Decided to do all four wheels today with new disks, pads. Fronts were
easy; the driver's side rear seemed like it took forever to screw the
piston in; but, it did go in. I'm using one of those little cubes with the
prongs that fit into the piston holes so I can apply inward pressure while
turning the piston clockwise. It's a 2006 S , normally aspirated, with
the teeves system that Jag switched to in mid-2006 (though I don't think
this makes a lot of difference)

It's panic time...have to be to work tomorrow and can't get that damnable
piston in; won't tell you how many times I've turned it! I've seen special
tools that fasten to the caliper and work like a C-clamp, except that it
turns the piston while it forces it in. In short, I can't get the caliper on
until I get that piston retracted.

Any ideas? I'll submit this in the mechnical section also. Thanks.

 

Turn the opposite direction.

 

Damn Mikey you are fast!!!

 

Try pushing it in a little with a C clamp while turning it gently with some pliers. You may have unthreaded it from the screw inside. There is a threaded pole inside that the piston threads onto which is why they have to be turned. If its to far out you may just be missing the threads. Definitly worth a try.

 

Crack the bleeder screw.

I've got the special tool....and when I did the 03 a little over a year ago, it was a pc. of cake (Clockwise both sides)
Did my wife's 05 about a month ago and both rears were a real (BITter ex-wife) but cranking down on 'em clockwise eventually did it. In this case, both were very hard to turn - with the tool it is a little hard to tell if the resistance is to turning or to compressing as you are doing both simultaneously.
Having said that, I have no idea what is "Teeves" nor even how to spell it (I copied it from Cliff) so I can't speak to that.......

 

Zane, cracking the bleeder will require bleeding the system correct?

 

So that's how it works. It's just about dark now, so I'll have
to try that in the morning. I was applying as much pressure as I
could with one hand holding the caliper and the other turning and
pushing. The problem I'm going to have with the c-clamp is that
it won't fit over the piston when the cube is over the piston...which
is needed to turn the piston. Now I know why I've seen those
special tools that turn and push at the same time.

And no, guys...you do not want to turn the piston counter-
clockwise. That backs it out of the caliper.

Vance, should I be experiencing any problem trying to get the
piston aligned with the pole?

Thanks for the help.

Cliff

 

generally not if the piston is being driven in and the bleeder screw is only just cracked an eighth turn or so and the bleeder is at the top. no air will enter unless a vacuum situation is created. you just have to be careful to close the bleeder before moving on to other things.

 

Sounds like I might have to buy that special tool, although
some automotive places rent them. Problem is, I'm about
30 miles from civilization. I did crack the bleed valve after
putting a clear plastic hose on it, then pushing the pistons
in. That shouldn't require bleeding as no air entered the
system.

Could you tell me where you purchased that tool? Thanks

Teeves is an OEM brake supplier that Jag started using in
mid-2006.

 

Nope as long as the piston is straight just like threading a bolt. You can rent that special tool at autozone. I actually have one that I was forced to keep after renting. If you got a way to get up there you can rent that and may make it easier.

 

Can you mount the caliper back onto one ear of the caliper bracket to free up two hands? Works on some cars, not all.

Is the cube a square drive?

If you have a T handle breaker bar, that can be rotation and push at the same time.

Or, you can push, while using a open end wrench on the cube.

Or, you can wedge a lever between the cube and the outer side of the caliper to get your inward force.

It should not require a great deal of force because all you need to do is to reach and engage the thread. See the suggestions for cracking the bleeder open.

 

Never had a problem requiring bleeding that way...but yeah, I put a li'l turn/push pressure on the piston, then crack the bleed, and shut it first thing when piston bottoms. I use that method to renew the fluid...thus far have always found a lad lounging around the living room that I can draft to push/hold the brake pedal....I got the tool at Amazon...let me look in my PM folder..think I have something on it.


This one:

Amazon.com: Astro Pneumatic 7860 11-Piece Caliper and Brake Service Tool Kit: Automotive



I think only about $40 when I bought it over a year ago....even at $45....i've surely spent that and more on other stuff that has proven far less useful...good pc. of gear and have thus far found a disc fitting the F150, the Exc and both S-Types (identical) ...haven't tried it on the big cat yet....

 

Cliff, this should also work for you....UNLESS...you still have the cap on the reservoir...compressing the pistons drives a bit of fluid out of them and it must either go overboard via the cracked-open bleeder or else back up the lines, raising the level in the reservoir...if cap is on, you'll be compressing the air in the top....or you'll be hydraulically locked with a full res.

 

Excellent point!!!

 

Vance, Bro1, plumsauce (I'd like to know the background behind
that name. Thanks for the info.

Here's Plan A...there is no Plan B. Early in the a.m., I'm going to
try it again with what I have; however I'm not optimistic. Then again,
there's probably a few swear words I haven't used. I found an
Autozone that rents the kit similiar to the one you have pictured,
Vance. Found a driver to take me there; hopefully the kit will
solve my problem. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Thanks again everyone for the rapid responses.

Cliff

 

Dont forget the cap. aholbro1 brought up an excellent point. If this is the last one and you are doing all four your brake reservior is probably full, especially depending on how far out your pistons were ie how wore the pads were. You might have no more room left for the fluid to go. You might be turning but the pressure built up in the reservior is pushing against you turning it in.
Good call aholbro1.

 

+1
+1
+1

just so you notice

 

Sounds like you are OK and don't need to worry about the cap (except for checking that your res isn't nearing empty- wouldn't cause the problem you are having but would necessitate bleeding if you let it deplete) since you are doing the bleeder-screw method. One point: Are you getting any fluid at all out of that bleed when you crank on the piston? If not, I'd back it off some more and have another go at it. I'd think it rare, but your bleed screw could be clogged with something causing the problem...still, it should compress some forcing fluid back to the resvr...I'm stumped...but like I said, my wife's rear end was wicked hard (ok...her car, but a guy can dream, can't he?) and backing bleeds off more was one thing I tried...not sure it helped but I imagined they were easier after that.

 

Cracking the cap or bleeder port and worrying about fluid levels is really not necessary.

As the pads wear, the fluid level drops in the M/C accordingly. Extremely low fluid levels (all 8 pads worn to their limit) would set off a warning signal. Pushing the pads back to their starting point would not cause the reservoir to overflow unless additional fluid has been added for some reason.

The cap is vented to atmosphere to allow air into replace the fluid as the level drops due to normal pad wear.

 

It happens frequently.