Guys im having trouble finding the source of my rear caliper creaking like walking on a wooden floor. I have changed pads and no change. i have put paste behind the pads no change. Anyone had this experience? the only thing i can think of left is doing a complete caliper rebuild (are their kits for the stilo for this?) or maybe the hand brake cable has something to do with it.

Are you sure it's the caliper and not the sub-frame bushes?



Ralf S.

The rear calipers on these do seem to be a pain in the ass. I've never heard one creak like a wooden door before but anything is possible.


I think Ralf may well be thinking along the right lines here, bushes and suspension are a more usual suspect when it comes to creaks. Brakes tend to be squeaks.


You can get caliper rebuild kits, yes. They are all over eBay here in the UK so you should be able to source with ease.


Remember one of the calipers is reverse threaded on the piston screw - lord knows why. On UK cars it's passenger side (near side) caliper. On left hand drive cars it will be drivers (off side) caliper I expect.


I assume the creak is in tune with foot peddle breaking rather than handbrake application. I could understand if it was with handbrake application as cable stretch and lever mech on the caliper could creak, maybe.


It's all easy enough to check. Whip the calipers off and wind the pistons back in. They should be firm but smooth and progressive to wind back. If you're having to put a lot of force into making the piston wind in then yes, caliper rebuild time as they're seizing up. You can buy new pistons too if yours is damaged, rusted, pitted or whatever.


Once you've wound the piston back in you can give a few squeezes on the handbrake mechanism to see if the piston rotates and winds back out again freely on the handbrake mechanism. You should be able to do this by hand if it's not seized up. Of course wind it back in again before re-installing.


If it passes those checks the only thing left to investigate is the caliper slider bolts that hold it onto the caliper carrier bracket on the hub. Carrier bolts always need cleaning up with every brake pad change. They get gummed up over time. I usually take a good 10-15 mins cleaning each side pins up with some emery cloth or wire wool (or something similar) to get rid of all the black deposits that build up on them. If you mount the caliper to the bracket without the pads in you should be able to move the caliper freely back and forth on the slider bolts till it meets the disc.

well it was corrosion on the pistons so it was polished and rebuilt

I have the same problem... I now know what to expect