Brake Caliper Rewind Tool

[Karlos69]

Has anyone got one of these little beauties that I could borrow for a few days?

The pads on the Focus need changing and having struggled getting pistons rewound back into their calipers in the past, I think I should do it properly this time around and save myself hours of swearing.

[Steve_D]

We have one but you would need to collect today or after the weekend (Fareham)
See my profile.

Steve

[Karlos69]

Thanks for the offer Steve. Fareham is a touch far south for me (I'm up in Basingstoke and should've mentioned this) but I'll bear you in mind just in case. I'm not in any rush to do the job anyway, but just wanted to get everything together needed for the job before I tackle it.

[stabbed rat]

I have just done this on my MINI, Took me hours of swearing until i googled it. You can do it very easily with a pair of needle nose pliers.

[Karlos69]

stabbed rat said:

I have just done this on my MINI, Took me hours of swearing until i googled it. You can do it very easily with a pair of needle nose pliers.

How do you apply the necessary pressure whilst turning the piston?

[stabbed rat]

Karlos69 said:

stabbed rat said:

I have just done this on my MINI, Took me hours of swearing until i googled it. You can do it very easily with a pair of needle nose pliers.

How do you apply the necessary pressure whilst turning the piston?

Just twist and push with the pliers, you really don't need masses of pressure because of the twist action. Don't turn the wrong way if you can help it because I "think" it jumps the piston out quite quickly (not out as in out of the calliper fully, just to full or almost full extension and you have more twisting and pushing to do)

If it helps, I had to turn mine clockwise to push the piston back.

[Karlos69]

Ah I see. I think the majority of pistons are rotated in clockwise. Hopefully being a Ford, it should be nice and straightforward.

I'll give it a go, but if I can beg/borrow/steal the rewind tool, I'm sure it would make life that much easier!

[stabbed rat]

[Macey]

I have one available if you still need one, i'm in south Reading near jct 11 of the M4.

Macey

[normalbloke]

Buy one, they're cheap, and you'll always have it.

[Karlos69]

Macey said:

I have one available if you still need one, i'm in south Reading near jct 11 of the M4.

Macey

I may have to take you up on your offer. I'll PM you closer the time when I plan to change the pads.

[Karlos69]

normalbloke said:

Buy one, they're cheap, and you'll always have it.

Well not initially when looking at Halfrauds! However, a search has found the basic Laser one for £14.99, which is less than half the price of Halfrauds, and that's with free postage.

[Steve_D]

stabbed rat said:

Just twist and push with the pliers, you really don't need masses of pressure because of the twist action. Don't turn the wrong way if you can help it because I "think" it jumps the piston out quite quickly (not out as in out of the calliper fully, just to full or almost full extension and you have more twisting and pushing to do)

If it helps, I had to turn mine clockwise to push the piston back.

I think you were exeedingly lucky to do it just with pliers.
My experiance of using the tool, and the reason these tools exist, is that it is the only way you will shift most calipers. Not met one yet that I would call easy even with the tool.

Steve

[stabbed rat]

Steve_D said:

I think you were exeedingly lucky to do it just with pliers.
My experiance of using the tool, and the reason these tools exist, is that it is the only way you will shift most calipers. Not met one yet that I would call easy even with the tool.

Steve

maybe it's just the mini ones... The Internet said it was simple with pliers and it genuinely was.

[minimatt1967]

I must admit when I did the pads on the back of my Honda, I found it much easier to do it with the pliers than with the proper tool which I had borrowed from work. I thought the Haynes manual was taking the piss, on this occasion it, was correct.

[Karlos69]

Steve, is the tool you have the basic one with just one or two adaptors, or is it one of the larger sets with several adaptors?

The reason I ask is that I have been looking around online and some say the basic set is fine for the Focus, whilst others are saying they've had to buy an extra adaptor to make the rewind tool work.

I was planning on stripping down one caliper at the rear just to see what the piston face looks like to see what sort of tool-bit I would need.

[dilbert]

I have two ways of doing this.

Normally to get the caliper loose, I just use a long screwdriver between the disk and the pad backing as a lever. Gently of course!!! You only have to back them off by a millimetre, and then the whole caliper can be removed.

Once the caliper is removed you can use a G-Clamp and wooden blocks (if the pistons need to go back into the calipers).

Alternatively, if you need to get the pistons out of the calipers completely, I've always used a grease gun with complete success. The grease gun has a long lever and a tiny piston, grease does not compress. No matter how much rust there is in there, there is no way that the pistons are staying put. If one moves and the other does not, clamp the mobile one, and force the stuck one out.

Once it's all apart, all you need to do is clean, and reassembly is easy.

[Karlos69]

dilbert said:

I have two ways of doing this.

Normally to get the caliper loose, I just use a long screwdriver between the disk and the pad backing as a lever. Gently of course!!! You only have to back them off by a millimetre, and then the whole caliper can be removed.

Once the caliper is removed you can use a G-Clamp and wooden blocks (if the pistons need to go back into the calipers).

Alternatively, if you need to get the pistons out of the calipers completely, I've always used a grease gun with complete success. The grease gun has a long lever and a tiny piston, grease does not compress. No matter how much rust there is in there, there is no way that the pistons are staying put. If one moves and the other does not, clamp the mobile one, and force the stuck one out.

Once it's all apart, all you need to do is clean, and reassembly is easy.

Thanks for the tips, but essentially all I want to do is a simple pad change all round. It's the rears causing the issues here - they have a screw-in piston due to the self-adjusting handbrake mechanism and this needs to be wound in whilst exerting a little pressure on the piston at the same time.

[dilbert]

Karlos69 said:

Thanks for the tips, but essentially all I want to do is a simple pad change all round. It's the rears causing the issues here - they have a screw-in piston due to the self-adjusting handbrake mechanism and this needs to be wound in whilst exerting a little pressure on the piston at the same time.

I've never thought of a pad change as being simple.

I mean, they're your brakes. The things that keep you from crashing and burning?

If they don't come apart easily they probably need dismantling, cleaning, seals replacing. Making better. Making reliable. Making dependable.

Some handbrake adjusters have a special wheel that needs an unusual spanner, but I've always managed with a screwdriver.

Doing brakes properly is messy, but it can save your life. A bit of dirt, scuffed knuckles or crash and burn.

[Karlos69]

dilbert said:

I've never thought of a pad change as being simple.

I mean, they're your brakes. The things that keep you from crashing and burning?

If they don't come apart easily they probably need dismantling, cleaning, seals replacing. Making better. Making reliable. Making dependable.

Some handbrake adjusters have a special wheel that needs an unusual spanner, but I've always managed with a screwdriver.

Doing brakes properly is messy, but it can save your life. A bit of dirt, scuffed knuckles or crash and burn.

In fairness, a pad change isn't rocket science and shouldn't be beyond the realms of most competent spanner-wielders.
I totally agree that it must be done correctly - as you say - they stop you from crashing. However, a pad change doesn't typically require the pistons to come out. The brakes don't need this at every pad change and as my car is only 4 years old with 35k on the clock, it's highly unlikely that they need a strip-down and re-build.
I've done many pad/disc changes on various cars I've had over the years, so have a good idea of what I'm doing, but on this occasion I feel I need some input on the best way to tackle winding in the rear pistons. Of course, I appreciate the input of everyone on here, which is why I asked for it in the first place, so please don't take offence, as none is intended.