How To Compress Rear Brake Caliper Piston - WITHOUT THE TOOL - HD

[@russwenzinger1029]

I’ve done many brake jobs, but have never had a rear piston that screwed in. I looked at my 10 year old and said, “time to Google this” and my first video was yours. We were praising the Lord. Thx so much for a great video.

[@thomasmichaels6850]

After buying a 6 inch C clamp, taking a cell phone pic to the Auto Parts store, and the guy there telling me i need a spreader tool, nothing worked. I was thinking I was doing something fundamentally wrong so checked youtube for video help. should have come here FIRST! Pair of standard needle nose pliers did the trick. Thanks so much for the help.

[@scottdavidson7989]

HUGE HELP MAN! been doing brakes for years and never seen these pistons. Saved us alot of head scratching...thanks!

[@stasiabowen4092]

Life saver!!! My man has been trying to push it in for an hour.

[@adrianford3544]

Lol not gonna go there

[@stevecov2750]

Thats what she said...😂😂😂😭

[@furstnaymelassnaim9206]

You could’ve at least faked it for him. Sheesh.

[@jamesalan3879]

@@adrianford3544 LOL

[@skyler40roxy32]

Same lol

[@mlp1500]

I rarely post comments, but I ran across your video searching for an answer to my calipers. Thank you so much. Time and money saver.

[@brookelynnbby]

you freakin rock. my man was out here for hours tryin to figure it out, told me to stay outta his way and BAM! i came out with this video, he tried it, looked at me and smiled and said Thank You. So now he owes me 😋 haha. Thanks again, Anthony!!!!

[@krisdraz81]

Thank you! I went through at least ten videos with the wrong information and was almost to the point of giving up. Then this..My man

[@JohnDouqh]

“Buti already took my brakes apart I don’t have the tool”😳😱😱😳😬😬 was wrenching on that c-clamp for an hour and then went on my bike and got a bigger one… thanks bro

[@adrianharrisah]

Thank you. I was almost depressed just because I couldn’t compress my rear brake pistons

[@joenathan7962]

I'm right there with you like I felt defeated

[@calebwiggins3042]

Ha you're so punny!

[@Jesse-vs9sb]

​@@joenathan7962 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@kalekerscher7436]

Thank you, I almost went and bought a stupid compression kit but you just saved me a bunch of money I didn't need or want to spend

[@justinbaerg111]

I thought I needed new calipers 🎉

[@scotthankins55]

Thank you so much. I fought that thing for an hour. After watching your video had both sets of breaks changed in five minutes. If you were here I give you a hug you save my life.

[@bigron26048]

Great video and great advice! I worked on cars for over 35yrs but never did rear disc brakes. Now I have a car with rear disc brakes, so this advice comes in handy "Thanks"😊

[@johndavid8802]

After reading all the comments you really have saved lives ours included thank you so much love from new Zealand

[@pauldepaul3905]

Thanks very much for the tip. I was going to return the brake pads I bought because I thought that they were too thick. I had no idea that the piston had to be turned to reset it. I just tried the "C" clamp. I'll go back to my Mustang tomorrow and try again. The things I learn on KZbin save me a lot of money. Good video.

[@philc.352]

I want to say Thank you on making this video. Back in the 80s when I was a teen and broke I had to do my own repairs and calipers and rotors were only on the front back then. But life has throw me some curveballs over the last few years and I'm back to having to repair my cars myself again. When trying to replace the rear breaks that were gri ding on my 02 mustang and the calipers wouldn't compress I thought I needed new ones. And I was already broke just from buying pads. Fortunately I found your video and it saved the day. Actually it saved my job! Now that my breaks are safly working again Ill be able to report to work tomorrow. Again Thanks for the video. I've already subscribed. Allow me to inform other 2002 Mustang owners that channel locks are all you'll need for the cars back breaks no inward pressure was necessary. It took about 75 to 100 turns to get my fully extended piston back to fully rested position.

