Hey guys,

So seemingly out of nowhere, my rear right brakes started to squeel REALLY BADLY. I last had the pads replaced last summer, so I was surprised they had gone by now. The pads on the right are basically non-existent with more wear showing on the outer pad than the inner pad. The odd part was that the rear left pads still had at least 1/4in. on them.

I had never done a brake job myself, but I figured it's an easy job that I should know how to do. Plus I wanted to save some money.

I followed the service manual and removed the caliper and the old pads. The piston on the caliper was VERY rusted, and overall, it looked pretty bad. When it came time to put it all back together, I could not manage to get the piston to retract no matter how hard I tried to tighten the C-clamp. In the end, I gave up, put the old shot pads back on, and will take it to a mechanic tomorrow morning.

I realize I probably won't get a response on here until after I bring it in for service. I'm hoping they'll be able to put the new pads on without mentioning the calipers (to get me by for now). So what do you think? Are they shot? How much would it cost to replace them? Should I do just the one, or a set (rears, all 4)?

Here are some pics for reference:

Notice how rusted it is.


New pads in place, but I had to put the old ones back in temporarily.


Old vs. New

 

dang that caliper looks dead....

 

If the piston cannot be pushed in easily, or not at all as you say, one of two problem areas, either the caliper needs replacement or the flexible brake line has an internal break.
Undo the bleeder and try pushing the piston in, if it moves in easily, replace hose, it not dead caliper.

 

Well the other thing besides opening the bleeder valve is the did he remove the cap off the master cylinder before attempting to push the piston back in.

To be honest if my caliper looked like that I would have replaced it either way. I would probably replace the rotor if the caliper was sticking causing the premature wear of the pad, check the rotor for any signs of cracking or hot spots. I would recommend checking your front pads for uneven wear and bleed or flush the lines to eliminate the possibility of air in the lines.

 

Removing the cap will cause no less resistance for the piston movement and just remember, the outside of the piston is exposed to all conditions, but the inside of the boot is not affected by these conditions, unless the boot is damaged. The bore is usually damaged by condensation that resides inside the caliper, thus the need for brake fluid maintenance.

 

I think if the cap was left on you would be fighting against the fluid pressure or if the reservoir fluid is at max or past max then there would little room for the fluid to be displaced in the reservoir preventing the piston to be completely reset. I've never seen a piston that rusted before.

Either way if he can't reset the piston with the C clamp I think that caliper is done.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input. I took to to a shop and they told me what I expected; the caliper was basically frozen. They also told me that it had ruined the rotor, AND that my front rotors were beyond minimum thickness (which I found to be surprising considering I had my Acura dealership replace my front brake pads last summer (roughly 8k ago) and they made no mention of it. $960 of inflated parts prices and labor later, my complete brake system is basically brand new, so I'll be set for years to come. In the future though, I plan to do all brake work myself. Even replacing the calipers and rotors is quick and easy, and I found calipers online for around $40 each (they charged me $130).