Rear Caliper Issue

[E30andy]

Hey Guys,

I have had a brake squeal from my passenger side rear brake and had a chance to look at it today. Looks like the caliper piston is stuck, keeping the pads in contact with the rotor causing the squeal.

I was kinda shocked when I saw the price of a oem caliper (over $300!). I saw some non oem options like Centric. Not sure if these are any good. Anyone have any experience with non oem calipers?

Rebuild kits are under $10. I was going to go that route but I don’t have compressed air and I’m not sure I can get the caliper piston out without it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Andy

[D.Martijn]

If you happed to have a grease gun, you can also use that to remove the piston.
On my 2002 touring I'm restoring the pistons were too stuck to remove them with compressed air. The grease gun made quick work of removing them.

[E30andy]

I do have a grease gun, good to know it’s an option!

[D.Martijn]

I do have a grease gun, good to know it’s an option!

It's actually the safest option to remove the piston. Using compressed air, the piston will just shoot out of the caliper. With the grease gun, it just falls out.

Make sure you clean the inside of the caliper thoroughly :)

[E30andy]

How about just tin on the brake with the caliper revel fro. The rotor and brake pads removed? Wouldn’t that push out the piston?

[D.Martijn]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Although I have no idea how fast it will fly out of the caliper. If you do try this, I would suggest wrapping the whole caliper in old rags/towels to first, catch the piston and also the fluid that will spew out.

[AndrewBird]

The only reason compressed air makes the piston fly out is because the air compresses and builds pressure until it pops. Brake fluid can't compress, so it will just slowly come out. There will be a large amount of brake fluid that comes out though.

If the piston is stuck, there is a good chance it is rusted and won't be rebuildable.

[chuckdizzle]

Hey Guys,

I have had a brake squeal from my passenger side rear brake and had a chance to look at it today. Looks like the caliper piston is stuck, keeping the pads in contact with the rotor causing the squeal.

I was kinda shocked when I saw the price of a oem caliper (over $300!). I saw some non oem options like Centric. Not sure if these are any good. Anyone have any experience with non oem calipers?

Rebuild kits are under $10. I was going to go that route but I don’t have compressed air and I’m not sure I can get the caliper piston out without it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Andy

Refurbished OEM calipers are another option. I went that route to replace my rear calipers, found them on Bavauto for under $50.00 each and you get a small core refund for sending your old ones back.

[E30andy]

Ok thanks for all the input guys! Great info!!