BRAKE HELP PLEASE!

[gaz90]

I started changing my front disks and pads today, everything was going brilliantly.
I got the old ones off, cleaned the caliper and new disk and started putting it back together, the drivers side was fine and is back to normal, the passenger side is just pissing me off now, whenever I go to put the caliper back together it just won't go and if I do manage to close it over it just jams the pads onto the disk (the piston has been pushed back as far as possible!)
What can I do? I'm really losing my patience now, I felt the need to punch the car earlier (thankfully it was the front plastic wing I was next to and didn't cause any damage).
Can I use one new brake pad and one decent old one? This lets the top of the caliper swing down but I'm not sure if it should be done, its as if these pads are bigger than the drivers side ones!
Any help appreciated!!

 

[gaz90]

Anyone? need this sorted tonight!

 

[Chris-Mk2]

Have you bled the brakes? Try this and then push the piston back in.

 

[gaz90]

Didn't think that was needed to change disks and pads? I've not got any brake fluid anyway and don't know how to!

 

[Fred@BTM]

no you don't need to bleed it, remove the shims out of the pad carrier if you get stuck (skinny bits on metal) that'll sort it

 

[gaz90]

cheers fred, I guess your meaning the little bits of metal which the sides of the pads sit between?

 

[Fred@BTM]

yup, not really needed anyway, try without them and see if that sorts it

 

[gaz90]

Cheers I'll try that now and see how I get on

 

[gaz90]

That seems to have eased it a little bit but its still pretty tight to turn the brake disk for some reason, I really don't know what else to try!

 

[MartinR]

Are the sliders free and not seized? Also have you removed the master cylinder reservoir cap? makes it easier to push the piston back.

 

[gaz90]

If the sliders are the little black rubber parts the bolts go into with the nut then they seem fine from what I can tell, I removed the reservoir cap before I started!
I started the car there and put it into gear but only one wheel on the front was spinning, the passenger side wheel has completely seized up now!
Looks like I'm carless for a while, I guess its a lesson for next time that if someone says its an easy job then it isn't and a mechanic should do it!

 

[gaz90]

Whats the worst that could happen if I put an decent old pad and a new pad in the same caliper?

 

[gaz90]

Anyone got any more ideas I could try before I give up for the night and wait till I've got cash for a mechanic? Really cba walking everywhere in that weather

 

[gaz90]

Anyone?

 

[gaz90]

I've been doing this same passenger side caliper since half 4, someone help me out please!

 

[Owen92]

Do not put an old pad back in. Every common problem has been mentioned above. Some pictures would help us see what you mean.

 

[Xanda73]

Do you mean you can't move the other wheel at all, or just that only one wheel turned when started in gear, because the diff will try to drive only 1 wheel when the car is off the ground?

 

[gaz90]

My phones just ran out of charge when I went to take a photo! The easiest way to describe it is that the piston has been pushed back as far as it will go and when I go to push the top of the caliper down it gets about half way over the pads then it feels like it would need hammered to fully close it. I thought I had sorted it by removing the little shims, it closed over and the disk moved but not as well as it should have, then i pressed the brake pedal and it just jammed on causing the pads to seize onto the disk

 

[sbridgey]

Do you mean you can't move the other wheel at all, or just that only one wheel turned when started in gear, because the diff will try to drive only 1 wheel when the car is off the ground?

you want to be careful doing that, my car bloody well locked itself and i had to unlock it via the door lock with the spare set!

 

[gaz90]

Do you mean you can't move the other wheel at all, or just that only one wheel turned when started in gear, because the diff will try to drive only 1 wheel when the car is off the ground?

It was solid trying to turn the wheel round by hand, the pads are too tight againt the disk to let it freely spin and the piston has been pushed back all the way

 

[jamesv6]

You may have to file the pad ends down a tad where the pads slides in the guides, i had to do this on my ferodos as everytime i tightened the caliper up it clamped the pad to the disc, filed a bit off each end and hey presto.

