What is the best way to compress the rear caliper piston on a gen 1 mini??

 

harbor freight tool:

http://www.harborfreight.com/caliper...kes-40732.html

I still have to fiddle with this a bit on my car, but it works.

 

That Harbor Freight tool does the job good enough. For what I paid I'm very happy with it.

 

They spin to go in. Without a proper tool, it is possible (at least on other cars) but sort of scary since you are so near the dust boot with channel locks or other things dangerous to the longevity of the boot.

I have used channel locks to spin them in a pinch and have had no issues, but YMMV.

 

Thanks I will check it out

 

I bought a tool at the auto parts store for $11.00 to spin them in.

 

You need to spin them as they get compressed.

I use a C clamp to compress them and a pair of needle nose pliers to spin them.

Compress and spin at the same time. Slow and steady and mind the boots.

 

Yep, key is to watch the boots. The harborfreight tool makes it so darn easy, it's worth money if you do frequent pad changes. If you don't, the c-clamp/pliers works just fine.

 

Got the Harbor Freight tool on sale for $10.00 worked like a champ!! Thanks

 

any excuse to buy a tool

http://www.harborfreight.com/caliper...kes-40732.html

your local auto part store may also rent/loan a suitable tool. needing to compress/turn the rears is a fairly common system for vehicles with disks in the rear. Not ALL .... but many. The HF tool has many adapters to meet many makes but for us, you can use the basic tool with no adapter.

oops ... a cross post