How to Do a Brake Piston Replacement
It takes only a little mechanical knowledge to do a brake piston replacement. Plus, you need to have a DIY mentality. A soft brake could be the result of a lot of factors. It might be that there is air in the brake lines, or the master cylinder is leaking. In any of these cases, brake piston replacement is recommended. Using a brake bleeder, you can exhaust the air. By the way, to perform a brake piston repair, you have to follow the steps below.
Tools and Materials
- Ratchet or tire iron
- Car jack
- Wrench
- C-clamp
- Drain pan
- Brake bleeding kit
- Piston kit
- Pliers
- Brake caliper piston removal tool
- Air hose
# 1: Remove the Wheel and Raise the Car
Using the tire iron or ratchet, loosen the lug nuts and lift the cat using the jack. Use of the jack stand to secure the position and dismantle the tire and the lug nuts. Now set them aside.
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# 2: Remove Brake Pads and Caliper
Get rid of the retaining clips that hold the pads to the caliper. Then, detach the pads from it. To take out the caliper, push the brake pistons to the rotor, compress the brakes. As soon as the pressure is off, remove the caliper.
# 3: Remove the Pistons from the Caliper
In the purpose of completing a brake caliper piston replacement; remember to prevent one of the pistons from moving while removing the other. Once you have secured a piston, use a pressurized hose to blow out the other one. Use a rag to wrap the caliper before blowing out the piston, to avoid brake fluid from scattering.
# 4: Clean Up / Brake Piston Replacement
The next step in brake piston removal is cleaning up the caliper. There is a seal in the piston kit for the piston cylinder, along with a retainer pin and rubber dust boot. Also, replacement retainer clips are there to keep the pads attached to the caliper. You have to replace these parts. Often you may have to clean the pistons as well.
# 5: Reattach Caliper
As soon as you are done cleaning the pieces, put back the pistons and other new parts on the caliper. The piston orientation must be in accordance with the rotor. The cut out area on each piston indicates the proper way of reassembly. As you make the final adjustment, remove the pads to ensure that pistons compress towards the rotor. To avoid spongy brakes, leave enough room so that you can put the pads. Though it is quite challenging, once you have done it, it should get easier for you. Bleed the brake cylinder completely after finishing the replacement work and refilling the master cylinder.
