Magazine for the auto service professional
Issue link: http://asp.epubxp.com/i/684411
58 | ASP June 2016 Tool review Lisle brake caliper piston compressor One tool handles non-rotating and rotating pistons By Mike Mavrigian A s we all know, replacing pads on any brake caliper involves compressing the piston(s) to make room for the new pads. As pads wear, friction material thickness is reduced. As the pads get thinner, the piston(s) continue to move further out of their bores. When the customer fnally comes in for a pad change (usually because the brakes are getting noisy, since many wait until the backing plates begin to scrape against the rotors), the poor piston has nudged its way far enough from the bore that it must be shoved back fully in order to obtain enough room to install the new pads with enough clearance to slip the caliper over the rotor. While it's not uncommon for a tech to force the piston back home using a pair of large channel-lock pliers, that approach is clumsy and can easily damage the outer surface of the piston. A separate challenge is faced when dealing with screw-in style caliper pistons (commonly found on many rear calipers), where the piston must be rotated (clockwise or counter- clockwise depending on design) in order to move the piston back into its bore. In order to use one tool to address either Lisle's new Disc Brake Combination Kit allows you to easily compress caliper pistons for both rotating and non-rotating piston designs. This is a particularly efcient piston compressor.