SubaruBratBoy

Well when i took my rotors to be turned i also took my caliper to see if they could put the rubber gaskets on for me, when i came back they told me that the caliper was junk and that the piston was stripped. So looks like all my hard work to remove the rust and what not was all for not.

Alright so i bought that little brake block thing but i couldn't get enough leverage with it so i went back to the channel locks and a small hammer. I was able to tap and turn and lowered it a little more but it still is just barely catching on the side of the brake pad. Going to send a picture to 86bratman of the piston and see if that is as low as it goes.

I believe ill pick one of those up tomorrow Thanks! Soon, very soon I will be driving this puppy! It is taking me a while for this left side i guess just because this is my first one. I am encountering all of the problems now so when i go to the right side ill have everything i need and should take a day Then i will not be so worried about driving!!

Thanks miles, I'll definitely give that a try. Im going to have to get another one of the rubber things that covers the side of the piston because in the process of trying to twist the piston i caught hold of the rubber and ripped it open really good so i just removed it completely for now.

No I compared the old rotors to the new ones and the old pads to the new ones. The pads fit great inside of the thing that attaches to the caliper. The caliper has a single piston, it will not even get over the brake pads to reach the raised spots on the pads. The pads are completely pressed against the rotor. I just don't know if there's any other way to lower the piston any more. It has the i hour glass shaped piece, which is the best way i could describe it, that is raised outwards. It goes down for maybe | | that much then it goes closer to the center. The bottom of the widest part of the piston is just at the base of the caliper, maybe sticking out a little higher. I don't know how well i am describing this. But it just seems like something is too thick. The old brake pads fit with the new rotors. Can the rotors be ground down professionally to fit the new pads?

Well maybe it's a rotor issue. So i bought brand new rotors, and pads. I have turned the piston on the brake assembly until it doesn't lower any more but it still will not go over the brake pads and rotor. is there something i am not doing? 1986 brat, do the pistons need to be pushed or is it purely twist to lower it? The worn brakes would fit..... but i don't want worn brakes. Does the rotor need to be turned or whatever that's called to remove some of the thickness so the brakes can be put on?

That worked perfectly, I was able to remove the entire thing and clean it really good. I went to bed last night at 3am and woke up at 6am this morning because i couldn't get it off my mind.... I have subaruitis.....

Awesome thanks so much! That's just what i wanted to know. I have some spray paint especially for calipers and rotors and what not. So im going to remove all the rust and coat that puppy good.

alright so i was changing just about everything on my subaru because the rotors and brakes were in real bad shape. I don't know the last time this stuff had been changed but it definitely had time for rust to glue it all together. After breaking a crappy set of wrenches i had to bring out the big guns. I was able to remove the bolts holding the whole caliper assembly to the axle area im not sure the technical name for it. But i am trying to remove the entire assembly so that i can clean it and remove the rust and what not. My problem lies there. There is a hose which i found comes from the emergency brake(it helps to let that off when trying to change brake pads) and i don't know how to detach it. I would just remove the 2 bolts holding the bracket that the hose is on to the caliper but as i mentioned earlier rust gluing everything together and with it hanging free i have no leverage. If i put the bolt back in holding it to the axle area i can no longer reach these two bolts. Reccomendations?

haha well it's 3:33am and i just got off work. Working at an emergency clinic is great money but you get called in at all hours. Yeah when i saw your name Bratman i thought man that'd be a great vanity plate for my subaru. Is it already taken? Cause worse comes to worse i could be Bratboy. But you know Bratboy sounds like a side kick, like robin... ill e-mail you the pics in the mornin so i can go to bed. I really want to keep my four-wheel drive on my brat. Would it be easier to change it into an AWD or have it front wheel drive and be able to put it into the 4wd high and low or whatever.

Alright due to the size of the pictures and my not knowing how to make them smaller i had to post them on my myspace page. http://www.myspace.com/danaanhenry once you get there click on pics and choose the album labeled "my brat" it may take a minute or so for the pictures to load.

Pics shall be taken tomorrow! So about the post earlier for an ej22 engine, you mentioned getting the transmission of a late 80's rx. I am just trying to do some searchinh and reading about all the possibilities and costs. Now i have four wheel drive, that requires a different transmission correct? But is it called the subaru RX transmission? cause i can't find anything about an RX.

Love the hood scoop!

haha already decided on the 4inch lift kit! About the thermostat my car is heating up too quickly so i need a thermostat that regulates faster, a lower temp thermostat. I would love to get some nice tocoma wheels. About the jack, my little jack that comes inside the hood just didn't seem sturdy enough to me on my gravel so i bought a craftsman 2 1/4 ton hydraulic jack with two jack stands. the original jack is supposed to fit in that groove just under the doorframe. I don't know any good spots to put my jack so as not to mess up my car, and i also want to use my jackstands.

brumby what exactly is a brumby? My first real task today was finding a place to put the jack to lift up my car. Man there isn't much for it to rest on but i finally found a semi sturdy place. My second task was getting the nuts off the tire... those things were in super tight!!!! it actually BENT my tire iron, twisted the head of it about 90 degrees. I finally got it off with some lube on the nuts but at a closer looked i noticed the rotors aren't in very good condition so im going to replace those then ill get a lower thermostat so i regulate water faster. The autoparts store has rotors for 33.37 each which shocked me! So anyway things are going great i have been sanding away the dust on the rims and painting some rust proof enamal on them. Things are going great