Ok, went for a WOF and got told i needed new front brakes, so i got some supplied and went to do it myself. I followed the Manual step by step until i hit some issues. I removed the front wheel, then removed the bolts holding the caliper housing to the anchor plate guide pins. Removed the caliper and pulled out the worn pads, same size as the new except the the new ones are new. Went to push the piston in and it wouldnt budge a mil! Tried levering it with a block of wood and crowbar, tried clamping it, and tried doing both with the bleeder valve 100% open (e.g. i took it off). I cant put my new brakes in because i cant get the piston back at all. Is there any specific trick to this or is my calpers just buggered? Bit worried as its my daily driver and theres less than a mill of brake pad left :\ any ideas or spouts of wisdom greatly appreciated!

hey mate i say your pistons are seized, new calipers for you, they are pretty cheap over here, but i dont know about prices over in nz.

OK cool, ill swap some over from my other vl. I assume i will have to bleed the front brakes? or is it the front and rear to be bled?

go get a g clamp man, and just wind the ****ers back in... they will go back in easy... then yeh get bleeding....

trust me bro, tried a g clamp with a foot long screw driver out the handle for max leverage and didnt budge a bit at all!

Pop the piston out with some compressed air applied to the fluid port, and have a look at the condition of the piston and the bore. If you can't even pop the piston out then just get some new ones.

Reco the calipers with seals and pistons

thanks guys for the advice and ideas. in the end i got a couple of mates round with some beer. We removed the caliper and tried winding the $hit out of it, but its well and truly shagged. Took the power steering pump out and then removed the caliper and pump from my wagon in the paddock. Other caliper went back after we took it off and took a g clamp to it. All in all, it has beaut brakes and i can stare easily again!!