I recently bought a Private Brand Tools (PBT70915) 4 in 1 Brake Pad Spreader. I used it to change the pads and to flush my Stoptech brakes. I am very satisfied with this tool. It worked very well and the quality is top notch.

This tool works on both fixed and floating calipers. It has heavy duty steel plates to push all four pistons in simultaneously. The plates rotate 180 degrees so you can position the handle for maximum clearance.

This tool allows me to spread the brake pistons completely in seconds. I am able to use it to hold the pads in place while each caliper is removed from the mounting bracket for vertical bleeding. After bleeding, I can easily remount the caliper and the pads as a single unit onto the bracket. I don’t need to remove the mounting bracket and that makes bleeding much quicker.

This tool is much cheaper than the GiroDisc tool and it serves the same purpose. You can search the video on Youtube to see this tool in action. I think this is a must have for anyone who works on brakes.

 

whats its advantages over the normal 10 dollar unit?? wider for BBKs??



does it extend out? any action pics??

-J

 

Link? So this should work well on OEM Brembo brakes right?

 

Jason - as you can see, that device only works on single piston designs. A dual piston would not have the opening on the opposite side of the caliper to allow that particular tool to work the same.

The PBT spreader has two plates, each one goes on opposite sides of the rotor and pushes both pads outward simultaneously.

This one may be a little more obvious...

 

it is possible to use the tool jason showed with 2 piston floating calipers(keep the pad in and push on one piston, the pad will force the other piston back in), but definetly not with a fixed multi piston caliper

fwiw, i use the cheapo otc tool for fixed calipers:
http://www.amazon.com/OTC-7034-Disc-.../dp/B0002SQUHW

works great on everything but the widest calipers--in which case it can be done but you have to stack pads to get the pistons far enough back in.

 

wow, that's one is pretty simple. Have you ever tried the one from Lisle?



If so, I wonder how it compares to the OTC model. They're both about the same price. The PBT is pretty expensive ($100) by comparison.

 

i have not tried that particular model. i do have one of those for floating calipers that only has the single depressor(i find it more versatile since it will do single and dual piston floating calipers) like the one jason has pictured--except that instead of screwing it, you squeeze it.

i absolutely love it. i have had it for at least 3 years and it gets used prolly 3 times a week on average and have yet to need a replacement.

i do so little of the fixed caliper pad replacement that the otc fits my needs. if i do end up doing more(bmw still uses floating calipers on almost everything) then i will step up to a better tool.

this is the style i use, but mine is a bit more robust and iirc cost quite a bit more:
http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24300-Sp...=pd_sim_auto_1

 

I use that one. It's pretty versatile. Ideally it's spaced for a dual piston floating caliper, but it works just the same by offsetting it to one side for a single. For what it costs it works pretty well. It works entirely on friction and mechanical advantage, so I have a more conventional tool as backup just in case. It works well, and it hasn't shown any signs of fatigue, wear or failure, but I'd keep a C-clamp as an emergency back up at the very least.

 

The advantage of the PBT brake spreader is that the two heavy duty steel plates can rotate 180 degrees so you can easily position the handle to fit in the fender well. This is important when replacing the pads on my Stoptech brakes because I have to take the calipers off of the mounting brackets to keep them vertical for bleeding, and at the same time use the tool to keep the pistons retracted and hold the pads in place as if the calipers are still mounted on the rotor. This tool gives me the ability to not remove the mounting brackets from the uprights and that makes the whole job much easier. The caliper mounting bracket bolts require 95 ft-lb of torque and my big Stahlwille torque wrench is just too long to do the job without the car being on a lift. The PBT tool is easily strong enough to hold the pads in the calipers firmly during bleeding, and I can reinstall the caliper, pads and my titanium backing plates as one single unit onto the rotor after I am done bleeding.

I don't have any experience with the other tools so I can't comment on them. I can no longer find the youtube link, I think it has been removed for some reason. i will post it if I find it again.

 

Here are some more pictures for the PBT Brake Spreader.