Protoge brake pad replacement

[Protoge 5]

I have decided to try and replace my own pads on front and back. I have changed pads and drums in trucks but no four wheel d-brakes. Any hints or helpful advice on this. I have c-clamps and the pads, only need to get started. Thanks for any info from those who are in the know.

Jb

 

[KrayzieFox]

I just did mine this summer and it was pretty easy. I am by no means a great mechanic, and it was the first time I tried it as well. The front is super easy, but the back is a little bit harder to do. If you search this site enough you'll find a couple how-to's that show step-by-step pictures of the whole process.

To sum it up, for the front all you need to do is remove one bolt on the bottom backside of the caliper with an allen wrench, and that will allow you to pull the caliper open and expose the pads. Swap the pads, and retract the piston with a c-clamp. Close the caliper, and you're done.

Now for some reason when I was changing the back ones, I wasn't able to open the caliper and simply swap the pads like on the front, but had to take off the whole caliper and install them that way. But, it is possible to open them just like the front ones .. I just think mine were rusted stuck or something. If you manage to get yours to slide open, then it's just as easy as the front .. but you have to use an allen wrench to retract the piston (no c-clamp for the rear).

Check the manual at http://protege5.ugly.net/04-11.PDF on pages 19 and 23 to get a better idea of what I'm talking about. It should help a lot.

 

[Protoge 5]

Brake pad replacement

Thanks for the info. But i just need to know about how to retract the rear piston on a 2002 Protoge 5. Do i need a special tool? Or does it have the allen gear to retract rear piston. Thanks in advance.

Jb

 

[KrayzieFox]

Thanks for the info. But i just need to know about how to retract the rear piston on a 2002 Protoge 5. Do i need a special tool? Or does it have the allen gear to retract rear piston. Thanks in advance.

Jb

Allen gear.

 

[Protoge 5]

Thank you very much. I saw that your Protoge 5 was a 03'. Mine is an 02' so i didnt know if they were the same. I am no mechanic either so hopefully all goes well. Thanks for the quick reponse.

Jb

 

[Tom03es]

What's an allen gear?

 

[Protoge 5]

Apparently there is a small gear on the rear brake caliper of Protoge 5's. It retracts the piston so you can install new brake pads. You turn it with an Allen wrench and i was just being short calling it a "allen gear".

 

[Canecreekfreak]

Yes, there's a gear on the back side of the rear calipers that you have to retract manually w/a 4mm allen wrench. DO NOT use a c-clamp to push in the rear piston or you'll damage them. I believe there's a guide in the how-to section on how to do this properly. You do everything else the same on the rear calipers as the front, except for the stupid manual retractor screw thing. But in order to get to it, you have to remove a plug w/something like a 12mm wrench first. Again, check the how-to section. They're basically the same rear brakes as the 90-97 Miata, so if you can't find the how-to here, you can check the miata.net for their how to on changing brake pads.

 

[Protoge 5]

How hard is it to replace rotors. And what should i look for to decide if replacement is needed. They are the original and i dont know how often they are usually replaced. ANY info.