Ford - Taurus :: 1997 - Brake Piston Fell Out

Brake pedal was going to the floor. Plenty of fluid in Master Cylinder.

Pulled both front wheels off to find no sign of any leaks anywhere. High and dry all around.

Metal lines look like new the length of the car. No rust, no sign of any leakage. Clean and clear all around (this is a southern car).

Didn't pull the rear tires off, but just by rubber-necking with a flashlight, all dry back there, too.

So I removed the bottom bolt on both front calipers and swung them up out of the way.

Then I started pumping the brakes to see if the pistons moved.

Two rounds of about 6-7 pumps of the pedal, and nothing. No movement.

Third round, shocked to see both pistons came nearly all the way out!!!! In fact, when I touched them, they wobbled. They were hanging by a thread.

So I tried using a C-Clamp and old brake pad combo to try to push the driver's side piston back in.

But the (fairly large) C-Clamp wouldn't open quite enough, and unequal pressure was applied to the face of the piston.

Next thing I knew, the whole thing exploded with the piston falling out, and all the fluid gushing out to the ground.

Should I just pull the passenger side piston off now, too? And let that fluid also gush out? (all this fluid is pretty much original from the factory, so it's old fluid anyway.

Do I just place the piston back into the bore, refill, and bleed? The piston just sits in there loose like that with only the rubber seal holding it in??? Or are these calipers history?

What about the pads and discs? Some of the fluid got on the bottom half of the disc and one of the pads. Just wash it off with brake cleaner and let dry prior to reinstall?

'97 Taurus GL Wagon 3.0L OHV205k miles