RETRACTING DUAL PISTON CALIPERS ? 2001 Base Model

[-Nate]

I had the devil of a time trying to retract the dual piston front brake calipers in my 2001 base/fleet model Ranger, is there a link to a video perhaps ? .

I tried the old stick a screw driver in the caliper's aperture , not enough space to get any leverage .

TIA, this is a simple thing I am sure .

 

[Blmpkn]

Big c-clamp with something to cover both pistons

 

[pjtoledo]

and open the bleeders to allow bad fluid to escape, not get shoved back into the system.
I collapse then pump them back up a couple times to get fresh(?) fluid under the seals.

 

[-Nate]

Thanx guys ! .

I was hoping for something simpler but I can do that .

 

[SenorNoob]

I always use the old pads to cover both pistons.

 

[-Nate]

Thanx Luke ! .

I addressed this this morning, I have a YUGE 8" C-Clamp I slipped over everything before taking it all apart, this was able to easily retract both caliper pistons .

I discovered the caliper wasn't sliding smoothly, took it and the bracket off and cleaned everything ral nice, greased it and re assembled, now the wheel turns *much* easier after I apply the brakes .

I'll try to get the other side done tomorrow .

 

[-Nate]

OBTW :

I used the assembled caliper to brace the C Clamp against then I sucked the fluid out of the master reservoir because it was dark, after getting it all back together I topped it off with new fluid and now the truck rolls easily on a flat surface, it didn't before .

I'm pretty sure it was those stainless steel snap in slider thingies (technical term there) .

 

[SenorNoob]

Talking about the Anti-Rattle Clips?

 

[pjtoledo]

OBTW :

I used the assembled caliper to brace the C Clamp against then I sucked the fluid out of the master reservoir because it was dark, after getting it all back together I topped it off with new fluid and now the truck rolls easily on a flat surface, it didn't before .

I'm pretty sure it was those stainless steel snap in slider thingies (technical term there) .

actually it's the corrosion on the bracket behind them that pushes them out against the pad.
when iron rusts it swells (before it falls off) so a bit of scraping on the bracket's contact area helps.

 

[-Nate]

Yes but they're not anti - rattle clips in this case ~ they're sliders for the caliper's ears, look at them when you take them out and you'll see the wear .

Anti-rattle clips used to go between the pads on the retention pins to help push the pads back and hold them from making rattles .

 

[Jazzer]

When replacing the stainless sliders, it’s always a good idea to file each area of the caliper frame that they contact down to bare metal.

As pjtoledo noted, those areas rust and swell, and if the ears of the brake pads stick against them they might not retract, or they may hit the rotor at a weird angle when braking. A thin film, just a bare wipe, of brake grease on the surface f the sliders helps too.

 

[-Nate]

Okay then ;

I removed both front calipers and rotors and discovered this :

The ABS tone wheels were caked with excess grease and brake dust .

All cleaned up :

The caliper pins were all gunked up with rock hard grease and brake dust too so I cleaned them :

They have cute little rubber accordion dust boots, those were in perfect shape so I re used them .

The stainless steel slider clips were likewise filthy and cruddy, a little bit of elbow grease and wire brush plus commercial degreased and presto ! they're like new again :

I carefully lubed the right points with fully synthetic caliper grease from China :

I like how it comes with both a handy brush and a nifty nylon paddle to properly spread the grease .

My old metal can of Lubriplate #107 finally ran out last Fall and I couldn't find any more anywhere so China got my $ .

Now the truck easily rolls whenever the brakes are released .

When I retracted the caliper pucks using a cast iron 8" C-Clamp it pushed a lot of fluid back into the reservoir , that fluid was dark so I sucked it out using a dedicated turkey baster from the grocery store, topped it off the ATE racing DOT 4 fluid .

The truck stops even better now , rock hard pedal so I'll leave it alone for the moment .

The ABS warning light has been lit since I bought this truck so I replaced the rear central sensor as apparently they have a habit of failing, the old one was covered in really fine SWARF so I opened up the diffy and drained it then cleaned out all the collected dark looking stuff, buttoned it back up and filled with fresh gear oil, no drips, weeps / seeps but that damned ABS WARNING LIGHT is STILL leering at me from the dashboard, maybe some thing needs to be reset ? .

 

[-Nate]

Oops ~ I forgot to post a picture of the magnetic filler plug :

Notice the ring of very fine SWARF ~ the old sensor was coated in it too, why I opened the derby cover and cleaned it all out .

I looked at the ABS teeth on the ring gear, they're clean as can be :

 

[-Nate]

Finally got a roundtuit and took pictures of my disc brake retractor :

My replacement brake rotor doesn't have the ABS Tone Wheel ! I can't seem to remove the old Tone Wheel, how is this done ? .

TIA,

 

[SenorNoob]

I'd return that rotor and get the one with the tone wheel.

I know they have separate listings at the parts house.