[@lawrencemkhabela5896]

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 Cant believe I have been trying to push the damn thing for 4hrs now

[@JasonH42000]

sameeee

[@yahigetsit]

Me too I was super pissed thought it was seized.

[@davidsii4173]

Bro, I thought it was siezed as well, effing welded a bolt to the end of my C clamp, grabbed my impact and shattered the c-clamp, welded the b back together to try and get one last use out of it for the other side, and found out that one was "siezed" as well..... Then went to KZbin, smdh, my poor $18 c-clamp

[@atomaardappel566]

Wow! I had no idea this was a thing. I had done my front brakes easy and thought I'd get the rears no problem. I couldn't understand why the wouldn't compress, I even bought a compression tool and it bent, didn't budge the piston. I thought i needed new calipers and was so stressed because I needed to get my car back together for work. Your video saved me!

[@texstan100]

Tried prying, tried compressing with a C clamp, tried swearing loudly. None of that worked. This method worked GREAT on my 2012 Ford Focus. Much thanks for this extremely helpful and vital video tip.

[@jakel6791]

Thanks man. Exactly what I struggled with last night in the garage until i got frustrated and came inside. Now I shall finish the wife's brakes. Gratitude.

[@evrchng]

I found a video before this one that said to open bleed plug, like a dummy i did and bled off a little bit until i thought this can't be right. Saw your video and it made absolute sense. I appreciate the help.

[@aspalovin]

Grinder wheel wrench works mint

[@LeonVisnaw]

Thank you very much for this video. I was so frustrated trying to do what I have always done for brake repair, pushing the caliper in with a c-clamp. I was beyond frustrated and this video was the life saver I needed.

[@colinjames240]

I can’t explain how you literally just saved my life! I was trying to compress them😂 I’ll try twisting method now

[@niskristensen7006]

Thanks so much, I was lost in the repair, and now I can proceed and only used 2 minutes on you great channel. I highly recommend this channel.

[@danmoretti4808]

Just want to mention, be sure to check if your brake pad has a peg sticking out. If it does, it needs to make with the groves in the piston. So be sure to align the groves so the peg will fit into them.

[@AllBeFlat]

Perfect, quick, concise video that didn't have extra bullcrap. And yes, I had torn apart my rear brakes after finishing both front ones, feeling entirely confident and proud I was able to easily do them. But then nooooo that damn caliper piston was different! Of course! Thankfully your reaction to that made me laugh, because I was seriously pissed by the time I started the video. Thanks man!

[@magnoliasstressus]

Thanks! Busted my brake piston compressor tool (stripped) trying to press it in... Never knew this way of doing it. Got it done! :)

[@Brutaka1]

Funny, my dad and I have been working on this for the longest time. We were trying to figure out why they weren't going in on a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. Once we saw this video, we both felt stupid ahaha! Thanks for the video! You saved us so much time and money. We thought they were bad calipers.

[@dataseeker7460]

Just wanted to give you a much deserved shoutout dude. watched several videos on changing rear brakes, and you are the only one that has covered this topic. Without this info those other videos are worthless!

[@Jesssssssssssssssssssssss]

Wow you would not believe the huge mess this video got my boyfriend and I out of tonight! It is 2am in a random la fitness parking lot changing our breaks because they finally gave out on us here I DONT know the details but regardless he was about to give up after trying the C clamp about 10 times and googling a bunch of crap with no answers I finally came across this video that completely saved us THANK YOU SO MUCH Ps for a 2015 Hyundai Elantra se both rear calipers need to be turned clockwise to go down 👍🏽

[@corollayanki]

I was banging the crap on mine too and using a c-clamp shaped vise scripts having no ideal these screwed in. This video saved us all! Most people will have no ideal how to compress rear disc calipers, because most older cars came with drums and front disc (ones that just push in). Then they try changing their rear pads on their newer car, then think their caliper pistons are sized up until they watch this video! I have a 2014 Toyota Corolla S Plus with these types of screw-in calipers.

