how can i tell if the brake callapers on my 96 impreza wagon 2.2 are stock i bought new pads and they dont fit and autozone told me thay should and that all 96 impreza pads are the same size i the outer one fits just fine bt the iner one is to big any help i really need new brakes for the show and i cant get any to fit i could grind it down a bit but i really dont like messing with braks like that please help this impreza has been a nightmare

They're kind of a pita.

Use grease on the slide shims and put a bit of muscle into it, they'll slip into place.

bought new pads and they dont fit and autozone told me thay should

 

My experience w/ Autozone is... they have no fu***** clue what they are doing. I have never gotten the right part the first time.

On aftermarket pads it's real common to have to file down the edges a bit to make them fit (Provided these are the correct pads and match your old ones). You never want to just force them in, that's how brakes wear incorrectly. The pads need to be able to move. File down the ears till they slide nicely in the holder. Then you'll be in good shape. We use a lot of brake pads from NAPA, I have to do it almost every day, no big deal.

My experience w/ Autozone is... they have no fu***** clue what they are doing. I have never gotten the right part the first time.

 

Obviously you didn't know what you were looking for then, otherwise you'd be able to spot what was wrong with it.

 

Goddammit I dislike people who make a general assumption about the majority of parts people on piss-all money who are trying to do good work. Guess what - There's about 10,000 vehicles on those computers. Do you expect the parts person to know every minute detail about each and every one of them?

 

I've worked in parts for a couple years, and eventually got sick of it because of ignorant pig-headedness like you've just displayed when all you're trying to do is help find the right part.

 

How about you jump over the other side of the counter and see what it's like trying to find parts for a fifteen year-old Japanese car with some arrogant meatsack on the other side, then come back and tell us how easy it is.

tis true, there are all sorts of other things in play. they have people they have to deal with every day - claiming parts are the wrong ones or wrong sizes just to get money back, no receipts, hearing lies daily, or people breaking stuff and saying it was that way, or folks trying to act like they know more about vehicles than they really do....don't be too hard on the guy behind the counter.

They're kind of a pita.

Use grease on the slide shims and put a bit of muscle into it, they'll slip into place.

 

I use a car battery terminal cleaning metal brush to clean off the crud and rust from the slide shims, then apply anti-seize cream on the slides before sliding on the new brake pads. Seems to work pretty well.

I replaced my front brake calipers on my 99 OBS 2.2 this summer. When looking for who had them in stock, every one of the chain parts stores had in their system that my OBS was supposed to have factory dual piston calipers.

 

As far as issues with pads fitting, I've never had to modify them to get them to to work, though there have been slight differences in snugness. Multiple pad jobs on couple diff Subes the past 8 yrs.

 

 

 

Maybe a dumb question here, but what exactly isn't fitting? I'm not insulting your experience level cause I have no idea what it is, but if you are a noob to brakes, I'm assuming you compressed your piston? Otherwise, that caliper will never fit over top of the new pads.

Edited August 12, 201015 yr by JT95