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Hey guys, I went to replace one of my rear wheel bearings today on my 2001 Nissan Maxima SE and had a really hard time removing the brake caliper from the rotor. It seemed pretty stubborn and there was a lip around the rim of the rotor that made it pretty difficult to remove. Once I got it off though, I noticed that the caliper piston boot was not seated on one side and the bit of exposed piston was dry and dusty looking. Can I lubricate the piston and just seat the boot properly to fix this or do I need to look into getting a proper rebuild kit?
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If the dirt boot is not seated properly, there is a reasonable chance that debris has made its way inside.
Your free to do what you feel is best in your situation,
But keep in mind this is your brakes… if something should fail it will not be a good day.Thanks. I took the caliper and the boot off and cleaned the exposed piston with some brake cleaner. It looks really shiny now which makes me think they’re okay. It doesn’t look like any corrosion happened mainly just surface dust and debris. I guess the problem could be that some debris got past the piston’s seal.
If you don’t see any signs if damage (lines scratched in the surface ) on the piston bore.
Consider yourself lucky, clean the dust boot and carefully reinstall it.Thanks. I went ahead and took the whole piston out since it was a threaded type and made sure the interior of the cylinder was clean. However I’ve run into a big problem in that I can’t seem to get the piston back in 🙁 if I remove the inner seal that’s inside the cylinder, I can screw the piston in easily in about 10 turns. But with the seal there, I can’t get the piston to screw in at all. I’ve spent hours on it and my only guess is the seal is binding up when I push the piston in. I’m not sure how given the tolerances seem so small but now I’m not sure what to do. This is my only vehicle and now I can’t drive it because apparently I royally screwed it up. Are there any suggestion I might try in this situation?
Sometimes the seals swell with age. Also you may need to relieve the pressure behind the piston so make sure the caliper is off the car and the bleeder screw removed.
If that doesn’t work order a rebuild kit from the DEALER. Aftermarket caliper seals are usually a massive headache and the kits are probably cheap from Nissan.
Rick
Thank you, I’ve been really stressed out about it for some reason especially when none of the auto parts stores had a caliper repair kit that would work to get me through the holidays. Hopefully I can find an aftermarket one to get me through until a proper one can be shipped. Thanks again
Hopefully these can help:
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/search/?searchType=global&N=0&Ntt=2001+Nissan+Altima+Brake+Caliper+Repair+Kit
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Brake+Caliper+Repair+Kit/01262/C0066.oap?year=2001&make=Nissan&model=Maxima&vi=5015920
http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2001/nissan/maxima/brake/caliper_repair_kit.html
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