ZumnRx8

Welcome! This is a thread on how to change your rear brake pads using OEM Mazda Brake Pads. Easy step by step instructions and pictures guarantee you not to get lost at all. I made this DIY for fellow RX8 Club members! (and because i needed to change my rear pads). Enjoy. Trust me you will have no questions because this is as detail as you can get with pictures!You are going to need a Disc Caliper Tool Set which can be rented from Autozone for free! ($55 deposit) and it looks like this.




You are also going to need a socket wrench with a 14 mm socket.


First pull out your pads you have bought. They should look like this. The smaller box is the rear, the bigger box is the front.


First take off wheel caps if you have any, and loosen lug nuts from both rear wheels (loosen do not take off!)


Now put two bricks or chocks in back of both your front wheels to keep your car from rolling back start to jack up your car. When always jacking up your cars use jacks or jack stands in pairs. I just used two jacks. Your car should look like this.


Once your nuts are loosened (lol) and your car is jacked up, remove the nuts fully. It should look like this


And if you need help use your feet to keep your wheel straight while you take off your nuts (lolz!)


Dont lose your nuts! If you have wheel caps, use the wheels caps to keep your nuts together (lol) like this.


Once you have taken both wheels off, you should see your brake system and go back to your tools and get your socket wrench with the 14mm socket it should look like this, if you grabbed a hammer put it back! (lolz jk)


First start off on the passenger side and start to remove the top caliper bolt by turning it in the direction of my finger (clockwise) it should look like this


Completely remove the top bolt, it should look like this, and do not lose it!


With the top caliper bolt removed, Now start to push ur caliper towards the front of your car like this


When you push your caliper foward you should be at this picture


Now take off your brake pads, the inner and outter and keep the metal clips on the old brake pads, it should look like this.


Now that you took out your pads your should be at this picture. If the metal clips to the calipers came off then put them back on.


Now keep you old pads with your new pads like this and transfer the metal clips on the old pads to the new pads



First get the new inner pad and insert it in the caliper. The inner pad is the only one that has a clip. Make sure the clip is at the top like this. Important: only the rear passenger side pads has the clip, that is why i said to start from the passenger side! If not u F'd up and have to start over. If you did it correct and are at this picture then continue to the next step and good job.


Now install the outter pad like this, and dont forget the clips on the pads!


With both new pads you caliper should look like this.


Once that is done, go back to the Caliper tool kit and get the HO14 attachment, it should look like this


Now get the Bolt tool and attach the HO14 Insert like this


Now place the tool to the caliper piston like this. The two nipples at the end of the tool should insert into the cross in the piston. You should be here, if you are then begin to turn the tool handle in the direction of my finger (clockwise) and only turn the piston as far back as you need to be able to put the caliper back down over the pads,.


It is important the you followed the previous step and especially the underlined part. The reason i said "only as far as you need to clear the pads when you pull the caliper down is because the "+" or "cross" part of the piston needs to slide into the nipples of the back of the inner brake pad. You can see the nipples on the pads, they are next to the CE530. Heres a picture


The piston "+" should be in this position for it to insert into the pad. Heres a pic


Now slide you caliper back down, it should look like this and you should have no gap between the piston and you inner brake pad. These two pictures is what you should have done.

ZumnRx8

If your caliper went back down correctly and there is no gap between the piston and pads then congratulations and continue by inserting the top caliper bolt back by moving it in the direction of my finger (counterclockwise), like this



With the bolt back on and everything done correctly you should be at this picture.



Now put the wheel back on to the passenger side and put the bolts on but not completely tight. Like this




Congratulations you are now half way and continue to the driver side rear brake system and take of the top caliper bolt in the direction of my finger (clockwise) like this


Again the bolt should look like this


Same like the other side, pull back the caliper like this


Take off the pads


Wow I needed brakes didnt I? Geeez!


Transfer the clips from the old pads to the new pads like this



Insert the pads


Get the Caliper tool kit and turn the piston in the direction of my finger (clockwise) and like I had said before, only as far back as you need to clear the pads when bringing the caliper back down.


Now bring down the caliper to where the inner pad nipples slides into the "+" of the piston. Like this




If successful insert the top bolt caliper and tighten in the direction of my finger (counterclockwise) like this


You should now be here.


Put the wheel back into position


Put the nuts back on and tighten but not completely



Now Lower you car back down and tighten both the rear driver and passenger side wheel nuts. Congratulations you are now done and earned some experience points! You are very welcome and if any questions PM me! P.S.! Dont forget to wash your hands with GoJO! or your wife/GF will slap you if you try touching them. As you can see from the time on the pics it only took me less than an hour and thats with taking pics! BOOOYA!