[@darrylingham2762]

Legend....was battling with it for 1/2 an hour trying to compress it before I watched this. Long nose vice grips worked perfectly. Thanks heaps

[@WhentheworldendsWWYD]

Did you end up doing any damage to the caliper? I just did this before i found the video.

[@darrylingham2762]

No I was using Polygrips - but I couldnt get a purchase (luckily) and it just didnt seem right so that when I investigated further

[@timothyherman4213]

Thank you for this info! First Toyota I ever did rears in and this is why my c-clamp wouldn't budge! Glad I didn't try to force it. Thanks again for this info!

[@hugoknight1]

On my 2010 Toyota Matrix, I found that the caliper piston has to be oriented in such a way as to accommodate a small nub located on back of the interior brake pad. I used your EXCELLENT method, but I still couldn't get the caliper bolts to line up on the slides until I oriented the piston properly so it nestled into the brake pad! It took me a solid 15 minutes to figure that out. Thanks again for your video!

[@philipheinz2025]

You da Man! Bingo! When I was making no progress with piston compression I sought another solution. You gave the "rotation" answer and I got the pistons compressed! Thanks for your video.

[@samuelpeery]

You are a lifesaver and deserve a star in your crown. Thank you so much!

[@corollayanki]

You saved me! I thought my pistons were seized up. I never had a car with these types of calipers on them. I've always had rear drum brakes. Now I'm going to finish this!

[@charleshaynes1383]

Thank you I been trying to get it to in for last 30 minutes

[@jordanweaver5092]

Thanks, Anthony! I was stuck with no way to get to the auto parts store. I was able to use 2 screwdrivers being careful to put pressure a bit towards the middle so they would not slip and damage the boot. I turned a few times clockwise on the rear passanger side (2011 Elantra Limited) and I was able to get the brake pads on and had the car back on the road within 20 minutes!

[@sambharr]

You da man! Had no idea how to stick it back in! So to speak.. I used a standard spreader, I already had, to apply the pressure, plus channel-locks to turn the piston. Two minute job! You saved me a ton of aggravation and expense. Thanks. And thanks also for the right-to-the-point brevity.

[@hawkdalian]

Saved my day when I replaced my abs sensor.I used a medium size long nose plier out of my household tool box. Thanks for the great video!

[@darrendavis4424]

Life saver. Managed to do it on iutside edge with multi-grips whilst avoiding the rubber seal. Took another video to figure out we could take the middle part out of the frame where the brakes go in.

[@alanfrancis9225]

Great video but two points 1) some rear pistons have to be rewound anti- clockwise. 2) the holes ( on piston ) have to be lined up horizontally so that the nipple/a on the inner brake pad can be input into them.

[@JesusistheonetrueGod]

I think you meant lined up vertically in point number 2

[@alanfrancis9225]

@@JesusistheonetrueGod Thanks for reading. Interesting point you have raised My Hayes manual shows the picture of the piston fully retracted. The piston holes (2) are at 9 and 3 o clock. To me this is horizontal. The horizon is from left to right. However the wording says it is vertical. To me vertical is 12 to 6 downwards from top to bottom. This could really confuse someone who didn’t see the image. I am on a Mondeo forum and will ask them about this. If the piston holes were at 12 to 6 the nipple on the backing plate of the break pad would not meet with the piston hole ( 2 holes) making the pad possibly move when braking. Of course it will stay in calliper bracket and would still work. What’s your take? By the way some pistons have 3 or even 4 holes.

[@JesusistheonetrueGod]

@@alanfrancis9225 On my vehicle it's vertical (12 and 6), but it may be different on other vehicles. I'm not sure.

[@ashuragaming1981]

It depends on brake. I manual hand brake it doest matter where those holes Or groves are facing. But on eletric handbrake, on the pads you have those pins that gonna slide in the piston groves.

