Rear Caliper Question

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Rear Caliper Question

February 27, 2006, 01:36:18 PM

I don't know if this just pertains to TCs, SN-95 Stangs or rear brakes in general, but how far down should the rear caliper piston go into the bore? Should sit flush? I turned it as far as I could with a pair of needle nose pliers and I am having a very hard time getting my rear pads on. =/

BTW, these are for a 96 Stang V6/GT. Thanks.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #1 – February 27, 2006, 01:40:51 PM

The piston will be about flush with the bore. Sometimes it goes in ever so slightly but otherwise should be flush.

You know, the piston tool is only about $7 at the parts store...makes a big difference...

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #2 – February 27, 2006, 01:59:42 PM

coolios. thanks. and i bought that thing... it didn't fit. =/

....you are refering to the little square thing yes?

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #3 – February 27, 2006, 02:10:22 PM

Yeah, the cube with the bumps.

I have noticed on the SN95 calipers that they are pretty tough to line up correctly, but I did manage to get it to work.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #4 – February 27, 2006, 02:16:34 PM

lol... me dum dum

i like tried it a couple different ways and figured it was too small and tossed it over my shoulder. i suppose i can give it another chance.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #5 – February 27, 2006, 02:42:26 PM

I think the problem is...the pegs on my cube are round, but the caliper wants square pegs, so the cube likes to slip off a lot easier. I only found one side of the cube that was anywhere near correct though.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #6 – February 27, 2006, 03:15:04 PM

Why do rear calipers do that anyway? Why don't they just push in like front ones?

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #7 – February 27, 2006, 04:06:54 PM

and knowing is half the battle. they went on with room to spare. though that caliper tool was still of little use... i could of prolly grinded a couple of those pegs to fit better but i wasn't in the mood.

the caliper won't push in because it has the parking brake system is intergrated into the piston. lazy explanation... there's a screw in there that pushes the piston out when the parking brake is engauged. or something like that. :)

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #8 – February 27, 2006, 04:31:58 PM

That's exactly right. There is an external ratcheting mechanism that's activated by the parking brake, that pushes the piston out. A properly set-up rear disc braking system will have roughly the thickness of a piece of paper between the pads and rotor. When you apply the brakes, the fluid does the rest of the pushing and makes the pad-to-rotor contact. It's sort of like the front brakes but since rear discs don't require the same amount of fluid as the front, the calipers have to be dialed in for more of a 'pre-load' for the fluid. That, and for emergency brake reasons...say your front brakes stop working for whatever reason (line break, pad flies out, caliper breaks away, etc.). The rear discs then become the primary brakes for the vehicle. As soon as the e-brake lever is pressed, they make the contact...but if there's too much space between the pads and rotors out back, the emergency brakes won't engage as quickly (or sometimes at all), and then you have no useful brakes whatsoever. I know this from firsthand experience, in case you couldn't tell.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #9 – February 27, 2006, 10:54:49 PM

For what it's worth, I almost bought the little cube too, but it definitely looked too small. On closer inspection of the packaging, it said it was made for GM rear calipers with no mention of Ford. I ended up finding one for Fords, which were circular and only had one side with the bumps, but definitely a larger width. I don't know if SN95 calipers are different than TC ones though...

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #10 – February 27, 2006, 10:56:42 PM

When I did my rear pads, I got the "cube", found one side that mostly worked, and then modified the tab things with a file so they would actually grab onto the piston right. Still wasn't 100% right but it worked, and did a good job of frustrating me every time it popped out of the grooves

They coulda made those things a LITTLE deeper.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #11 – February 27, 2006, 10:58:59 PM

THe pad has a pin sticking out on it andit has to line up with the cutouts in the caliper piston. Straight up or down and then they will go together

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #12 – February 28, 2006, 08:52:01 AM

... i got rear calipers but i don't have an e-brake hooked up... can i just ratchet the lever to make it tighten up because my calipers are pretty loose. it's an 8.8 out of a Mark Vii

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #13 – February 28, 2006, 09:04:24 AM

Quote

... i got rear calipers but i don't have an e-brake hooked up... can i just ratchet the lever to make it tighten up because my calipers are pretty loose. it's an 8.8 out of a Mark Vii

Yes you can. Might need to use a large screwdriver or pry bar to get enough force on the ratcheting mechanism though...that spring is pretty tight.

Rear Caliper Question

Reply #14 – February 28, 2006, 05:02:45 PM

i just leave the pad on that side and use a c clamp....