Granada Caliper help

[j69302]

I have the granada swap that was done about 10 years ago from a kit I bought from California mustangs.

I went to have my rotor turned and replace the pads. First problem was that the piston was so far out that both pads wouldnt even fit in the caliper. So I removed the bleeder valve, forced the piston all the way back in and that freed enough space to put both brake pads in(Now the piston was so far down that the surface of the brake pad was below the cliper itself). Once both pads were in, I tried to slip them over the rotor. The gap inbetween the brake pads is about 1/8 inch smalled than my rotors. I ended up having to put my old pads back on in order to get it to fit over the rotor.

My question is that these are a floating caliper? Mine appear to not be floating as well. the floating section that hold the outboard pad doesnt seem to want to come out to give me that extra slack. I see a slightly wedged shape tab with a allen head screen on it which looks like it has something to do with how the outboard half of the caliper moves in and out. Is there something I can do to free this up or am I better off just getting new calipers too? My pistons are not seized and there are no leaks so I dont want to replace them unless I have too.

I attached a picture of the wedge shaped piece I was talking about.

 

[2+2GT]

A C-clamp will push the piston back in the caliper without releasing any of the fluid.

The whole caliper floats as one piece, not the individual parts.

 

[j69302]

I got the piston in far enough that the inside pad was below the inside lip of the caliper(in other words, the rotor would hit the inside of the caliper before the pad). However the outside pad was not out far enough. Any idea how to open it up any more? pushing the piston in further wont do much since it is already in all the way. I need to spread the caliper apart about an 1/8 inch more and then everything would fit.

 

[tx65coupe]

This may be a dumb question, but are you sure you have the correct pads? If they are the correct pads, maybe they are positioned incorrectly. I have Granada brakes on mine and I didn't have any problems like this.

 

[j69302]

yeah they look identical to my originals, and they fit in the caliper fine, just not enough clearance to get them on the rotor. I thought the amount of lining on the new pads was alot, there is almost 3/8 to 1/2 inch of lining on the new pads. went to another store and compared with a different brand of the same pads and same thickness of lining. my current old ones have about 1/8 left.

 

[PM 65]

I also have the granda front discs and last year i changed the rotor and the pads. Assembled the caliber with the new pads and put it back on the spindel with the new rotor on it. It was a tight fit but not a problem as you described. The only thing i could think of from your problem is: Could it be that the pad on the outer side from the caliber (i mean on the opposite site from the piston) is not completely fitted in the caliper? To put my pads completely on the caliper it needed 2-3 knocks with a rubber hammer. The outside clamps from the outer pad are now sitting strong on the caliber and i have no ratteling. You could bend them a little then it should fit easily on, but then is the risk of the ratteling noise.

 

[yeloxr7]

Also make sure the inner pad is in its proper place and straight. The anti-rattle clip can be installed incorrectly too and can cause fit problems.

 

[j69302]

both pads were correctly seated. In fact I had he piston pushed in so far that the inner pad was below the surface of the inside of the caliper thus taking the inner pad completly out of the equation. The caliper appears to not be as wide as it used too.. its a floating caliper so even though theres no piston on the outer pad, the whol caliper should move in. It doesnt appear to be moving back out all the way.

I havnt had time to look more into but Im gonna take another look and get a granada manual so I can see how that caliper works. there is some type of clip with a spring (circled in the picture attatched above) that has something to do with the way it floats.

 

[PM 65]

Have a look at these instructions: Granada Disc brake swap
It describes the completely swap from the granada disc brake with much pictures and very good explanations. Also you will see on point 27 the key support spring with the the key support have only holding and floating function. The caliper cannot be widened, only the piston can be forced back to make enough room for the new pads.

You can check easily with 3 measures if the hole thing is fitting or not.
1. measure the space between the inside surface where the inner pad will sit and the surface on which the outer pad will sit
2. measure complete thickness of each pad
3. measure disc thickness
4. result from 1. minus the two pad thicknesses should be equal or larger than the disc thickness.