rear caliper tool needed

[mach4444]

picked up some nice new rotors and pads from Jon B.
went to install the rears and found out you need a special sized spanner wrench to reinstall pads.
local dealer had no idea what tool was until I showed him in service manual and viper tech on vaction for 2 weeks.
any suggestions?

 

[VENOMIS]

You can buy it at local auto parts store. I think it is called a "brake cube" It looks like a cube and has difffernt sides for differnt cars. I think it cost me like $7. I bought it a couple years ago at like Autozone.

 

[RTTTTed]

There was a difference between the pre-ABS and the ABS brakes. The 2000 and earlier were easy to reset by taking a socket and welding pins on it to fit into the holes in the caliper piston. On my 98 GTS the caliper psitons wound back into the caliper easily. On my 2001 GTS the pistons have no holes and I made a different socket to fit using pipe with the face ground to match up to the piston face. However, the 01 required pressure to push in the pistons while I was turning it. Huge PIA, but I did eventually get the piston screwed back into the caliper and everything back together without any serious problems.

Ted

 

[jmillsUT28]

Not sure what year yours is but on my 2002 I used a flat needle nose plier and then used a 2x4 to put pressure on the pliers so it would not pop off. Had to have a extra set of hands. Was a pain in the butt but worked!

 

[1TONY1]

The cubes from the parts store will not fit any Viper I have done.

17mm socket:

 

[jmillsUT28]

Yep this is what I need to make so it would be easier. Thanks for the picture Tony.

 

[RTTTTed]

That's great Tony, it's also easier to make that having to weld pieces onto a socket and then grind.

Ted

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

I have a 2001 and the cube did not work. Went to Harbor Freight and bought a kit for 30 or 40 bucks and it has about 10 different applications. Worked like a champ screwing in the rear piston.

 

[RTTTTed]

I have a 2001 and the cube did not work. Went to Harbor Freight and bought a kit for 30 or 40 bucks and it has about 10 different applications. Worked like a champ screwing in the rear piston.

Did your rear caliper piston screw in nicely? Mine needed to be wiggled and pushed while screwing in. If yours was merely a screw in that would mean mine was sticky?

Thanks \
Ted

 

[Dan Cragin]

There is a company called Schley Tools that sells a rear brake caliper retraction tool (Paul and Mark Schley are Viper owners). It has two adapters, one for 1992-2000 and one for 2001-2002, they are not the same. I will see if I can get the part numbers. A pair if needle nose plyers will do the job be not like the right tool.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

The cube didn't work for me either. I bought the actual tool from Dodge. It was still a PITA the first time but got easier after that. Pun intended.

 

[Ratical2]

I modified the brake cube with a dremel tool!

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Did your rear caliper piston screw in nicely? Mine needed to be wiggled and pushed while screwing in. If yours was merely a screw in that would mean mine was sticky?

Thanks \
Ted

The tool from Harbor Freight actually screwed in the piston very easily, no sticking at all. Without the tool, however, I would think it would have been harder to do. I could not turn it with needle nose pliers if that's what you're asking. I don't really like Harbor Freight tools but this one works. I consider Harbor Freight tools a 1 or 2 time use and then it's disposable! This tool should last a while. I can take a pic if you'd like????

 

[RTTTTed]

Thanks. The pre ABS (with two holes) turned in nicely and I thought that the ABS piston should have turned in the same. It was really sticky and you answered my question that they should be the same. The ABS caliper has a much larger piston (I think Tom said it was 43mm) and the pre-abs uses about a 36mm piston. Both styles of caliper are different and not interchangeable so I was checking. You've answered my question

Thanks.

Ted

 

[Ratical2]

Ted, Mine didn't go in super easy either. I tried the needle nose pliers trick but couldn't get the leverage needed to spin the piston. That was when I resorted to modifying the generic brake cube.

 

[RTTTTed]

Ted, Mine didn't go in super easy either. I tried the needle nose pliers trick but couldn't get the leverage needed to spin the piston. That was when I resorted to modifying the generic brake cube.

Ken, I laughed when I read your post Do all us Viper guys do it ourselves? Are all of us basic Tool and Die Makers? I take my hat off to you guys. I'm forced to make whatever I don't have because parts and tool acess is severely limited for me. You guys do it for fun mostly?

It was easy to build a tool for the double holes. The ABS merely has little 'nubs' for turning. Totally different and not easy to make a tool for. But yah, I figured out that some are tough and once in a while they turn easily.

I plan on replacing the "Green" pads with Ceramic Reds on the Red ACR so this post was kinda convenient,

Ted

 

[mach4444]

Thanks for all suggestions, harbor freight is close by so thats my first stop.
needle nose trick didn't work for me either.

 

[Sneaky Pete]

Just grind a socket like Tony suggested... IMO, that's probably the fastest and easiest way to do your brakes if you don't have the proper tool on hand.

 

[Dom426h]

01 RT SNAKE,
Does the $20 one have the size that will work, or do we have to splurge for the $45 one?

20bucks
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

45bucks
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

I bought the one in the blue box, item #97143. I can tell you that the one that fits the 2001 rear brake piston is the one marked with the #6. It's the bigger of the two in the lower right hand side of the case.

Your best bet is to open both boxes, see if the red box has one that is identical to the #6 in the blue box. If so, you're good to go. Looking at the ones in the red box, it appears that of the three small one's in the middle (at the top of the box) it's the 2nd or 3rd one. The #6 has larges dowels/pins than the #7 and #7 is spaced just a hair wider than #6. I believe I tried both and #6 worked better than #7 because of the dowels/pins that stuck out farther.

I measured from the middle to middle of each dowel/pin that sticks out and it's between 1 1/4" and 1 5/16 on my ruler. On my caliper it was a 1.126".

Good luck!

 

[cyaford]

The small needle nose pliers didn't work for me either. The "cube" from Harbor Freight was also a bust, although I should've known to grind the nubs down like Ratical2 did. What worked like a champ was a larger set of needle nose pliers from Home Depot, like this one: Klein Tools 8 In. Journeyman Heavy-Duty Long-Nose Pliers Side-Cutting & Stripping - J203-8N at The Home Depot
No issues whatsoever and I had the piston flush in no time.

 

[AviP]

Not sure what year yours is but on my 2002 I used a flat needle nose plier and then used a 2x4 to put pressure on the pliers so it would not pop off. Had to have a extra set of hands. Was a pain in the butt but worked!

+1 on the needle nose pliers. Learnt that one from the wizard.

 

[mach4444]

I ended up getting the blue kit from harbor freight on sale for $36.00.

I had to use some serious grunt to get the caliper to start moving, after a couple turns it moved easily.

hardest part about changing the brakes is getting the car off the ground, assuming you have the right tools.

now about that 4 post lift.........