E-Brake Light ON and OFF

M

mattzerstoren

:
2003 Mazda Protege5
Hi all,

My e-brake light has been coming ON and OFF intermittently for about a week or so and I'm not sure what's going on. I checked the fluid reservoir, and all is good there. I know my rear pads need to be replaced...would that cause this light to come ON and OFF intermittently? I'm so so hoping this is not a result of an electrical short somewhere. Any ideas?
 
If the light is kinda flickering, I would suspect the float in the reservoir.

I would add some brake fluid till it's at the full mark.

Otherwise,... Here's the big list of crap that could be wrong...



 
Thanks @pcb! After more searching on the forum, I read about the many things it could possibly be and most of the posts were yours haha. In addition, today it started to sound like my rear bearings were bad...while leaving work I had to brake pretty quick/hard (not slam) and I could hear a loud as hell grinding sound, which tells me the rear bearings are busted? Or bearing*, the sound was coming ridiculously loud from the rear left...might as well replace the pair, I read that rear bearings are much easier to deal with than the front. I didn't feel any vibration in the brake pedal at all, and was still able to brake fine.. Also, the front right caliper has a small tear in the boot around the piston, as I recall, so that might as well get dealt with while I'm at it. Time to get to work..
 
What bearing/hub assembly would you recommend for the rear? I have SKF in the front, but damn, the rear SKF assembly on RockAuto is $114! Moog ($65) and Timken ($50) are much cheaper...
 
Rear bearing a are easy to replace (although you may need a gear puller)

Cheaper bearings make good sen$e for the rear.
 
Thanks for y'alls replies! I'll go with ceramic pads in the back, as I have them on the front. I was just curious as to what other people's opinions were...my front ceramic pads have been great, holding up nicely.

For the TIMKEN rear bearing assembly, which of these would you go with?

TIMKEN 512270 - $50.79/each
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1117796&cc=1416833&jsn=15

TIMKEN 513131 $70.79/each
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1118865&cc=1416833&jsn=16

Is the difference here the ABS ring? The first/cheaper part link doesn't show the ABS ring in the picture, but lists that (Y)es it has the ring in the info...
 
I'm pretty sure the difference is the ABS ring...

$20 for that thing ???

If you don't have ABS then go with the cheaper one.

All the other companies include the ring.

I went with WJB because I didn't want to put a ten dollar saddle on a two dollar horse... (and because they're easy to replace)
 
I wanted to give you guys an update...so, it turns out, the rear bearings are fine. After pulling everything down in the rear (what I should have done first), I came to find that my rear driver side caliper was grinding on the rotor, causing the loud grinding sound that made me think the bearings were busted. After getting the rear driver side taken apart, I noticed that the inner pad (which the piston pushes on) was completely worn down to almost nothing, just metal. At some point, this inner pad slipped out of place and then the piston moved into contact with the rotor. The piston is worn down and warped, and the rotor has a deep, heavy groove on the inside of it now. I think it's safe to say, I will need to replace the rotor and caliper on this side. I did a lot of research on here last night, and from what I gathered, it sound like the sliding pins malfunctioned at some point, causing the piston to seize? I think? My best understanding of why the inner pad was so terribly worn, and then eventually fell out and the piston took over. The outer pad seemed to have normal wear, not even to the point where I think it needed to be changed. So, is that what happened, the piston seized and got stuck moving outward? Or maybe too much tension put on this side when the pads were changed last? Luckily, I've managed to stay safe during this whole ordeal...I thought it was just busted bearings, so I was driving the car a mile here or there for emergency type situations this past week.

For a new (or reman) caliper, I've basically gathered that whatever the brand, if buying over the counter at AutoZone or O'Reilly's, I should check the allen key adjustment of the piston at the store and make sure it properly moves all the way in and out? Is that correct? Is there a certain brand that has proven great for some users and is recommended? I want this job done correctly and to have everything running smooth. Any info/help is appreciated. Also, what is the bracket I've seen on some reman calipers? For some reason I don't remember seeing that on the caliper I took off...I've read that some people do their rotors/calipers in pairs...any insight into as why that might be for the best? Just curious!

