So my front left brake caliper piston is stuck and won't retract after braking. After 10-15 minutes of driving the left side started to stink and vibrate with some incredible heat radiation. My younger brother has a 626 for which we have replaced the calipers last year because of the exact same problem and his brake pistons were full of rust and pits. I think mine will be in the same irrepairable state... So are the calipers of the RX-8 worth fixing, or just replacing?

New TRW calipers cost 40euro/50bucks each where I'm from in Europe, and I wonder if it's even worth it to clean the calipers, or if I should just replace them and save myself the additional work and any future problems that might occur.

What is your take on this?

 

I prefer new, mostly for time saving convenience.
Just be sure your rubber brake lines aren't collapsing.

 

Well I could use a 10 inch lever in between the 2 caliper parts to push the piston back and that wasn't a big deal at all. Slowly but gradually it went back. I have seen video's where they have shown this was not possible with much more force than I have used.

I would also just replace them, especially since the material is just 100 bucks and it can be done on the driveway. And it would safe me any future hassle with pistons which quite certainly are rusted and have pits in them.

 

Put a block of wood or anything to keep the pedal from going to the floor.
Get someone to sit behind the wheel.
Press the brake to make it seize, keep foot on the brake.
Crack open the line going into the caliper to relieve the pressure, then close it.
Let up the pedal, and see if the wheel will turn.
If it turns easily, the line is bad, if it's still seized, it's the caliper.