Mazda OE front brake pads should have shims, right?
 

Ordered a full OE pad set from OnlineMazdaParts last October. Didn't install them right away because it turned out the pads had more life on them than I had thought.

Finally got around to installing them a couple of weeks ago. The rears are fine but the fronts are squealing like crazy. I later had the car at a Mazda dealership for an inspection and they told me the front pads were missing some shims.

Anyone had this problem before with OE pads? What do you recommend?

Yes they have shims, but not sure if they come with the pads or the car. Never bought OEM pads :/ You can reuse them when you change pads.

New Mazda pads do not come with shims. You just clean, grease, and reuse the existing shim stack. You can buy additional OEM shims if you threw yours away, but they are pretty pricey. An alternative is to use shims from another maker like Centric, but they may not be as quiet.

Thanks for the feedback, folks. :beerchug:

This is my first encounter with pads that came out of the box needing more than grease, but... lesson learned. Should have searched first!

Is this the right shim set for my R3? ATTACHMENT,PAD-FRONT | Genuine Mazda | F1Y4-33-29Z

When I cross reference that part number with what I have in my parts manual, that appears to be the correct part for the front. The rear part number is F1Y12649Z. Depending on how old the car is, you might consider doing all the rubber bits (seals, sleeves, and boots) while you are in there if you have not already.

Here are diagrams showing how the shims go together.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...d4159f36ef.png


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...b476d2dfcc.png

Thanks again! This is a big help!

I had the same question a year ago when i received my brake pads. The previous owner threw the shims away. I never got the answer i was looking for but I have zero brake noise the way i installed them. see the pix in the post.....
https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-wh...tation-250460/

maybe i can get my question finally answered too! LOL!