My rear 07 rear calipers are made by ATE and are the same as the units on my wife's Audi. IMOH opinion the resistance to screwing in the caliper piston is due to the ABS pump valve body. At one time there were thoughts floating around the ether that you should not force fluid backwards through an ABS unit as it can cause damage. Perhaps it's just another urban myth, but...........

 

Please re-read what I actually wrote. The brakes are not serviced with the pedal depressed.

Sorry, disagree. The reservoir cap is vented to atmosphere. Newer (generally post '60s) have a flexible diaphragm separating the fluid from the air to lessen moisture absorption, older cars do not.

Loosening the cap achieves nothing.

If the cap is not vented, how does air get in to replace the fluid as the level drops with pad wear?

 

I did not say the brakes are serviced with the pedal depressed. That's ridiculous.

As for the rest of your arguments.
I'll, carry on doing what I've always done on bikes and cars when changing the discs and pads because it works.

Glad to see the OP got it sorted.

 

I've heard those stories too but never any correlating evidence of contaminated ABS pumps from those who have 'transgressed'.

The main point, that might have gotten lost, was that the latest poster has left himself low on brake fluid by bleeding the contents of each caliper and did not replace it.

This will almost guarantee a low fluid warning as the new pads wear. It's important to keep the system fluid volume within certain min/max limits.

 

Just a few comments. You can't force any fluid back thru the ABS. What the ABS does is have a reservoir of high pressure brake fluid ready at all times to be directed to where ever the ABS computer says to put it. If no signal is received the ABS valves are locked closed at all other times.

In fact no one has mentioned it but technically you are not fully bleeding your brake system unless you have the factory service tool to cycle the ABS pump (remember this pumps job is to keep a small amount of brake fluid under high pressure at all times for emergency use). Since most people drive such that the ABS is not triggered you can see where you have a small isolated bit of brake fluid that never gets changed.

On a previous car I had I did have the correct service tool. Some people claimed that you could acheive the same thing by driving on a gravel road and stomping on the brakes making the ABS kick in to cycle the pump. Can't say if that works or not but I have done it.

The reason the rear calipers are harder to push in is just geometry. There is more distance and more turns and twists back to the master cylinder. So you are attempting to move more fluid compared to the front caliper so it's much harder. If you watch you will see the fluid level in the master cylinder rise as you crank the calipers back in.

Also one thing to check. As our cars age the flexible rubber brake hoses decay from the inside. This restricts the brake fluid mainly from draining back after a brake application. It's very common on some cars for this to happen and the main symptom is you can't push the caliper back in and the rear brakes drag.

Agree with making sure your slider pins are greased and moving too.
.
.
.

 

I'm not sure if you have your issue sorted. If not, my hunch is that you may have installed your pads flipped; inside pad to outside position and vice versa. This matters as the inside pads have dimples to engage the parking brake paws but not the outside pads. Let us know how you make out with this issue nonetheless.

 

What TonyX means is found here in the link provided, go to post #54 thru #57.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ewed-up-53653/

 

After pushing my calipers back a 3rd time and getting the parking brake calibration done right this time, I still had problems with the brakes dragging. In frustration I took it to the local Jag/Land Rover specialist shop. The owner is a customer of ours at the bicycle shop where I work. The owner looked at it while the wheels were still on and could see that the brake pads were reversed. I felt like a dummy until I double-checked when I got home and found that at least the right side of my car was done the way I had done it. I know because that one had the pad material gone on the inside of the caliper, but fine on the right. The rotor was equally scarred up on the back side. I had done them the way that one was before. I had not checked to see the order on the left side of the car. I am betting the left side was correct before as the wear was even and a lot less. That is probably why they had the problem on the right side. Just so everybody knows, the pads with the spring go on the inside and the pads without to the outside. I wish I had read your reply before I spent $70 on a tow truck, $138 to the shop and more for car rental.

 

CThomas, now we know you will never have this issue again.

 

Great write up!

Thanks to all for giving me the insite to do a brake job on "her car"

What brand of pads and rotors are good for the long haul, dust etc?