In the past I've used a C clamp. Put something over the piston, then put the c clamp against that and the back side of the caliper. Take the cover off the brake fluid resivior. Remember to compress it slowly to avoid overflowing the fluid.

Thanks for the tip on the weight.
Pictures look great, by the way.

 

if these are the style I think they are you need to turn the piston as you push it in it requires a different tool then just a c clamp. Also you should open the bleeder screw on the caliper as to not make a valve stick in the ABS. FWIW.

 

good to know, thanks

 

C-clamp will work on the front brakes, but the rears are different.
Here's the tool I borrowed from Autozone (free w/deposit) that is needed for the rear brakes:


The reason I had trouble with it originally is because when I tightened it down against the piston, it wasn't spinning the piston. I eventually realized that the small pin had fallen out of the tool:

Once I found it put it in, the piston turned & backed into the brake housing fairly easily. Did not need to release brake line pressure or bleed brakes. Just kept turning slowly until the piston was recessed enough to easily fit around the brake pads.

 

I just asked a couple guys at work and they both have one of those tools that I can borrow. They both said you can buy that tool at "Harbor Fieght" between $15-$20.

 

Looks great wes - cool informative thread. Nice job, plus you did it yourself and saved some serious coin. I'm still thinking about struts/springs and probably like others following along to see how the front goes too... thanks for posting this here.

Also, I meant to ask you what rubber you are running on your 17" wheels?

 

Where did you get your rear end from? I bought my 8.8, 3.73's from NTO. I have read alot about breaking in new gears. Does that still apply when you buy a complete rear end? NTO says their parts are 5 or less miles on them.

I've read about breakin periods from 300-500 miles.

What are your thought?

 

You can use a c clamp on the rear brakes. Thats what I used when I did the 8.8 swap. The rearend is not that heavy but pretty much impossible to move by yourself. With two people to maneuver it its a pretty easy swap. If you have to work on your own get a furniture dolly.

 

Running BF Goodwrench Sport G Force tires, 225/50 Front, 255/45 Rear. Now that I can spin both tires, I may be looking for something else in the back soon!

I bought the axle from Blueoval industries.

Based on what I've on the forums, I'm not too worried about breaking in the gears. It's my understanding that you don't have a break in period on a new car, the factory runs them enough to be ready when they're sold. Since it's a take-off, it's just like a new factory rear. I haven't gone racing on it yet, a little around the neighborhood, and my favorite abandoned parking lot, for a few rev's. I'll probably to a 50 miles or so on the highway before really letting it have it.

I'm more interested in checking for loose nuts/bolts and plan to re-torque everything this weekend when I start the front suspension.

 

Thanks, that is kinda what I was thinking, but I wanted another opinion.

I have the Perelli P-Zero Nero on and they seem to stick really well. We'll see what happens once the gears are in.