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Cadillac Repair/1997 cadillac deville

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Expert: - 4/14/2010


Question
hows it goin. i am coming up completely empty handed. i am clueless as to how to compress the rear brake callipers on my deville.  ive heard roumers of a special tool?

Answer
Hello,

Hopefully you are not dealing with a Wisconsin car with rust. What I have done is pull the cover off the brake resivior under the hood. Lay the cover back on, just so you don't build up too much pressure. Remove the caliper bolts. Take a screwdriver and insert in the top hole of the caliper and place between the rotor and the pad (never near the boot!) Gently pry against the rotor and the inner pad, just enough to loosen the caliper from the rotor. Remove outer pad. You need a big "C" clamp and a block of wood. Put the block of wood on the remaining inner pad. Crank down on the C clamp so the pistons are going in evenly. When brake pad is flush, that is far as you need to go. As for the block of wood, if you don't have room, make sure the screwing end is what is on the center of the inner brake pad. The most important thing is that the piston goes inward straight and not twisted. Insall your new pads. Turn opr replace rotos and put it back together. Remember to tighten the cover at the brake cylinder.

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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