Hello,

This is for a 2008 Grande Punto Abarth with standard brembo brake assembly.


I had to replace my brake discs as they were worn out. Since I like to learn and do things myself, I thought it would be a good occasion. Front was not a problem. Passenger rear took a bit of convincing, but I was able to push the piston in enough to put the assembly back on with the piston tool.


On the driver side rear however, the piston won't push back in. I have the e-learn CD for the grande punto. The only thing I did not do was disassemble the center console to release the ebrake cable.

Is it the ebrake cable that is giving me issues? Because I have tried everything so far. Opened the master cylinder reservoir while trying to push the piston in to no avail. Then tried to open the bleeder screw a little but same results. Now the piston won't even turn either way...ebrake is not on.

Would appreciate some advice as I can't put the disc/assembly back on so I can't even take it to the garage :bang:

Thanks in advance!

Often.. because of the HANDBRAKE : parking brake mechanism.

You need to twist :rotate the piston..as you apply pressure.

https://www.fiatforum.com/tech-talk/436389-calliper-windback.html?436389=#post4152349


That may be your issue

A friend came by with a mechanic friend of his, he was unable to push it back in either. We pushed the break pedal and the piston was able to move out just fine, but impossible to push it back in. He disassembled the caliper and took it with him to try and push it in at work. We'll see what's what...

I apologize if I sound patronizing but were you screwing it in the right direction? The Punto in our family has drum rear brakes so I have no direct Punto disc experience but I remember, many years ago, being caught out by the wheel nuts on an Alfa. Right hand thread on the offside, left hand on the nearside! Somewhere, deep within the grey matter which fills some of the space between my ears, I seem to remember reading that the same "handing" is used on some designs of rear caliper?
regards Jock

Lol no worries, I was wondering the same as I read it can be the case on some cars.

However, the elearn manual I have states that for the grande punto with discs, you need to push it in clockwise. I'll take another look to double check that statement though.

In any case it became stuck to a point I wasn't able to turn it either way...

Was looking up the web in case I need to get a new caliper. I don't mean to ask a dumb question, but do these calipers come painted red?

Because even on brembo's site they are just shown in their "natural" aluminium color?

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

I apologize if I sound patronizing but were you screwing it in the right direction? The Punto in our family has drum rear brakes so I have no direct Punto disc experience but I remember, many years ago, being caught out by the wheel nuts on an Alfa. Right hand thread on the offside, left hand on the nearside! Somewhere, deep within the grey matter which fills some of the space between my ears, I seem to remember reading that the same "handing" is used on some designs of rear caliper?
regards Jock

Click to expand...

Well crap, you were right, I missread the manual. Although the elearn cd isn't specifically for the Abarth version, it states that for the rear left, you need to turn counterclockwise...!

Should have read it more carefully :bang:

I think anti-clockwise is just a non-sense for a Swiss Guy ;-)

Has it gone back in now ??

Cheers, Bernie

Bernievarian said:

I think anti-clockwise is just a non-sense for a Swiss Guy ;-)

Has it gone back in now ??

Cheers, Bernie

Click to expand...

I too have come across L H thread wheel bolts..

You can see the point of this.
as there are significant rotaional forces (they are commonly used on trucks..)

BUT. How does this effect a sliding piston?

My suspicion is :
The parking brake mechanisms are 'mirror images'.. due to the 'handing' of the pull from the cable.

Think of it like spring compressors.


https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsc02.alicdn.com%2Fkf%2FHTB1ybTLHFXXXXXhXpXXq6xXFXXXO%2FHigh-Quality-Best-Seller-4-Arms-Drop.jpg_350x350.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alibaba.com%2Fproduct-detail%2FHigh-Quality-Best-Seller-4-Arms_60240008854.html&tbnid=yhZtfWOZ5psjaM&vet=1&docid=Ngwjl-X3VyKmTM&w=350&h=350&ved=2ahUKEwik0dLczaHgAhXW44UKHbjcBpwQMyhBegUIARD4AQ


You have a driving hexagon providing the force (like the handbrake cable)

That drives a LH THREAD . On the LEFT

and R H THREAD on the RIGHT.. all with one input of force.

Ok

So...

How do you salvage a stuck mechanism.


My thoughts would be.. pump out the cylinder until it drops free.

Then inspect the threads for damage.

Anybody actually stripped one down and recovered it.??

Making a useless post so I can get to 5 posts since the forum keeps telling me I can't post URLs for some reason, I'm only trying to reply with quotes

Bernievarian said:

I think anti-clockwise is just a non-sense for a Swiss Guy ;-)

Has it gone back in now ??

Cheers, Bernie

Click to expand...

Lol you could say it's non-sense yeah. So much for thinking this would be an easy procedure. The garage was quoting me 1100CHF (about 1100€) to change the discs, the guy said one disc cost 300CHF. I think he got the numbers wrong or made a mistake looking up the prices, I got all 4 discs for 250CHF. In any case, that was just too much for my budget. So while I'm saving money, the wife did get mad I spent about 4 hours total working on the car

I don't have the caliper with me, the mechanic friend of a friend who was kind enough to come by yesterday took it with him to try and wind it back up at work. Told him to try counter-clockwise so we'll see if he gets to push it in.

varesecrazy said:

I too have come across L H thread wheel bolts..

You can see the point of this.
as there are significant rotaional forces (they are commonly used on trucks..)

BUT. How does this effect a sliding piston?

My suspicion is :
The parking brake mechanisms are 'mirror images'.. due to the 'handing' of the pull from the cable.

Think of it like spring compressors.


https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsc02.alicdn.com%2Fkf%2FHTB1ybTLHFXXXXXhXpXXq6xXFXXXO%2FHigh-Quality-Best-Seller-4-Arms-Drop.jpg_350x350.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alibaba.com%2Fproduct-detail%2FHigh-Quality-Best-Seller-4-Arms_60240008854.html&tbnid=yhZtfWOZ5psjaM&vet=1&docid=Ngwjl-X3VyKmTM&w=350&h=350&ved=2ahUKEwik0dLczaHgAhXW44UKHbjcBpwQMyhBegUIARD4AQ


You have a driving hexagon providing the force (like the handbrake cable)

That drives a LH THREAD . On the LEFT

and R H THREAD on the RIGHT.. all with one input of force.

Ok

So...

How do you salvage a stuck mechanism.


My thoughts would be.. pump out the cylinder until it drops free.

Then inspect the threads for damage.

Anybody actually stripped one down and recovered it.??

Click to expand...

This actually makes a lot of sense. We'll see once I get the caliper back. Since we had to remove the caliper I'll have to bleed the whole system too now.

Piston was out of its threads when we pushed the break pedal yesterday to check if it was still working, but was fixed by my buddie's mechanic. The piston indeed needed to be turned in counter-clockwise! So for future reference if anyone does their own break job, do not mess this up lol

Thanks for the update and the clarification !!

Grütsi, Bernie

Ditto Bernie's comments. Thanks for the update. Glad you got it fixed at minimum expense. Regards
Jock