[@alighajari3727]

you are angel, I checked more than 20 video , no one said same you . thanks a lot.

[@krooksie]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! You saved Rob's life from Carrie freaking about her brakes hanging off the back of her car because the piston wouldn't retract like it does on the front. It was like you were reading our minds three years ago!

[@1deep499]

This is my kind of video no taking us all around the world but straight too the point! Thanks my guy!💯

[@xxfoul3gacyxx783]

This is my first time doing rear brakes btw so you saved me hours of head scratching trying to figure it out ❤😊

[@Chrispy9393]

On my last car all four calipers were the simple ones as on the front. But on my '13 Elantra the rear calipers are similar to this. This video really helped me a lot. I never would've figured this out otherwise. Thank you very much!

[@roamingwesty]

Thanks so much! I was so stuck with straight on compressing the rear piston until your video showed me the way. Brake job now done, thumbs up, subbed, and a salute to you here.

[@rs6383]

Thanks for the video man. It's 1:19 in the morning & I got my brakes apart. Got to work at 6:00am. Good, short, to the point video. 👍

[@adamstalilonis8787]

Haz bin there my friend . . . little to no sleep wen ur 2 hr car repair spirals into a nightmare!

[@brentmiller7901]

Thank you! Fought it for an hour then found this. Another "you saved the day".

[@Luggi313]

Thank you!!! First time doing the rear myself and was at a loss. This video was exactly what I needed!

[@tquinn2]

In case you don't have the right size long nose Vice grips, I found that a 20 mm open end wrench would fit well into the V slots on the piston, and then grab the open end wrench with a conventional Vice grips. It words pretty well. Thanks for the video. It was very helpful.

[@emmanuelquinones5084]

Or just get the right fuckin tools for the job

[@ryanosbourne9945]

You're the man guy. I used an open end wrench and it worked like a charm!!

[@ricklaine4064]

@@emmanuelquinones5084 Don't be a troll!!!

[@emmanuelquinones5084]

@@ricklaine4064 fuck off buddy

[@ProleDaddy]

@@ryanosbourne9945 Thanks so much, bro. Imna go out in the cold and do this right now. Way better than the plires bit.

[@mylesgriffo]

Hey, thanks for the video. Got me on the right path. On my 2007 Honda accord, it didn't work just following your instructions, I had to push and screw with the bleeder cracked open for the piston to retract. I used a wide cold chisel (like a large flat bladed screwdriver) held with vice grips, then it worked a treat.

[@marylandfishmadness]

Nicely explained. I'm one of the people thinking it was as easy as the front. I was trying the c-clamp till I saw this. Big thanks!

[@matthewstonich2108]

Oh sh## man you just saved me! It fu##in worked! I'm crying with how happy and relieved I am.

[@Navitas2003]

Thank you! My c-clamp was doing jack squat. This is the Rosetta Stone I needed

[@davidv2464]

Thank God you gave me this!!! I have been trying all day to get that piston in!!!

[@Rizzob17]

Dude, thank you so much. I began changing breaks on my car for the first time and had no idea they twisted. You are amazing.

[@stevemessruther172]

Thanks for this - just saved me a headache! Took mine brakes apart hour ago and started to compress the piston using a clamp and when it would not move I figured it must be sieved. Notice the cutouts and remembered that someone had said the pistons are wind back on my van ( ford transit). So quick look on youtube and found your video and problem solved. Many thanks for posting the info :)

[@Ryan-mq2zs]

Sometimes rust can form along the edge of the caliper piston where it contacts the rubber boot and when you spin the the ratcheting bore (piston) back the boot, it will attempt to rotate with it, and can tear. Wiggle the boot back and forth just to make sure it is free. If it is stuck, use a little silicone (SYNTHETIC ONLY) lube and coat the contact points between the 2 surfaces. If still no joy, then use a small pick to carefully work around the edge of the boot to free it up. Be sure not to puncture the boot. Never use petroleum based lubricants on rubber parts. Hope this helps anyone out there.

