Good evening,

 

I have been replacing my rear discs and pads today, however the drivers side caliper won't rewind. I have a rewind tool (Laser I believe), which worked on the passenger side, but not the other. Any ideas where I am going wrong at all?

 

Many thanks in advance.

Turning it the wrong way?

Sometimes I've found them quite tight.

You need to keep rotating the counter screw to maintain a force pushing against the piston whilst rotating the tommy bar clockwise, without that it will just turn in space (cant recall how that is said in English).

Is one side not Clockwise and the other anti-clockwise?

I replaced a set of rears on my previous Octavia mk3, on memory I think each side you have to turn it the opposite way. Wasn't that tight, but my rear caliper bracket (not the slide bolts), m14 bolts were. They had to come off to change my discs, but on a lot of them you don't. That was the hardest part of the job for me. 

Try the opposite direction.

 

To my great surprise, after changing the RH pads and using RH tool, the LH didn't rewind with LH tool. After some swearing I decided to try the RH tool and voila, it went in pretty easy.

 

Still unsure about the construction of the caliper but trying the opposite tool worked for me.

I've sometimes found that a small pump of the brake pedal again can free the piston to retract.

 

Obviously this isn't the best idea if you're piston is nearly out already.

Thanks for all of the replies. Unfortunately, it looks like I need a new caliper. I pumped the brakes slightly, which caused them to move. It was easy to rewind them to the point I was at previously, but it is stuck completely there 😔

 

I appreciate everyone's input though, many thanks!

Compare the angles of the handbrake actuating levers on both calipers, are they the same and do they both freely return fully to the stops?

 

Check the handbrake compensator it should be at 90° to both cables, if not then you have a self adjuster problem.

Had replaced rear discs/pads on my Mk3 non-VRS Octy 2.0TDI: pistons went-in when turning clockwise / both sides.

But this is not sure for any VAG car.

For example, new VW Crafter's pistons should be turned clockwise on right side and anticlockwise on left side.

On 29/03/2024 at 14:26, mk3Octy said:

Thanks for all of the replies. Unfortunately, it looks like I need a new caliper. I pumped the brakes slightly, which caused them to move. It was easy to rewind them to the point I was at previously, but it is stuck completely there 😔

 

I appreciate everyone's input though, many thanks!

 

If you can, pump the pistons out quite far, use a block of wood or the two old brake pads to stop it coming out too far, then peel back the boot and have a look to see if there's any corrosion. Using some emery cloth of about 120 grit and some light oil, clean the corrosion off. Clean up the piston with a bit more of the oil and a clean rag then get some silicone or red rubber grease and smear it thinly over the piston before winding it back in.

 

This should get you mobile again if you need the car before you get the calipers. Although you've probably got them already by now.

Hi Rich, that's ideal mate thanks for the advice, should it happen to me again! Hopefully the caliper should arrive tomorrow 

2008 Octavia PD 1.9 is clockwise both sides. Last time I did it on mine I had to replace the caliper as it was locked solid. In normal circumstances, and with old calipers, they can be very stiff as the seals swell slightly with age. It's only just occured to me though. If you remove the disc, reattach the caliper with no pads, there could be enough room to wind back the piston with the caliper held in place. This would obviate the need to try to hold the caliper at the same time as operating the wind back tool, which you need at least three hands for. Anyone tried this? I'll be looking at it next time the pads need changing.

Yes, that is how I do it when the piston requires excessive torque to retract, I attach the caliper with one mounting bolt through the upper fixing hole into the lower tapped thread or the lower one with it swinging loose, one or the other, I can't recall which, maybe either.

I'll try a couple of methods next time, and will feed back what I find. Trouble is, with my memory, I keep forgetting which is the best one🤦‍♂️