Brake pads

Hello everyone. First time here. Looks like a nice site. Couldn't find the info I was looking for though. I am trying to replace the pads on my wifes 02 civic. Was able to disassemble fine, but the new pads are too thick and I can not get the caliber over the new pads. And yes the piston is fully retracted, it does not even go that far on. It only misses by maybe a 1/16" inch. I am hoping someone can help with this problem. Thanks.

Use a C-Clamp to compress the brake piston a lil bit and then there should be enough room to slide the pads on.

wow...i was sitting here thinking of how (step-by-step from memory) to change pads and for the life of me, i couldn't figure it out....its been a while since i've done any kind of maintenance work....i haven't done serious work on brakes for about 1.5years. CV axles, transmissions, turbo setups, fuel systems, etc, etc....i have a little better idea :p

You know, I just "helped" my neighbor do his. A friend of his gave him all the parts (pads & rotors) At first, same ordeal, the pads were too tall by a marginal amount. So i told him, these must be the wrong pads, as they don't fit and the new ones required a stick on anti-squeak pad. Originals had it riveted on.

So off he goes to the parts store to get the right pads, with the old ones as reference. Comes back, sure enough, we now have the right pads. Get them in place and all the retainers situated so they don't come out of their nesting spots, and wouldn't you know the rotors are a inch in diameter too big.

I figured he must have gotten the parts for a Accord, maye a Civic sedan, definately a much larger heavier car than his little hatchback.

Here's a writeup (http://www.ntpog.org/mods/fourth-brakes/index.shtml) from another site. It references a Prelude but is the same in principle