[@joeys7287]

Damn I just rip off the boot by turning clockwise, the boot is very important? I don't see anything so far...the rear brakes are working good

[@socks2441]

@@joeys7287 without the boot any lubricant will dry off or attract grit. even without lubricant you will get grit in their and its only a matter of time before that grit wears things away enough to cause a leak. could take years but it will happen. i personally would not drive that for long without putting a new boot on there.

[@chealysat5709]

@@joeys7287 So far the brakes are good after the boot is damaged?

[@The77stevo77]

Lol your good. Just keep it clean next time you do your brakes. Also you can just replace the boot next time. But you'll have to re bleed them.

[@anthonyhelfert9852]

@@The77stevo77 what is the boot??

[@jessquesada5287]

Thank you so much, saved me and the hubby from being stranded in Las Vegas!! Trying to go home to AZ and our rear brakes grinding! He was trying to push em in!! 😨😲😣

[@michaelinkster4977]

Glad this was the first video I found. Couldn’t work out why the piston wouldn’t retract! Thanks

[@derekdusharm2287]

Tried this on my 2004 Kia Spectra EX rear caliber and it's work. Thanks OP

[@christopherhendricks4369]

You saved me an evening of cursing and frustration. Thank you!!

[@kalabbaker]

This man saved my life😢

[@jamesgood8427]

THANKS! I have a 2012 civic I used the pointed vice grips and turned both pistons CLOCKWISE. At first they were pretty difficult to turn, however once they started they turned very easy. I had to line them up straight because the pads had a nipple on them that had to line up. Very easy. Thanks so much.

[@Bptrsn1]

You just saved my arse BIGTIME! Thank you! Would not have known the rears take a special tool, aka, Needle nose pliers. They worked great on my 03 Maxima. I just simply set the tips of the pliers in two grooves but do not squeeze the handles but just spin it. Viola turns really easy and took 2-3 minutes TOPS.

[@redseantlworld]

Yeah man same here. I know that feeling bro!

[@simondavis2751]

Thank you so much for posting this. Just spent 30+ minutes trying to push the stupid calipers back in on my Mazda 6 and gave up in frustration! Found this video guide and they screwed straight back in ha ha! :-) Thanks again man!

[@paulskaminsky4220]

You are the MAN! nowhere else did I find this info. What a save.

[@3Amigos31]

Thanks a lot autotech. I was bashing the piston for ages and then found your video. Worked perfect for me.

[@JRD_Youtube]

Give this man a medal!

[@wolfeaglet1]

Rent the tool. So much easier. Granted the rental was $130.00 for me but I got it back when I returned the kit. I tried several methods on KZbin without the tool and could not get the piston to fully depress. With the tool it took minutes. Great video though. Thank you!

[@meganwarden1459]

Helped my dad and I put in my rear brakes so I could pass inspection. Thank you!! 💕 😭

[@tobypeterson1737]

Thanks for this sir! Came here mid brake job with greasy hands and all.

[@eliasmccreight3951]

I was about to give up! It definitely worked!

[@mkohls9283]

Yay! I was trying a c clamp for some time before I ended up talking to a friend who told me about some twisting in! Great Video!

[@socks2441]

how hard did you apply the c clamp? i take it the thread didnt get damaged and it still screwed in just fine?

[@lauranapalmer5227]

You deserve everything good that comes to you sir

[@cairuibo]

After worked on it the whole day and damaged 4 c clamps, including 2 6" ones, I found this video and problem solved. A valuable youtuber!

[@llb320b7]

Thanks for this! You saved my brother from so much work and from destroying the rear piston!

[@dmitrigolovin4605]

Thank you so much! Such a simple, cheap and effective improvisation! Legend!

