Thanks

 

The fronts or the rears?

I used the biggest channel locks that Channel Lock makes for the fronts (okay, the second biggest ones at home depot).

The rears, I found some piece of metal in my toolbox that had two prongs (golf spike key or something) and stuck them in a vise grip and twisted and pushed.

edit: dang. you said "safely"...No idea. I managed to scratch the piston face of one of my rears. Cosmetic. and from the looks of it, I wasn't the first one to do so.

 

For the rears I just use needle-nose pliers. The fronts I use two screwdrivers, one on each side of the piston. You have to put equal pressure on both sides of the piston otherwise it binds and won't move.

 

Try making a wedge out of some of that plastic wood stuff and drive it between the rotor and pad with a hammer. Works pretty well.

 

fronts- open the bleed screw and use your hands..(maybe u might wana use channel locks im kinda a meathead ) but with the bleed screw open you wont have to worry abt the other pistons jumping out..

rears they make a brake caliper expander thingy avable in all auto parts stores for like 5 bux..just crack the bleed screw and make shure parking brake is all the way down and crank away..

 

Bacon,

I'm guessing you've never tried doing that with the rears? You have to spin the piston on the rears, you can't just force it in.

Jeff

 

Fronts - two adjustable wrenches, and make sure you do one pad at a time so you don't push the pistons on the other side out. Rears - a "Hellraiser cube" piston retracting tool from the local auto parts store with a long socket extension.

-Max

 

can i just use a C clamp?

 

A C-clamp sounds like more work and you might run into clearance problems (can't clamp because there is stuff in the way) or scratch up the caliper. Just use two things you can pry with (hold one piston, pry the other). I have two adjustable wrenches that seem to work well for me, but I imagine you could use all kinds of stuff. The handle of a ratchet or a breaker bar, or just a big wrench all seem like good candidates. Be sure to work both sides of the piston so you don't bind it in the bore. Basically, that just means pry one side of the piston and then other, working both in alternation until it is retracted enough.

I sometimes grab the old pad and work that a bit before I pull it out to retract the pistons a little. Just grab the backing plate with some pliers and pry it back and forth to make room before you remove it.

Brakes seem hard until you do them, and then you realize it is a piece of cake. Just go for it!

-Max

 

FWIW, Mazda has an OE rear caliper tool for torquing the rear piston down...this part has been on back-order for some time...

 

Thats what i ended up doing, a great idea maxcooper. Also, if you look in the workshop manual there is a special tool from mazda to spread the front pistons. I called a mazda dealer to try and get it to check it out and they said they 'don't sell tools'. wtf? then where do you get a mazda tool?

and the rears screw back in, generic autoparts store will have the tool you need.

side note- has anyone mentioned that you should make really really really sure you've taken the cap off the brake fluid resevoir before you do pads? without that it'll be just a bit harder