On my '93 Dakota, I was having a problem with the right front hanging up. Being cheap, I ran the piston in and out (just short of popping it out) several times before putting everything back together. When I bled the brakes, I bled until I had clean fluid.

Seems to have worked. Aside from no more heat and smoke, another sign is that the truck picked up a solid 1 - 1.5 MPG. I'll take what I can get!

Oh, and I use a steering wheel puller like this and an old pad to push the piston back in.

The last time I used a C-clamp, with nothing more than hand strength, it punched thru the back of the caliper. It really didn't feel like I was cranking on it THAT hard. Never had an issue pushing it.

Easier to carry too.