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91 Maxima SE: rear brake replacement questions

With 150,000 miles on my SE, it was time to replace the rear brakes. The manual (Chilton) made the job looked easy. The front pads certainly are easy.

Anyway, when I attempt to rotate the piston (driver-side: usa) clockwise with the needle-nose pliers, I was only able to rotate it about a half turn. Needless to say, it wasn't enough clearance for the new pads. Additionly, the boot around the piston was binding as I turned the piston.

The questions:

Is there a specialized tool other than needle-nose pliers used to turn the piston? Has anybody been able to rent such a tool from AutoZone?

Have you had problems with the piston boot binding as you turned the piston?

Have you been able to turn your pistons more than a half-turn?

Any help or hints would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

R Hopkins

Reply to
RHopkins
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Yes, Autozone has a tool for this that fits into the pistons indents.

I did on my 1996 Maxima. I gently pressed the brake pedal; the piston popped out a tiny bit and I tried turning again - it worked.

If you're going to take my suggestion, make sure you don't push down the pedal too much or you will damage the piston's rubber boot.

Nick

Reply to
Nick

Thanks Nick. Just to make sure I understand....

When you gently pressed the brake pedal, the twisted/binding piston boot would right itself and thus allowed you to turn the piston more until it was complete or the boot started to bind some more?

thank you,

r hopkins

Reply to
RHopkins

You can buy the tool at AutoZone for about $7 - worth the money.

Regarding the boot, try spraying some WD-40 or something similar into the piston groove where the boot seats. Might have to pry it away from the piston a little bit.

This should allow the boot to slip on the piston as you are turning it in.

Tim

Reply to
Tim Klymkow

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