changing rear brake pads

i cannot get the cylinder compressed enough to insert the new pads.. my old pads were ground about 1/16 past the pad... anyhow.. i cannot seem to compress the cylinder enough for the new ones to fit... any help please! ive been messing with it for an hour...

[Houser Cannondale]

use a C clamp. that always works for me just make sure you loosen the lid on your resivour so the extra fluid will have somewhere to go.

[Woodsrider]

Yep, take the lid off;)

did that.. some fluid came out.. but it still lacks about a 16th of an inch to fitting..

i just can't tell where i can clamp on the other side of the assembly to 'get after it'... theres the parking brake bolt.. but its not solid.. and with the rotor still on.. i can't get directly on the cylinder.. my dads out there trying different things but the outside pad just wont fit, we got the inner pad in place...

[tprender]

It sound like you need to take the parking brake bolt off. that is what is keeping the piston from going all of the way in.

[Houser Cannondale]

did you take the two bolts out that hold on the calaper so you could take the calaper off??

[Houser Cannondale]

because the way your talking it seems you still have it on the rotor. and as far as the clamp goes.. i just clap it off to the side a little. as long as it isnt clamping down on the bolt.

[Blake24]

Get rid of that stinking parking brake......lol:devil

got it. the parking brake bolt was the problem. we broke the lock-tight stuff on that bolt and the cylinder compressed the rest of the way.. too bad the riding place is closed today for a race =(...