes?

 

[616Nickel]

Bleargh. This happened to me today on the driver-side rear calipers while putting new pads in. I had heard about all the seizing issues, and thought the symptom would be an immovable or stripped adjusting bolt. In my case, the bolt is fine, the mating gear teeth appear fine, but the darn piston Just. Won't. Move. (Actually, I can get it to move IN a bit, but not to retract to clear the new pads.) The passenger-side calipers were fine, btw. And yes, the brake fluid cap was off.

This would help to explain why a) The car has been pulling to the left a bit under braking, and b) The rear driver-side rotors have been noticeably cooler than the other three.

Fellow Canadians: I'm considering calipers from autopartsway.ca, because shipping is quick, and free over $75. Any good alternatives?

 

[hitnf]

This probably won't help, but for us, the adjuster screw, seized with the canadian winters here... salt etc.. in Quebec hehe...
Point is we bought ours from the aftermarket parts store, was a little more expensive, but its a daily driver for us... but then with autopartsway you would have to ship the core back?

 

[616Nickel]

Yeah, I'm in Victoria, so salt and rust are not an issue. The adjusting screw turns fine, and I was able to see some of the mating gear teeth to confirm that the gear seems fine as well. The screw turns, but as I say, the piston does not retract. Darn it.

You're right about shipping the core back to autopartsway to get my deposit back. What a PITA, eh?