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HELP! Caliper won't fit with new brake pads

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40K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  NovaResource 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I was hoping to get some insight to this problem. While changing the front brake pads on my '03 Elantra GT, I can't seem to get the calipers back on with the new, thicker pads. I have the caliper piston pressed all of the way in, the pads pressed snugly up against the rotor, but still no dice. The caliper's bolt holes are about a cm short of where it needs to be to mate with the caliper bracket. It seems the only thing keeping them from mating properly is the thickness of the new pads.

Either I'm doing something way wrong (I followed the illustrated guide here http://www.elantragtclub.com/id581.html) or these pads are actually too thick. They are Wearever Gold Premium (GMKD 941) from Advance Auto Parts.

Any insight would be helpful. The first thing i thought of was that the caliper piston wasn't pushed in far enough but I do have it pushed it as far as it can go using a c-clap. It it only a mm from being completely flush, so I didn't think that was the problem.

Thanks in advance!

-SpeedyD
 
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#2 ·
Are you sure the piston is ALL the way in? You may have too much brake fluid in the master cylinder preventing you from compressing the piston alll the way in. Try removing some brake fluid from the master cylinder first and then try compressing the cylinder in further.
 
#3 ·
so the pads are installed into the carrier okay? the pads themselves shouldn't stick out over the edge of the carrier/slides and should look centered in the carrier. Ideally there should be a 1/16" or so space between the side of the pad and the edge of the slide/carrier... if not then they might be too thick...
You can try bolting up the top side of the caliper and then swing it down over the pads and see if it'll fit that way... either way it shouldn't be tight.

---------- Post added 11-03-2010 at 11:17 AM ----------



yeah, you're supposed to pop the lid off the fluid reservoir before you push in the piston...
 
#5 ·
I did pop the lid off, didn't remove any fluid because it wasn't filled to the brim so I figured there was room for expansion. The pads do sit all the way into the carrier slides with room to spare. I'm starting to think that 1-2mm the piston still sticks out is more of a problem than I thought. If it's completely compressed, should it be flush with the caliper body with nothing sticking out at all?
 
#11 ·
Just a quick FYI...last time I did this, I had to ROTATE the caliper piston to get it back in. It doesn't just push in, it is threaded. There is a tool that you can rent to do it, if you want to keep all your skin/fingers, or you can use needle nose pliers to twist it back. Hope this helps.
 
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