Front/Rear Brake Change?

R

ReggNoble

Member
:
Mazda, 2 Touring 5speed
My 2011 Mazda2 is my first car with drum brakes.
Has anybody completed a brake pad/rotor or brake fluid change on the M2?
Also, do drum brakes work on the same brake fluid system as the front ones do?

I dont need a brake change for atleast 8 months but i'll open up the drum and see how its connected.
The front calipers seems to have alot of clips which I have not seen in other cars.
Any pics or help would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I wouldn't change the fluid unless you have to replace a caliper or brake hose. The front pads should be very easy to change. I haven't looked at the back ones, but I've done dozens of brake shoe changes on drum brakes and the best advice I can give you is to do one side at a time and use the other (assembled) side as a guide to put the other together. Should be fairly easy if you leave one side assembled to use as a guide to see where the springs go.
 
Front and rear brakes work off of the same master cylinder so same fluid.

I'd recommend changing fluid and bleeding every 2 years or 25,000 miles as the fluid absorbs moisture and gets spongy.

The rear brakes will probably last 150,000 miles since they have so little work to do.

John
 
Racebrewer said:
Front and rear brakes work off of the same master cylinder so same fluid.

I'd recommend changing fluid and bleeding every 2 years or 25,000 miles as the fluid absorbs moisture and gets spongy.

The rear brakes will probably last 150,000 miles since they have so little work to do.

John
Click to expand...

John, I agree. My DGFs Civic Si is on her second set of shoes at 210,000 miles. Fluid change at 25-30k is a good idea for maintaining consistency. Just be careful with bleeding procedure because if you get air in the ABS box, things may get dicey.

Just keep that reservoir well supplied and all is good.
 
I'm not doubting you or anything, just a little curious; why should you change brake fluid if you haven't worked on the actual lines? I know brake fluid absorbs a lot of water, but wouldn't the system be sealed if you don't tamper with it? Just wondering if i should change the fluid in my truck, it's from the factory 10 years and 120k miles ago but it looks perfect and the pedal is super firm.
 
Wow, I didn't realize the rears should go for so long! This is also my first car with drum brakes. I went to the dealer to get my oil changed today and they were telling me I should be looking into getting both the front and rears replaced. I'm at 35k, so I'm understanding it is probably time for the fronts (and the tires too), but surprised to see y'all recommending waiting on the rears.

I'm probably due for some brake fluid, however.
 
While rear drum brakes generally do last a while, do we have any actual evidence as to what the wear rates specific to the 2 are? I'm only suspicious because Mazda has a tendency to rear-bias the brakes to reduce nose dive. (Mazda 3's tend to wear out their rear disc brake pads about twice as fast as the fronts.)
 
samsavell said:
Wow, I didn't realize the rears should go for so long! This is also my first car with drum brakes. I went to the dealer to get my oil changed today and they were telling me I should be looking into getting both the front and rears replaced. I'm at 35k, so I'm understanding it is probably time for the fronts (and the tires too), but surprised to see y'all recommending waiting on the rears.

I'm probably due for some brake fluid, however.
Click to expand...

Dealer service managers make bonus money selling work. When I work in a shop I always show customers the worn parts. Did they pull the drums and showed you the worn shoes?
 
I'll second Joker 2 on that. Odds are that the dealer never looked to see if anything was needed or due.

Re brake fluid, every vehicle that I've had benefitted from replacing the brake fluid every two years. Brake fluid absorbs moisture like mad. Enough moisture and the insides of the calipers and cylinders will pit. However, if your brake fluid is still clear and the pedal is firm, life is good.

DrWebster, my experience with Honda products is that as they get older, the rear calipers tend to hang up and cause pad wear. Lots of Hondas end up with re-built rear calipers at 50,000 to 70,000 miles due to that. The rear pads do so little and move so little that the calipers corrode and jam. So, I was glad to see rear drums on the M2.

I live in the land of snow and salt so that just makes it worse.

John
 
Just replaced the stock pads and rotors with Powerslot slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads.
Pads looked good as far as wear after 28,000 miles, rotors were replaced by Mazda 9 months ago and then again had the brake vibration at 30mph.
New setup is much more stable and stronger. When i flushed the brake fluid, I could only get out 2oz of dirty fluid but was extremely dirty compared the fluid in the master cylinder. I may try a power bleeder or handvacuum bleeder for my next flush. Overall, the setup is a great improvement.
 
The nice thing about slotted rotors is you know once the slots are about gone its time for new rotors. No need to bust out the caliper.
 
ReggNoble....

Just been looking on web for Powerslot rotors for the M2, not found anything listed ? do you have details ?

Shaun.....
 
I got my Powerslot rotors from Tirerack.com but I bought the last 2 in stock.
Check out EBC they have a slotted and a dimpled rotors but not sure about their inventory.
I'm sure tirerack can order them for you but just have to wait.
 
Cosh68,

You have the tirerack.com site set as 2010 Mazdas, which there was no Mazda2 then.
They have them from 2011-2013.
 
ReggNoble...

Soz mines a 2010 & the lads a 2008.... keep forgetting you didn't get them till after us....

Shaun....
 
Rear brake shoes how long do they last?

Racebrewer said:
Front and rear brakes work off of the same master cylinder so same fluid.

I'd recommend changing fluid and bleeding every 2 years or 25,000 miles as the fluid absorbs moisture and gets spongy.

The rear brakes will probably last 150,000 miles since they have so little work to do.

John
Click to expand...


my car is a 2012 Mazda2 sport (manual Trans) with 56k miles and is a daily driver. I just replaced the front pads and took a a peek at the rear shoes. Quit a bit of effort to get the rear hub off - had to use the screw method that presses the hub off - But the rear shoes were fine and not even close to needing to be replaced. I would guess they might go to 100k miles...maybe more.
 
Pilot05 said:
my car is a 2012 Mazda2 sport (manual Trans) with 56k miles and is a daily driver. I just replaced the front pads and took a a peek at the rear shoes. Quit a bit of effort to get the rear hub off - had to use the screw method that presses the hub off - But the rear shoes were fine and not even close to needing to be replaced. I would guess they might go to 100k miles...maybe more.
Click to expand...

When you say you pulled your hub off, are you referring to the drum? Because full hub removal would NOT be required for just a rear pad change, correct?
 
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