Rear brake pad change caution

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I did a set of rear brake pads today. I admit, Ann had to hold the caliper while I pushed and turned clockwise, but the piston went in all the way. Took 20 minutes, tops!

cptjam, if I understand YOU correctly, YOU TURN the PISTON, NOT the parking brake lever like IdahoMtmSpyder referred to in his post #10???????

Correct. Use the tips of a 6” set of needle nose, push hard and twist!

What's confusing are the instructions in the service manual.



I tried turning the PB shaft since I couldn't hold the needle nose pliers and push and turn them while trying to hold the caliper with the other hand. What I found is you can't rotate the parking brake CCW because it won't go, and the threads, according to the one picture of a Brembo brake I post above, are right hand threads. What I don't know is if you can actually turn it CW to retract the piston since that's the way the threads go. But according to the SM you can turn it. But turning CW is what sets the parking condition. Is the service manual wrong, incomplete, or are we missing something?

There's no question the easiest way is to turn the piston, CW only. Just be sure to not let it come out all the way before you retract it because it will fairly easily. And when the pads are worn close to nothing it doesn't take much to run it off the adjusting shaft and disengage the threads.

It really is pretty much a two person job if the piston doesn't turn freely right off the bat. Needle nose pliers work, but it can be a challenge to keep them firmly stuck in the piston holes while pushing and turning. In my case the piston apparently had come off the end of the adjusting screw so I was trying to push the piston back against the internal spring while trying to get the threads engaged. That's when I gave up and took it loose from the brake line and chucked it in the vise. Then it was easy!

I think I'll send a note to BRP asking about the procedure in the service manual.

 

[UtahPete]

That's what I thought would do, but it didn't work! The parking brake lever would not turn CCW. It is stopped solidly by some sort of latch or ratchet inside the cylinder. I looked for a diagram that shows how the brake innards are assembled but came up empty.

What is confusing is the service manual says to turn the parking brake lever to retract the piston. But it doesn't say which direction.

I decided to do another Google search and found this page about how to rebuild a Brembo caliper. It looks to be basically the same as the Spyder brake. https://wiki.seloc.org/a/How_to_Rebuild_a_Brembo_Caliper

This pic is part of the instructions. It shows the internal assembly minus the piston.

View attachment 160480

As you can see it's a right hand thread on the adjuster shaft. That means you would need to turn the parking brake lever CW to retract the piston. I still can't get my head around how turning the parking brake lever CW pushes the piston to lock the pads onto the rotor. That is somehow done by a plate with three balls pushing against the piece in the pic, but what exactly causes the disk to rotate and snug up the piston as the pads wear I can't figure out.

Helpful, thanks.

 

[AbNormy]

I borrowed one from NAPA. None of the adapters fit!:banghead:

So the HF kit likely wouldn't work on RT brembo calipers? have to find a young neighbor to hold my caliper looks like

 

[jcthorne]

This thread is all kinds of mixed up with many comments being directed at 2013+ Brembo calipers but actually applying to the older chinese BRP calipers.

The older calipers you need to turn the parking brake lever shaft. The newer calipers you need to turn the piston.

BajaRon sells a tool for the newer caliper piston that makes turning it in much easier. The off the shelf brake tool kits do not have an adaptor that fits the Brembo powersports caliper.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

The older calipers you need to turn the parking brake lever shaft. The newer calipers you need to turn the piston.

That clears things up. As I remember when I did mine the 2014 service manual has a comment about turning the parking brake lever. Must have been a left over instruction from earlier manuals. Not the only time old info got left in newer manuals.