Howto: Rear Pad (disc) Replacement

[niv]

Ok, I know there is one for the fronts. I’ve searched for one for the backs and only found bits and pieces of info and a couple pictures that were helpful, but nothing that I would call a “how-to”. I thought it would be nice to put together a rear-disc how to. I believe the msp discs are slightly different so this is for the pro5 disc definately and anyone else who has the same rear disc set up.

The service manual describes a slightly diff way to do it… and had we the manual at the time we might have done it that way. The service manual describes a lock bolt that allows the caliper assembly to swing open without taking the whole assembly off. We just took the whole assembly off - which worked well b/c we were only using a jack and jack stands.. so it made maneuvering a bit easier for us. I suppose when I have to do my rear pads, I’ll try to do it the SM way and use that lock bolt, but for now, here’s what we did.

Here it is.

Tools Needed:



o4mm allen wrench
o14mm box wrench
o14mm ratchet
oCouple of slot screwdrivers
oRed thread-locker
oRubber mallet
oWork light
oJack stands
oJack

Special Notes: Specs from Service Manual:

Here's what the Service Manual says:


1.When a wheel is removed, tighten it to 89—117 N·m {9.0—12.0 kgf·m, 65.1—86.7 ft·lbf}.

2.Inspect the parking brake stroke by pulling the parking brake lever with a force of 98 N {10 kgf, 22 lbf}.
oStroke5—7 notches

Our Proceedure:

Step 1:
Loosen lug nuts and jack up rear of car. Use jack stands on both sides.

Step 2:
Take wheels off. (lolz - a pic for fun)



Step 3:
Remove clip holding brake line in place (not necessary, but makes your life a whole lot easier with extra room to move the caliper when it is loose). Just a screw driver to tap the clip out is fine, but be very careful not to hit the brake line.



Step 4:
Remove E-brake clip and unhook from holder. To do this you have to pull the e-brake cable towards the hook to loosen the tension needed to unhook the T from the U-hooks.



Step 5:
Loosen the two bolts that hold the caliper assembly in place. These are on pretty good. And we found it easier to use the 14mm box wrench and tap it with the rubber mallet till loose. We noticed that the bolt sounds like it’s screaming just as the thread locker lets loose.






Step 6:
Loosen the bolt with the copper washer that covers the allen key adjuster. (We did this after we had the assembly off, I figure it would have been easier with it still attached)





Step 7:
Insert allen key into the adjustment gear allen key slot and turn counterclockwise to retract piston. SM says to turn until it stops. (you will have to re-adjust this later to make sure that your brakes are working properly – e-brake as well)



Step 8:
Remove old brake pads. They simply slide out – towards the center. (they are held in place by bracket/clips) and then look at your old pads...

they should not even look as bad as this!!! (the owner of these pads has been "talked to" lolz)


Also, remove the metal shims on the old pads themselves and transfer over to the new pads. These shims pop off pretty easy – a screw driver should pop them off pretty easily




Step 9:
Install new pads. For us this took a little bit of jiggling and aligning to get them in.




Step 10:
Put the caliper assembly back on the rotor. Use some thread-locker on the two bolts used to attach assembly.


Step 11:
Re-assemble the e-brake cable and re-attach the clips. The lines can be finicky so make sure you have them lined up properly so the metal is seated right in the holders – this will make putting the clip in a lot easier.

Step 12:
I’m not sure what would be the easiest way to do the next step: Adjusting the allen key gear– thereby adjusting the piston on the caliper to be in a good/proper position to align the pads to a good distance. We put the wheels back on and since the car was jacked up, adjusted from underneath and behind. This allowed us to rotate the wheels to feel how much resistance there was from the pads. It ended up that we tightened the adjuster fully (Clockwise) so the wheels would not move and then backed off by about ¼ turn.(counterclockwise) (SM says 1/3 turn) That adjustment allows the e-brake to be fully engaged at about 5 or 6 clicks up. (See Special note #2)



Hope that helps!

[JCell]

great how to, thanks bro

[Kagymp5]

great work

[Roywhitep5]

ouch! down to the backplates

[niv]

heh. yah i know. so bad.

Anyhow, could the mods move this to the howto section plz?

[L8R]

i love you dude. i was waiting for a how-to for the rear setup

peace

[niv]

thx for the kind words.


this thread still here? what is it, a long weekend or something?? j/k

[Bumble G]

good write up....

you forgot the most important part --> LUBRICATION.

Use a good quality brake grease. preferably a silicone based one.

DO NOT USE ANTISEASE neithere the silver nor the copper one.

you need to lubricate the 2 caliper pins/sliders/bolts

you also need to lubricate the guide plates on the side that contacts the brake pads.

and finaly it's a good idea to place some lube on the back of the pad that faces the piston.

[niv]

Great! Thanx for adding that info - especially about the anti-seize.

One wouldn't know about that stuff just looking at the SM. All that it showed was some lube on the lock bolt and the btw the shims and the pads.

cheers.

[jb1knobe]

beeeautiful!

[Wes V]

I just want to say thanks for posting this!

I couldn't figure out how to retract the piston.

Wes Vann

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

great addition to my front pad/rotor change how to, good job.

[TStar]

that's a worthy howto

[DeadAir]

Great write-up, but let me adda couple of things:
1- Be careful with the pist adjustment gear. It's small and falls out easily if you take the whole caliper off.

2- Be patient. I chewed the fVck out of the capped bolt that holds the lower part of the pad carrier together. Fortunately, the caliper is easy to take off (as demonstrated in the write-up )

Thanks Niv!

[C.A.R.T.Fan]

What if you pop out the piston how do you get it back in??? Please help