i was changing my front pads while the caliper is off and trying to depress the pistons in order for it to fir back, i press the brakes from inside the car.... what would it cause?

 

please be more descriptive with your question so that someone can better answer your question.

 

you question/statement is very vague and difficult to understand.

What would what cause?

I am going to guess you are trying to figure out how to get the pistons back so you can slide the new pads in and have them fit over the rotor. You need to just push them back. I personally use a small piece of wood or metal that you can slide over the pistons and then you a c clamp to apply the pressure to push them back. An fyi though, if you do that and the brake lines are still connected then you will have brake fluid pour out from the resevoir in the engine.

Hopefully that answers your question.

 

based on this post http://www.wrxfanatics.com/index.php?showtopic=29454 it says that " Here is the Caliper removed from the Brake Support, supported/suspended above the brake assembly by using wire.
IMPORTANT: At this point, DO NOT let anyone touch the brake pedal! " but i did try to compress the brake pedal....now im wondering what it will cause. i did feel a little spongy feel on the brake pedal after the pad install.

 

if your saying what i think your sayin... by depressing the brake pedal your gonna force the pistons on the caliper out and make it tough to compress them back in and nearly impossible to get it back on and clear the brake pads... ive always heard the rumor if you do that you can actually damage the calipers piston or even knock it all the way out... just dont press the brake while the caliper is off !

 

Yes that is what i did..thank you for your explanaition, ...so what damage did it do?

 

just get your brakes blead, no damage was done.

 

It's possible to hyper-extend the piston, breaking the main seal. I've had that happen on a brake master cylinder. Once, for kicks, I fully compressed the brake caliber on my motorcycle, while it was removed. Other than being a ***** to re-open to fit back on the pads, it wasn't damaged. Not something I would recomend doing to something you care about though.

oh yeah, bleed the brakes +1

 

can someone help me bleed my brakes..ill be off to houston this sat and ill be driving my car....

 

Can’t help ya, I'm in CA...

However, I had all four brake lines flushed for 55$ once. I do it myself now, but it shouldn't cost much to pay somebody.

Or you can do it yourself. You can buy a vacuum pump for like $50 from most auto supply stores. You can then suck the fluid through the lines, getting those darn air bubbles out. The procedure that works for me is as follows:
1.remove wheel
2. Attach one end of hose to brake caliber bleeding nipple, other end to a small bottle attached to vacuum pump. Loosen the bleeding nipple.
3. Take off the top from the brake master cylinder reservoir. The reservoir should be on the driver side of the engine bay, on top of the master cylinder, which is bolted to the firewall.
4. Pump the vacuum pump. Keep an eye on the master cylinder reservoir; make sure it stays pretty full by filling it with new fluid
5. When you stop seeing bubbles in the bleeding hose, you're good. Tighten the bleeding nipple back to the torque spec, and detach the hose. Fill the reservoir to the correct level, and then tighten the top back onto that.
6. Put the wheel back on. Torque it!
7. Test out the brakes. Should be good!
8. Be sure to dispose of the brake fluid properly.

Ok, now some tips
-Brake fluid is highly corrosive AND poisonous. It will lift the paint right off your car. Be sure to wear rubber gloves, and absolutely do not spill any on the car, or anything you like. It's some bad stuff.
-The bleeding nipple may not form a perfect seal with the caliber when loosened. When you are bleeding the brakes, some outside air may sneak in through the threads, and create bubbles in the bleeding tube. This makes it tricky to know when you are done. You shouldn't have to bleed it very much, so use your judgment.
-Brake fluid binds with water quite readily. Water breaks down the useful properties of brake fluid, so be sure to rehearse your actions ahead of time, to be sure you're done quickly. The master cylinder reservoir especially should be open for a minimal amount of time. For this reason, an opened container of brake fluid should not be kept for much longer than a month.

There is a method of brake bleeding whereby you depress the brake pedal to force brake fluid through the system, which would not require a vacuum pump. I tried this, but found the pump method to be less risky. I blew a master cylinder seal that way. I would guess the brake fluid you would need would be DOT 3. Additionally, anything you do with the brakes should be done with side-to-side symmetry, I.E., if you change the right side brake pads, change the left, if you bleed the left, bleed the right, and so on. Somebody let me know if I'm forgetting something.

 

Good post...I havent seen any more detailed tutorial in bleeding brakes than this...

Thanks

btw im still in the bay area

 

Also useful for solo bleeding of brake systems:

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

 

oooooo I want speed bleeders. Yeah, that's the way to go.

If you can't wait that long, I'm in Redwood City, with nothing much to do. I have all the tools, you'd just have to get some DOT3 fluid. Let me know if you're down for it.

 

actually, do you have any idea when the brake lines were last flushed? might be a good idea to do that anyway if it's been awhile...