Rear Brake Caliper Piston and E-Brake Cable Won't Budge

[themerk]

Was able to easily replace both front pads and the driver's side rear pads. However, ran into a problem with the passenger side...

First, I couldn't for the life of me get the parking brake cable disconnected from the caliper. The lever that the cable slots into wouldn't budge at all. By comparison, the driver's side caliper gave me no issues with this whatsoever. I decided to move on with the job anyway...

After I had the caliper off and the old pads pulled, I tried to use the rented tool to retract the piston. I used all of my muscle power, and it barley budged. I decided to stop since I was having to use way more muscle power than I had to on the other one, and the piston's rubber boot was getting twisted. I put the old pads back into both rear calipers and decided to call it a night.

My question is, why won't the piston on my passenger side rear caliper retract? Does it have something to do with the parking brake cable on that caliper being all seized up too? Do I need a new caliper or is there something I can do to fix the problem?

[Deserion]

Does the rented tool only push or does it also twist? The cable shouldn't cause a problem but they have been known to seize if not used regularly. Either use it always or don't use it.

I would try penetrating oil on the lever and the cable to see if that would help loosen it up a bit.

[hako]

Pistons rotate in opposite directions - if the left one was clockwise then the right one will be anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise) Thats because the RH wheel turns clockwise and the LH wheel turns anti-clockwise when driving.

[themerk]

Deserion, the tool twists and pushes, but like I said, I couldn't get the dang piston to budge!

We ALWAYS use the parking brake. I tried a bit of penetrating oil already, but frankly the whole lever is rusted in place...

hako, I don't see how the pistons could rotated in opposite directions. I mean, the tool only screws in one way...

Unfortunately, on this page from germanautoparts.com it says that "Frozen emergency brake mechanisms generally require replacement of the caliper." Leading me to believe that I probably need a new caliper at this point anyway...

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by hako

Pistons rotate in opposite directions - if the left one was clockwise then the right one will be anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise) Thats because the RH wheel turns clockwise and the LH wheel turns anti-clockwise when driving.

Your toilet water might rotate in a different direction when it flushes than mine , but the calipers turn in in a clockwise direction on both sides.

[hako]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Your toilet water might rotate in a different direction when it flushes than mine , but the calipers turn in in a clockwise direction on both sides.

Spot on! I guessed that the VW setup was the same as for some other vehicles which have LH threads on the parking brake screw of the piston on one side and RH thread on the other side. Bad guess

[2005Beetle]

I can't get mine to open up either. I eventually opened/removed the brake line and removed the caliper. I'll see what I can do on the bench today.

[pencilneck]

Part MN3272 - Rear Brake Reset Tool

Brake, Transmission, Wheel, Exhaust Tools - VW Engine Tools from Metalnerd