[Katana]

Hello and thanks in advance for your time.

I am trying to replace the rear brakes (hoses, calipers, pads and rotors, and passenger side hub/bearing assembly) on a 2010 Malibu.
I am having some trouble figuring out how the pads fit into the calipers, as there seems to be a little nub on the pad which would catch the piston and prevent it from rotating or applying even pressure on the pad.

Two of the pads have 2 nubs, two of the pads have 3rd middle nub. The pads with the middle nub also have the wear indicators. The wear indicators only fit on the inside (piston-side) of the rotor, however it seems like middle nub causes issues with the piston. If the nub his the face of the piston, the only contact the piston has with the pad is the little nub. If the piston is rotated the nub can go in one of the slots to rotate the piston, but then I am concerned with it locking the piston on place so it cannot rotate as the pads wear.

The pads are Raybestos Element 3 EHT1033H.

Has anyone seen this before or know how it is supposed to fit together? Any help is appreciated.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I did a 4-wheel job on mine 6 months ago in this thread, with pictures.

If it doesn't help, then you may have gotten the wrong parts.

 

[repairman54]

Piston IS supposed to lock into the pad. It only rotates externally so you can retract it when doing a pad replacement.

 

[Katana]

DrivenDaily - Thanks for the reply. I had already looked at your post, when trying to find an answer before posting. Your's was the only post where I could see the inside pad. The pads you used did not have the nubs, which is what I am use to from other cars. Good job on the detailed pictures.

Repairman54 - Thanks for the answer. I thought that might be the case at first, but decided against it since the new (rebuilt) calipers had one piston in the 12 and 6 o'clock orientation, and the other in the 9 and 3 o'clock orientation making the pads on the one side not fit. I'll try rotating that one, so the nub locks in the slot.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[Katana]

Follow up: Job complete! I used the tips of an open end wrench to fit in the slots and turn the piston on the one caliper 90 degrees to make the nub fit into the slot and lock it in to the pad as repairman54 said. Thanks again.

The line fittings came apart from the hose fittings surprisingly well for a 10 year old car in the rust belt. GM seems to have come a long ways with corrosion protection since my old Pontiac.

 

[Colt Hero]

You’d think they’d label (or even colorize) them better, knowing that many of these pads could end up in the hands of DIYers. A simple arrow to the center nub with “piston” printed on the anti-squeak shim plate might’ve been good enough ... or a small piece of paper in the box with a diagram.

BTW: On the front brakes, does it matter if the wear indicator is pointing toward the outer face of the brake disc instead of the inner face ... because I'm pretty sure I installed a pad that way once before.

BTW #2: Why is it that the rear piston has to be turned into the bore to retract it, whereas the front wheel piston can simply be pushed back in? And is it like that on every vehicle, because I don't remember having to turn the rear piston on my 2011 Equinox when I changed those rear pads a few years ago. And can you tell - just by looking at it - whether or not the piston needs to be turned or not (or is that determined simply by the presence of the 12&6 "indents" on the piston's outer perimeter?)

 

[repairman54]

Wear sensor is on the ''nubbed'' pad which is the inboard pad. I think providing certain info can open mfgr. up to liability as parts are sold for professional use.

 

[Jayss01]

BTW #2: Why is it that the rear piston has to be turned into the bore to retract it, whereas the front wheel piston can simply be pushed back in? And is it like that on every vehicle, because I don't remember having to turn the rear piston on my 2011 Equinox when I changed those rear pads a few years ago. And can you tell - just by looking at it - whether or not the piston needs to be turned or not (or is that determined simply by the presence of the 12&6 "indents" on the piston's outer perimeter?)

Not every vehicle is like that, matter of fact this Malibu is the first car I have ever had that had the pistons that have to be turned. Also yes you should just be able to simply look at the piston and tell whether or not it needs to be turned to retract.

 

[repairman54]

Parking brake arm and cable on the caliper is the tip off.