[@oxygen454]

On my Mazda 3, I had a friend open the bleeder valve and then push back the piston with a large screwdriver while I turned the piston with needle nose pliers. Worked like a charm! Then I made sure I bled the brakes before I was done.

[@TheStealthyLizard]

Year 2021. This saved my life Thank you!!!

[@JamesEdwards780]

Wow I was going nuts trying to figure out why the position would not compress. TY

[@jipster2020]

Thank you dude ! This just saved me a lot of frustration.

[@jinyuliu1817]

saved my day halfway during my break replacement. A big thank you.

[@TeachAManToAngle]

As everyone said, great video. Simple and to the point. Thank you!

[@harrycombrinck5872]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have done a ton of front brakes, but all my previous cars and friends' cars had drums at the rear, so today was my first run in with these damn things! almost gave up! Your video helped me massively! Thank you!

[@angelnomore4]

absolute life saver, thank you so much for this video!

[@jimbobstaggs4543]

just the fact and no nonsense - thanks Anthony!

[@wojamacolit]

You have just saved me a lot of time trouble and money. Well done for a straight to the point video.

[@eliey4677]

Legend! I was almost at the point to drive without rear brakes (joking of course, in case someone reading the comment decides to try it). Thank you

[@pabloyarzon6208]

I tryed to push it in then I found this beauty of a video. Thanks a lot

[@jonpoirier5560]

Saved my life, bro. Thanks for this video. So simple but I didn't think of it.

[@LlamaOates]

Anyone out there who is turning their piston and it doesn't go in, some pistons need to be pushed and turned at the same time. I learnt this method after about 40 mins of turning the piston and nothing happening... I found using a G glamp (the slidable adjustable clamps you use to hold wood together). With this I opened the clamp right up and then twisted it up so I was applying pressure to the piston and then with a set of multi grip plies grabbed the outside of the piston end and turned it clockwise. Every couple of movements, retighten the G clamp on the piston. Took like 60 seconds to get the piston back to the starting position after using the G clamp method.

[@dtrrtd774]

A C-clamp does look more like a G-clamp, I guess G-clamps is the term used outside the US, where they're commonly called C-clamps.

[@The1Gypsy]

shylimelight thanks man! This one actually worked for me :)

[@Mramzy31]

What is fucking idea =D my god, I was trying to push piston 3 days ago but no way,,, even I bought special tools but with disappointed every time (Although I bought that tools but the biggest problem which got failed every time that is no space to put tools between piston and rear calliper) ,,,, my god!! ***The whole piston came out completely ****. Let me try you idea!! wishing me luck and thanks for u idea.

[@matthewcampbell1893]

shylimelight that worked really well. Thanks!

[@theoneandonlyantonio7339]

Thankyou for this comment. Saved me alot of messing around.

[@dawsongorges6855]

Thank you so much! I bent a homemade caliper compression tool in half on my rear piston trying to get it to move. This is way better

[@grnwasp]

saved me. I used my old brake pad to fit in there and turn it. it's all I had and it worked for my 2011 Honda Accord.

[@FoxHound0316]

Brother you have made my job sooo much better thank you for the help

[@joshuakaecker3545]

I cant say thank you enough man this just saved my brother and I a lot of time and money

[@georgecravens3673]

Great video. Thank you. I’ve replaced breaks dozens of tines on many different cars, but never ran into a screw-in piston.

[@marcocruz252]

The piston made me sweet for two hrs trying w/ a C clamp, thanks dude!!

[@d1o2n4]

Thanks for this. The left side worked great with the cube tool with a little bit of pressure, but the right side just kept turning, even with a heap of pressure. . I wound it the opposite way to see if it was a reverse thread but the piston popped out! I ended up getting that side to work by making sure the piston was properly threaded in, and then hooking the cube tool onto my impact driver and while using a bit of pressure, spinning the piston back. This may not be recommended and you have to be very sure the piston is properly on the thread or you’ll strip it. Worked for me though and the wife’s happy she’s got new brakes again!