Pinhy

why cant i find a DIY on removing the calipers so i can then remove the rotor.

i have replaced brakes on other vehicles, but the 8 has a different setup on the bolts. do you hold the interior nut (between the bolt head and the rotor) while turning the bolt?

is it pretty easy after getting them apart to remove the pads and replace? do you need a clamp to open the piston?

someone please help so i dont get it all apart and not be able to put it back together. plus a good DIY would be helpful to everyone

dcfc3s

Not having looked at the brakes on the RX-8, but having done tons of brake jobs on other cars, the caliper is usually held to the hub with 2 bolts - remove the two bolts and slide the caliper off. Many calipers also have a bolt that goes from the caliper to the caliper bracket - removing this lets you rotate the body of the caliper away from the bracket to change the brake pads.

Are you putting in new pads? If so, you'll likely need to compress the pistons in, but that typically isn't that hard - just press them in with some sort of clamp. If you're just pulling and replacing the rotor, you shouldn't need to compress the pistons.

Dale

babylou

The RX-8 calipers, like most others, are sliding calipers so they run on a bolt on each side of the caliper. Sometimes these sliding calipers begin to stick and affect brake performance. The bolt heads are usually covered with a dust boot. You should go ahead and take these off to remove the caliper. Then clean the mating surfaces and regrease. No need to fiddle with the caliper brackets.

willhave8

Try this courtesy of Polak...

http://www.polakgraphics.com/brakepad.html

Craig

babylou

Polak's graphics show each caliper with one slider bolt removed so the caliper can be rotated out of the way to R&R the pads. Like I said before; go ahead and remove the other slider bolt too, clean the holes and regrease the system. You will have a better performing and longer lasting brake system.

pmacwill

I took mine off this past weekend when I painted the hubs and calipers. 2 bolts per caliper. 17mm in front 14mm in back if I remember correctly. Might take 2 people to make sure you can remove the rotor while suspending the caliper as to not disturb the hydrolic line. I didn't have to force the piston back in since I was just removing the rotors and cleaning the pads. Polak's diagrams and some care to keep the parts separate and labeled helped greatly in putting them back together (since this was the first brake job I have ever done myself). Also, remember on the front, there are 2 screws holding each rotor on. Make sure you loosen the screws on both sides before you take any rotors off. This requires pressure on the brake and probably a screw driver with a torque arm since the screws are on pretty snug. XcelR8 (I think thats his username) describes the whole process very well in his thread on painting his calipers. Search for "paint calipers" and his thread should be in the top 10. Thanks for the help xcelr8!

Pinhy

i read that process, but it wasnt very detailed in the Caliper removal description, just the rotor, so that was noted.

the reason i wanted this info is because i want to paint my rotors and calipers. my concern is exactly how to get the calipers off...Polaks page is good. ive done brakes before, but these are attached a little more complex from the other cars i have worked on. hoping i dont NEED the torque arm for the rotors...

i should be doing this this weekend so i am going to take pics and do the DIY for everyone

pmacwill

just undo the 2 bolts then, pull out the rotors, then replace the calipers, sans rotors, then tape up and spray paint, or better yet, brush paint. I used VHT rotor/caliper paint sprayed into a bowl and it worked great. I spray painted the rotors.

pmacwill

pic 1

pmacwill

pic 2

Pinhy

nice....going ot be giving this a whirl this weekend....

did you need any kind of special torque arm for the screwdriver to remove the 2 phillips screws off the rotor?

Texas 8

I don't know about anybody else, but, I had one helluva time getting the shims back on after removing the pads to paint the calipers. Everything removed quite nicley but those shims were a major pain. No matter what I did, I could not get both pads and both shims on each caliper and still be able to slide the caliper over the rotor. I tried to compress the piston to no avail. It was compressed as far as it would go. I think my problem was the fact that I painted my calipers within the first week of ownership (about 150 miles). So, the pads were not worn down and I had no leeway between the piston and the rotor. Had the pads been a little wore down it would have made a world of difference. It just make me wonder how in the name of all that's holy they originally installed everything at the factory. BTW, I ended up leaving the shims off with no ill-effects so far. I now have 2900 miles and brakes work just as well. No squeeking either. I hope you don't run into this problem, as it royally sucks. If anyone else has encountered the same thing and has found a remedy please let me know what you did. Thanx.