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help 2001 altima brakes

I will admit to never having replaced this model before. REAR breakpads on

01 altima worn down to about 8th inch thickness, are the calipers overextended and in need of replacement? On any other car I have been able to compress brake calipers' piston to replace brake pads but this configuration appears different and piston will not compress even with a heafty c-clamp. When I discovered both rear calipers not compressing, I became suspicious. Nissan did not use hydraulics all the way to the caliper but cables with levers and springs attached to the calipers, then there is a separate hydraulic line. How can I tell if the caliper is frozen? So I had to put the old pads back in, the rear wheels spun fairly free. Started the engine and depressed the brake with rearend lifted from ground, I was UNable to manually rotate either rear wheel while brakes engaged, but was able to manually spin either rear wheel when brake was again released. I can only assume that the calipers still work to that point, but why can they not be depressed to a point where new pads can be installed... and should I replace them? Is there a mechanism that can be adjusted for this unusual configuration to release the break pistons? Thanks, John
Reply to
john
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There is probably nothing wrong with the calipers. On cars that also use the rear disk brakes as the emergency brake, you have to screw the pistons back in when you change pads. If you look at the front of the caliper pistons, you notice there is a fat cross cut into them. Take a needle nosed pliers, or you can buy a tool specifically for it, and screw them back into the piston. Make sure the grooves are aligned when you are done such that the pins on the back of the new pads are set into the grooves as you reassemble them.

Reply to
E Meyer

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