Need Brake Explanation & Advice

[sperold]

Doing the brakes on my 95, got the front done with no issues or surprises, except my sliding pins didn't slide anymore and I had to free up one on each front brake.
Moved to the rear, noticed there are no miniature shoes for the parking brake. Had the slider pin issue and freed up one slider per wheel.
The only thing I can figure is my e-brake works by having a pin push on the back of the caliper piston, and the piston presses the pad against the rotor. Do I have that right?
I am not taking the flex lines off so I can't mount the caliper in a vise to do things to it.......Does anyone have any advice on how to move the piston in the caliper (I think I have to rotate it instead of just squeezing it with a clamp). Mine doesn't rotate well, any advice?

 

[VortecGT]

You can rent a tool to turn the piston in, it makes the job about 1000 times easier!

 

[SHO Continental]

Looks like they've expanded the set since I got it, but if you do rear discs regularly at all it's a must have.

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-piece-disc-brake-pad-and-caliper-service-tool-kit-97143.html

 

[Eric VerValin]

Something else.. turn it out a little before you try to turn it in.. don't know why but that works.. I fought and fought and fought to get those to turn in, and you could feel that little bit of resistance pushing back.. it's like once I turned it out a hair, it released the pressure behind it, and she screwed right in.

Have fun! They suck! Pat yourself on the back when your done..

 

[sperold]

Progress to date:
Bought a tool (Napa Rear Disc Brake Piston Tool 62060) for $13.00 that has all the sizes arranged in a cube, a 1/4 socket fits on all 6 sides. It looks too small, but one size works.
Impossible to do without a tool of some kind in my case.
Slowly cranked the piston in, held caliper with a big pipe wrench at the car, didn't remove the caliper or the emergency brake cable.
Lubed the piston (may have been the wrong thing to do, but it wasn't moving much before that) and got is so far. Would not go to position where new pads would fit.
Broke the bleeder free and the piston would turn down to the low point where pads would fit. Hardly any fluid came out, but it worked for some reason.
In the end, the piston turned fairly easily in the caliper.

 

[sperold]

Got it done and it worked like a charm. The brake piston rotation tool is an absolute must to do this job. I am in the rust belt and things go wrong quickly here, and those pistons were not turning for any improvised tools made from large needle nose pliers. Made lots of mistakes, but things turned out well anyways.
I am going to do my 90 and my 89 and the funny thing is.....the brakes are in better condition on these two cars than they were on the 95, go figure. And the 95 gets driven every day and the other cars sit for periods of time. So don't believe all the stories about the worst thing to do is to store a car or let it sit.
Thanks to everyone for the great advice.... you were right on the money.