Hey all... replacing the pads on the 6 today and i ran into a problem with the rears.. I could not get the piston to compress to get the caliper to fit over the new pads on the rears. the fronts were a breeze, used a c clamp with an old pad and boom it went right in... I actually broke my clamp trying to compress the rears, any suggestions.. someone told me that the rear piston had to be twisted in rather than pushed .. is this true?

 

That right, the piston needs to be turned clockwise, Mazda list a special tool. There're aftermarket adjustable types available.
The two hotches on the piston is where the tool fits. Have to leave the hotches @ 12 & 6 oclock so pins on pads will lock into
the piston. Every time the hand brake is used, the piston is adjusted out if needed.

 

the tool is usually pretty cheap, and should come with several different surface plates, for different cars..i know that tiburons and mustangs are the same way in the rear.

 

Hopefully you used a very cheap c-clamp as the e-brake mechanism for the rear caliper can be damaged as well as caliper operation if the piston is compressed too hard the wrong way. Make sure all is working correctly after pads are installed or you might have a big suprise next time you set parking brake on a hill!!!

 

once you have them screwed in, youll want to pull the ebrake a few times to make sure that it works...

 

have you had any luck with it yet, where did you get the tool?