Please Help with brakes Options

[RonnieJ]

I just removed my rear brake pads that where pretty much rusted to the pistons and rotors from two years of storage. The pistons where not moving. I got the pads out and when I tried to adjust the pistons with the adjuster screws I lost some fluid and the pistons tightened up on the rotors with no pads on. What do I do. It seems that when I try to adjust the pistons in and out I'm not getting any movement. I've never tried this before and it's very frustrating right now. Any help, suggestions or even a picture of how I'm supposed to tackle this would be very much appreciated. Exactly how do you use the adjusters? do I loosen the nut and then use the hex screw. As you can tell I'm totally lost. Thanks

[Eric_Shea]

Hi Ronnie,

Let's start with a how-to on the adjusters.

Outer adjusters: Yes, loosen the 13mm lock nut and turn the 4mm adjuster. This is a direct drive adjuster. Imagine turning a stationary screw into a piece of wood. As you tighten the screw the wood will come toward you. Same goes for this piston. Turning clockwise pulls the piston in.

Inner adjusters: You will need to take the cover off. 90% of them strip because the 4mm hex does not have enough surface area to overcome the rusted threads. Before it strips totally, take a cold chisel and hit the cover in the 8:00 position to get it to move. Then you can turn it with the 4mm and possibly reuse it (with thread anti-seeze).

With the cover off, you can access the adjuster. This adjuster is "NOT" direct drive. It is gear driven so, all methods of turning are exactly opposite of the outer adjuster. Turning clockwise will adjust this piston "out".

Now, let's talk about:

* I lost some fluid and,
* the pistons tightened up on the rotors.

Where did you lose fluid from?
Attempt high speed (air wrench or drill with a 4mm hex) on the adjusters to get them to move. (make sure you go in the proper direction)