Well, for me, I didn't have to depress. It worked like a screw. I turned it clockways and it screwed back into the housing. I would stop every quarter turn to let the boot catch up with the twisting caliper. The needle nose didn't give me enough torque to turn the caliper. Worked great and the brakes are as smooth as ever. Already have over 150miles on them

edit: Just to be sure we are on the same page here, I am talking about the rear brakes. The front brakes I depressed with a c-clamp and a small block of wood to evenly distribute the force

 

greats dyi! i didnt read through all the pages of posts. but to push my pistons back down i just use a large threaded clamp and put it over the piston and thread it down, does the same job as the tool, just saves a drive to autozone!

 

A 'C' clamp or slip joint pliers work fine for the front brake pistons but the rears have to be rotated to retract.

 

Ok me and my friend replaced all front and back pads. He has never worked on an rx8 and was baffled by having to use the special tool to push the rear pistons back in. After all was done the rear pads are making alot of noise. He cant figure it out and neither can I until i read this DIY. My question is this...it must be very important to make sure the inner pad nipples slide into the cross pattern of the piston as i have read that several times? We did not make sure of this and i suspect maybe this is the problem?? Any help is appreciated. Its making him mad cuz he has done brakes forever on cars but i tried to tell him the rx8 is "special." So please let me know if im correct in thinking the cause of the pads making so much squeel could be we didnt position the piston?

 

it can be that, and also can be that u didnt put squealant grease for disc brakes....u better check before something bad happens, what kind of noise is it? maybe u guys didnt insert the nipples and the pads are loose ....

 

We used brake lubricant ...as well as disc brake quiet stuff...it just sounds like sqeeking brakes as if they are low and need replacing but they are obviously brand new so thats not it.

 

take them all out again, and redo the corrdct way by inserting into nipple....it might be that ur rotors are cracked from the inner side...check for cracks and redo brakes, our OEM PADS are known for being squeekyyy to a point, but do as said , ithink u got a pad loose & forgot to insert a metal clip from the brake assembly

 

These pads came with all the clips....cuz i thought the same thing. These are wagner thermoquiet pads (cuz the guy who helped me said they are good) so i didnt have to transfer any clips over. The right passenger inner pad has the extra clip thing on it like its suppose to...we turned the piston in the caliper back and made sure everything looked fine. We just didnt know about making sure the piston was turned to a certain point to where the + fits into the nipple which is why i think thats what the problem is.

 

so did that turn out to be the problem? ^^^

 

Going to be working on it today. I will let you know.

 

Well i took it all back apart. Did eveything perfect. The caliper piston lines right up with the pads. We even sprayed special spray on the rotors. Already had put brake quiet on the back of the pads. WE have done it all. It still makes the exact same noise so we give up haha. I will just have to deal with the noise. There is nothing else that can be done?

 

Does the noise seem like its coming from the metal piece that is suppose to rub on your caliper when the brakes are in need of a change?

 

To me it sounds like worn out pads yes. Sounds like a squeel u would get when its time to get new pads but these are obviously brand new. Could it possibly be the stupid clip thats on the inner pad passenger side? Can i just rip that stupid thing off? I dont need to be told when my pads are due haha im very capable of figuring that out. My old pads NEVER squeeled anyway and they were completely worn out.

 

did you bed the pads in? also there are specific ares where the disc quiet lube needs to go. and its covered under warranty.

 

If the sound is only coming from your passanger side brakes, then it may be that that bar is bent and is rubbing on your caliper. You do not need it on there so if that is making the noise, then yes you can remove it.

 

Ripped it off...still the sound exists! Im pretty much over it...ill just deal with it...and wait til i need new ones again and get a different brand next time. There is NOTHING else i can do at this point. I have tried it all!

 

Sounds like it probably is your pads then. Just make sure you bed them in. After inbeding them, they may stop squeaking.

 

Well its been a few weeks they been on already. I cant think of anything else so yeah ill just buy a different brand next time and deal with it.

 

Hawk Ceramic pads and Loctite Copper grease FT[no squeal]W.

 

^+1-+oem

 

Thanks for this DIY. I need new brakes (front and rear) and the local dealership wants $500 to change out front and back. The service manager said "you need to turn the rotars when you change the pads" Any thoughts on that and or the cost? It doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

Thanks.

 

Check the surface on the rotors. If they feel smooth, they are ok, but if there are any grooves worn into them, they need to be turned. One good way to check this that I have heard is to run your fingernail over the surface to see if you can feel any grooves.

 

Thanks - I'll check that.

 

Hey guys, my front pads are shot, I am going to order the Hawks, and do it myself, but I have two questions:

-I need to remove the front rotors to have them resurfaced (there are definitely grooves/ridges on them now) so is there a DIY to remove the front rotors? I have searched but come up with not too helpful stuff. I have taken the rotors off my SUV a few times but never on the 8 is there a trick?

-What are the part numbers for the Hawk Pads for the RX-8's with 18" wheel packages?

Thanks for any help, and thanks for the great DIY, this makes the rear install look easy

 

This should have everything you need:

http://www.gerhardstein.net/rx8/rx-8.html