 

[_WILL_]

How did u push the piston back in? Are you sure it is fully wound in?

 

[MartinR]

Get a G-clamp on the piston to make sure it has gone right back.

 

[Owen92]

Make sure the brake fluid reservoir cap is removed before you push the piston back.

 

[gaz90]

You may have to file the pad ends down a tad where the pads slides in the guides, i had to do this on my ferodos as everytime i tightened the caliper up it clamped the pad to the disc, filed a bit off each end and hey presto.

I don't think that would help tbh, if anything it seems like its the abrasive side of the pads need filing because its only one side that seems to stick, its almost like the caliper has bent or something!

How did u push the piston back in? Are you sure it is fully wound in?

I used the g clamp method Martin mentioned above, using the g clamp and an old pad, theres about 3mm of the rubber showing and about 1 or 2mm of the metal piston

 

[gaz90]

Make sure the brake fluid reservoir cap is removed before you push the piston back.

Done that mate, I unscrewed it before I even removed the caliper so I wouldn't forget

 

[MartinR]

Get some pictures up

 

[105e]

Put the old pads back in so the piston cannot pop out, then press the brake pedal to make the piston move, then push it back in. maybe build up of rust on it stopping it going in all the way in.

 

[_WILL_]

Is the new disc located properly? If the disc is slightly off set then one pad will clash. Take the disc off check it all and refit. Then check that when you put the pads in the are pushed all the way into place and aren't moving as you lower the caliper into place (if they are a little lose they may move a bit as you lower the caliper.

 

[gaz90]

Right, I'm going out now to try taking it all off and starting again as mentioned above, then I'll try 105e's solution with the caliper. I'll come back in about half an hour and say how I got on. If it fails then I'll post some pics.
I went to my local mechanic for advice this morning and he suggested putting it all back together and try driving it to bed them in, is it just me or is that bad advice? Surely that would mark my shiny new disks?

 

[Owen92]

The mechanic is talking b****cks IMO. Putting the old pads back in to run down the road isn't going to solve the problem of new pads going in.
Just realised it hasn't been asked yet, are you 100% certain they are the correct pads?

 

[gaz90]

Thought that tbh, new mechanic time...
They were bought from a renault dealer using my registration to source parts, one side is fine so I'm guessing they are definitely the right parts

 

[easym5]

I dont think your mechanic told you to put the old stuff back in,he probably meant you to rebuild and test drive with the new discs/pads,i have put new discs and pads on mine and other cars when you can barely turn new disc by hand but after a couple of miles seem to loosen off ok,they may get a bit hot but they can take a lot of heat if they are decent discs

 

[gaz90]

Ahh maybe thats why it sounded so mental to me when he said rebuild them and drive it haha, I'm just not sure about driving it as it feels very tight on one side and quite free on the other side is that not dangerous?
It's genuine renault parts I've got mate and its on a 1.2 so I don't think the brakes would be made to withstand a great heat!

 

[Trophy144]

put the new pads in, make sure you put the reservoir cap back on. put everything back together and dont worry if you cant move the wheel
drive the car up and down the street and this should free everything up when you have braked a few times. if you jack it up again after this and still cant move the wheel then i would worry about it

 

[gaz90]

Cheers, would that not wreck my new disc?

 

[MartinR]

No it won't do any damage to the new disc as its only up and down the road a few times

 

[Trophy144]

no it wont as martin182 has said, it should hopefully settle the pads in the carrier and let everthing settle so that its all free and running as it should

 

[gaz90]

Just went a test drive there, they seem to work fine and theres no problems apart from they could probably do with being bled but that can wait for now as I don't know how to and don't have money to pay a mechanic to do it.
I'd like to thank everybody thats put up with all my questions over the last couple of days and gave me tips to try and help me get this sorted, this is a brilliant site with very helpful people on it!

 

[Trophy144]

does the wheel spin freely if you jack the car up now?