Thank you!
 
Last edited:
That bracket is held on by 2 14mm bolts. If you just took the caliper off, you were staring at it as you worked.
I just recently thought I had a "draggy" caliper so I greased all of my caliper pins. The brake pads and front calipers were all done by the PO but it looks like the shop never greased the pins, or that grease did not last long. Either way it seemed to have fixed my little issue.

I've heard different things about replacing in pairs. If one failed, the other isn't far behind.....the "new" caliper will be stronger and cause the car to pull to one side...I have done it both ways. Honestly I never noticed a difference if I just replaced one.
 
Ilikebikes said:
That bracket is held on by 2 14mm bolts. If you just took the caliper off, you were staring at it as you worked.
I just recently thought I had a "draggy" caliper so I greased all of my caliper pins. The brake pads and front calipers were all done by the PO but it looks like the shop never greased the pins, or that grease did not last long. Either way it seemed to have fixed my little issue.

I've heard different things about replacing in pairs. If one failed, the other isn't far behind.....the "new" caliper will be stronger and cause the car to pull to one side...I have done it both ways. Honestly I never noticed a difference if I just replaced one.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for your reply! Yea, it makes sense, the bracket, haha. I guess for some reason when I was looking at pictures online last night, the caliper looked funky to me...it was late hah. Any recommendation on caliper brand? Or rotor brand, for that matter? I feel that AutoZone/Oreilly's rotors should be fine, but I'm not certain about the calipers? I guess all rebuilds have their risk, I just hate doing double work!
 
I would usually recommend Raybestos or Wagner, have had good luck with those in the past on other vehicles. For parts that are not difficult to change, I normally don't mind using a local parts store if the part is lifetime warranty, but brakes are pretty important obviously.
 
mattzerstoren said:
Awesome, thanks for your reply! Yea, it makes sense, the bracket, haha. I guess for some reason when I was looking at pictures online last night, the caliper looked funky to me...it was late hah. Any recommendation on caliper brand? Or rotor brand, for that matter? I feel that AutoZone/Oreilly's rotors should be fine, but I'm not certain about the calipers? I guess all rebuilds have their risk, I just hate doing double work!
Click to expand...

If the pins seize, the outside pad will wear. If the piston siezes, it'll be the inside pad. Water is heavier than brake fluid, so any that accumulates in the system will sit in the calipers and rust the pistons, causing them to stop releasing.

My left front caliper started dragging in Spring of 2015, and the right front started to stick a month ago. I replaced both with Oreilly's remans.
 
Livin the salt life................a lot of times, I'm glad we don't have winter enough to need that s*** thrown down to destroy our cars.
 
MrGiggles said:
If the pins seize, the outside pad will wear. If the piston siezes, it'll be the inside pad. Water is heavier than brake fluid, so any that accumulates in the system will sit in the calipers and rust the pistons, causing them to stop releasing.

My left front caliper started dragging in Spring of 2015, and the right front started to stick a month ago. I replaced both with Oreilly's remans.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what exactly has happened with mine...I'll have to take some pictures and post them here, just to get y'alls input. My car came from upstate New York (I'm living in Texas), so I wonder if the salty winter roads are the root cause of all these problems I've been having. Not sure if y'all recall, but a few months ago I replaced the front end bearings, hubs, cv axles, lower control arms and tie rod ends...each item was seized like a mofo.

@MrGiggles, how have those Oreilly's remans been holding up? And, do you (or does anyone) know of the top of your head the size allen key you will need to adjust the pistons on the rear calipers? Is it 4mm?

Thanks!
 
mattzerstoren said:
For a new (or reman) caliper, I've basically gathered that whatever the brand, if buying over the counter at AutoZone or O'Reilly's, I should check the allen key adjustment of the piston at the store and make sure it properly moves all the way in and out? Is that correct?...
Click to expand...

That would be a smart idea.

Our rear calipers have a bunch of clips and gears inside of them that may not be replaced or even inspected during the rebuild.


 
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