I'm having an issue with my ever so simple brake job on the front of the DII.

I was so proud of myself to get it done in about 40 minutes as I got the pistons backed up and around the new brake pads and lowered the caliper down..... then it took me another 1.5 hours to figure out why the caliper won't go all the way down!

It fits over the new pads, the rotor is as far onto the hub as I can get it, but it stops about 1/2 inch short of where that lower bolt holds the swing-up caliper down.  I've been carefully staring at it, switching pads, comparing the new pads to the old, putting it up and down... nothing works.

If I pull the pads out, I can put the caliper all the way down, but that is only because it can slide inboard 1/2 inch and line up correctly.  Something isn't right.  I've done this job before, and I can't remember anything like this, no tricks, nothing, to get it to work.

Also, the truck is stuck halfway in the garage, so I can't close the garage door!

I realize now that I never wrote up the article.  Here are a couple of photos:

1.  Before

2.  Pushing the piston back in (after removing the reservoir cap)

3.  After

Ben, I doubt the parts are defective, I ran into the same issue and the caliper itself needs to be spread as well as the piston. As Craig said, relieving the pressure in the lines helps, but you will need to spread the caliper as well as the piston.

It's not like a brake job I have done before and is a PITA.  My kids still hide when I say I am working on the brakes. 

I think I actually removed the piston part of the caliper from the retaining part of the caliper to get it to work...  It was a while ago butI think that solved the issue.  The rubber boots that hold the 2 parts of the caliper came off but once it was one the disk, they went back on fairly easily.

Sorry for the poor paint illustration...  Notice howCraig took the two parts of the caliper apart to get the piston fully in, see if you can mount the caliper and then attach the other part of the caliper.

Ben, I had the same issue a couple months ago with my Montero. I ended up braking the bleeder loose, that didn't help. then I took the brake line off and got the caliper to be fully open. After inspection of the brake line...guess what I found at the end of the line? Moisture. $%&#@** is what i was saying at that very moment. After calming down and thinking through my issue, I just did a full drain and bleed. After I was done there, poof the calipers fit the rotors like magic. Which brings me to another "Things that make ya go hmmm". I love my Rover, but I am curious why LRs need new brakes and rotors so often. My Montero has 205k on the clock and the rotors have been replaced once. Pads at about every 60-70k. Why do LRs go through brakes and rotors so much?