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Great DIY!

Stickied.

S

swoope

iTrader: (5)

most pads come with little packets of what they call anti squeel grease.. you apply it between the caliper pistons and the pad shims..

beers

ZumnRx8

You add the grease between the metal clips on the back pads and pistons. That is all.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Zumn, great DIY, grats on the Sticky status!

Balthus

Great DIY -thanks so much - I just had my wheel off today scoping out the project so your timing is impeccable.

I few questions:
1) I am getting new rotors, too - do I remove the entire caliper from the two bolts which are behind the caliper (i.e. not the same one you removed to just change the pads)?
2) If I decide to paint the caliper (and the dust shield behind the rotor), does anyone have any suggestions for a good technique.
3) If not painting the caliper, do they need to be cleaned with brake cleaner as part of the regular maintainance of changing the pads?
4) Best technique for bedding?

Thanks!

Shnifty

I went to install my slotted rotors last night and this was very helpful. Thanks for the DIY!

If you don't have the Tools, you can take a needle nose pliers, open them enough so they fit in the slots and use them like a screw driver.

EDIT: Just be careful not to damage the Rubber Seals with the pliers.

YeahYeahYouWere

iTrader: (1)

Very nice DIY. Lots and lots and lots of pictures, which is invaluable.

rx8cited

Great DIY . Thanks much, it will be handy when I do my brakes soon.

I noticed that the rubber dusts seal around the pistons looks deformed after they were turned back in. I think the trick to prevent that is to turn them in slow and check them after each 1/4 turn.

I've used the needle nose pliers method in the past.

Shop manual says to "Verify that dust seal is installed into groove of the piston securely."

Service manual minimum thickness:
Pads: 2mm for both front/rear.
Rotors: 22mm/front , 16mm/rear.

raleighRX8

The rubber seal can be carefully removed off of the piston, add a couple of drops of brake fluid into the groove for lubrication and slide back down into the groove. It will not deform and will help keep it from cracking or tearing.

nepolean77

that is great just what I needed as have to change the pads on mine you should think about doing a online work manual what you have done here is better than my manual I will use your step by step for doing my pads...much appreciated.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

It's really important with the rear brakes that the piston is retracted completely into the caliper body. If it doesn't go back all the way, it appears that the parking brake actuator mechanism ( a worm gear drive of sorts) doesn't let the piston retract and release properly...and the pads will drag.

This doesn't appear to be a problem if the pads are new...they won't fit otherwise. But it has bit me in the *** when I was swapping back in used track pads

NoOdLe BoY

iTrader: (1)

so after turning the piston back and lowering the caliper, the piston should pretty much graze the inner pad?

no0b

laythor

really excellent DIY!

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

I just replaced all four brakes with new Hawk HPS pads, (which by the way, come with the metal pieces all ready on them). And I rotated the rears all the way in as Dan mentioned. Seemed to work fine this way.

wankelhead

Great DIY! We need more just like this.

Question: Is the process exactly the same for front brakes. If not can someone explain the finer differences in procedure?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Fronts are much easier...same basic removal/ install, but you just have to push back the pistons..you don't need to turn them...

rx8cited

More or less the same. One big difference in doing the fronts:
You need a piston compressor tool or a c-clamp (which is what I use) to push the front pistons back into the calipers.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I have a hard time reading it.

all bold and the same size ... grr

reformat it a bit please ?

ZumnRx8

Anyone else have a hard time reading it?? The front can be pushed back in with the same tool kit.... with the front you dont have to worry about lining up the "+" of the piston to slide into the inner brake pad like the rear. The front simply requires the piston to be pushed directly back in. A C- Clamp would do.

YeahYeahYouWere

iTrader: (1)

It's not terribly hard but it's not very easy. Maybe put some spaces between pictures and text? That would help I think.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

+1 !!!!!

I read the whole thing and saw all the pics.

but seriously, put single/double space after each picture link wont hurt

oh one more thing, one day photobucket will "disable/delete" your pictures. so you might want to host them somewhere else, or just re-size them to something smaller and upload it all on this server.

I found a lot of DIYs with dead picture links for the same reason and most of those DIY creators are either moved on to other cars and never came back, dont have backup of the pics, or has pass away.

ZumnRx8

ok, ill get to the spacing tomorrow.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Thanks to Zumn for this DIY and many others as well for nuance advice (e.g. the need for an impact tool for the front rotor frozen screws!).

Also thanks to Brice at FluidMotorSports.com for his rapid shipment of Racing Brake Sport Rotors and Hawk Ceramic pads.

Now off to bed-in .... Zoom, Zoom... quiet and sure stop