My rear brakes were making a lot of bad noises, scrapping when braking and then staying on slightly after braking so i decided to fit a new set of pads and discs.

I managed to get the new disc and pads on the passenger side rear, but then, when going to compress the piston to put the caliper back on, the piston will not compress.

I have tried taking the lid of the brake fluid reservoir and also using the bleed nipple on the caliper but to no avail.

Can anyone suggest what the issue might be and what the next steps are? I would take it to a garage but its kinda stuck now it had a missing rear brake

In case you do not know the pistons need to be turned to compress with suitable tool that fits in slots of piston, think if correct turn clockwise on drivers side and anti clockwise on passenger side.some do get away with using careful use of grips on the piston but that is your choice I use an angle grinder disc change tool which fits the slots and allows enough leverage to turn the piston in correct directn needed.
If you are doing correctly and they still do not turn then your piston will be stuck and maybe help as you have tried by releasing pressure by bleed nipple, though if stuck solid and will not turn to get the piston back in may be replacement caliper where recon calipers are far cheaper than new and do exactly same job.

I use these but with larger jaws

Well if it needs to turn at the same time that would make sense that I couldn't get it back in. Can anyone confirm if it is clockwise in one side and anticlockwise on the other?

Why do they never make it easy

As mentioned in post 2, turn the piston clockwise on the right (driver's side for a RHD car), and anti-clockwise on the left (passenger's side for a RHD car). I.E. turn the piston the same direction as the wheels turn when driving forwards.

You also need to apply pressure to push the piston into the caliper while turning it. If you had the correct tools, they are designed to turn and push at the same time, and at the correct rate. Once the pistons are retracted, make sure that the two cutouts on the face of each piston are horizontal.

If the brakes are staying on after releasing the pedal or handbrake, it could be caused by one, or both of the handbrake cables sticking. This is more common on the left cable.

EDIT: You also need to loosen the handbrake cable adjustment nut and disconnect the handbrake cables from the calipers before retracting the pistons. Once the discs, pads and calipers are refitted to the car, press the brake pedal several times with the engine running, then reconnect the handbrake cables to the calipers, then adjust the cable so that both rear wheels are locked with 5 clicks of the handbrake lever ratchet.
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Thanks, I've just ordered the right tool from my local fiat dealer, should be here mid week - hopefully that will make the job nice and easy!

V0NS73V3 said:

Thanks, I've just ordered the right tool from my local fiat dealer, should be here mid week - hopefully that will make the job nice and easy!

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Tools from Fiat don't come with instructions.
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Thanks mate, I stumbled on another post where this was all covered. Just wish I'd known before I started the job. Was going well up to this point.

My break pads were worn to the metal, which may explain some of the squealing.

V0NS73V3 said:

Thanks mate, I stumbled on another post where this was all covered. Just wish I'd known before I started the job. Was going well up to this point.

My break pads were worn to the metal, which may explain some of the squealing.

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Can you tell me how you got the old disc off. was it difficult?

No not difficult at all, when I'm at a computer I will put up the link to the guide I used, unless anyone can beat me to it. To actually get the disc off I used a rubber hammer as it was seized tight.

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/214522-changing-stilo-front-brake-pads.html that's the guide I used. The brake pad hanger is attached by two bolts on the rear, the disc is held on by two bolt/guide pins. It's all pretty straight forward.

V0NS73V3 said:

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/214522-changing-stilo-front-brake-pads.html that's the guide I used. The brake pad hanger is attached by two bolts on the rear, the disc is held on by two bolt/guide pins. It's all pretty straight forward.

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That guide is for replacing front brake pads. Fronts are much easier to replace than the rears.
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Yeah, which is why I didn't realised about needing to turn and compress the piston at the same time.

But the other steps are the same.

I might do a guide for the rears, depends on how I get on and what mood I'm in.

V0NS73V3 said:

No not difficult at all, when I'm at a computer I will put up the link to the guide I used, unless anyone can beat me to it. To actually get the disc off I used a rubber hammer as it was seized tight.

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Did it take much force with the hammer? I have no problem changing pads and winding the pistons back in but when I tried to get the disc off it was too tight to shift so I just left it until another time.

Yeah, a fair bit, just hit it a couple of times then spin it and hit it on the other side, it will come loose eventually.

Davren said:

EDIT: You also need to loosen the handbrake cable adjustment nut and disconnect the handbrake cables from the calipers before retracting the pistons.
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can anyone offer an opinion on how much handbrake cables stretch?
I've just replaced rear discs and pads as I thought worn parts were causing my os handbrake issue which is barely holding, they weren't as it's no better!

I've adjusted it up but the bracket is not straight, the os is higher(towards front of car) so I'm thinking the cable has stretched? Or could there be another cause?
The same side caliper was replaced last year at mot and the ns the year before, both pistons retracted nice and easy today so I think the calipers are fine.

Having replaced parts, set pistons with engine running and adjusted up cable I checked underneath and found when the handbrake is applied the the os cable only has barely an inch of cable exposed while the ns has 2-3 inches and this side is nice and tight.
Do these two things connect?

Car has done 177000 miles and I think the cables are originals as I've owned it from 43000.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

The swivel yolk under the rear ashtray should allow for some stretching of the cable(s), however if one cable is severely stretched, the yolk may not be able to swivel enough to compensate for it.

Check what angle the yolk is when the handbrake is fully applied. It may be swivelled to its limit, meaning a new cable is required. (Always best practice to replace both cables at the same time).
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Thanks Davren, Oh, it's definitely at its limit.

I've been reading a host of old handbrake threads and read about the handbrake caliper leaver, this is where I mentioned about the differing exposed cable lengths, is there anything I should check at this end?

Nothing I can think of at the caliper end,... unless the handbrake mechanism inside the caliper is seized.
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