I had noticed a **burning smell in my right rear brake, suspected caliper issues, and I decided to do a brake job (2009 Mercury Milan).**

After thwacking off the tightened caliper with a hammer and finishing replacing the pads, I decided to use a brake caliper tool ([item 648622 at Advanced Auto](https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/powerbuilt-tools-kit-48-master-disc-brake-kit-648622/9150045-p)) just to see if I could move the old piston back.

**Well, I *could* push the piston in with the screw tool fairly easily**, and I pushed it the whole way in and decided to try just putting the old caliper back on and testing my brakes. Unfortunately, I noticed immediately that the brakes gripped harder and harder while my wife repeatedly depressed and released the pedal. The brake pads feel like they've got considerable resistance even with the pedal released.

My question: **can a brake caliper that can be pushed in with a tool still be considered bad/seized??**

Or do I have another issue?