99-00 Rear Disc Brakes 4-Lug

J

Joost27

More Power Made Me Slower
Contributor
:
2000 Mazda Protege ES V6
Introduction
I know there has been on to do it so far, and it was Biknman(sorry for the spelling if its not right) who ran it on his hillclimb/time attack car which used wilwood rotors, caliper, and e-brake w/e custom brackets and spacers. I believe shootz ended up with this setup and later sold it to someone else. However, besides the guys who have swapped to 5-lug there hasn't been many/if any other rear disc setups for the 4-lug cars. So, now to the point of this thread.

Goal
Over the next couple Months I will be planning the install of rear discs on my 00 ES. The information I will cover will be goo for all 99-03 4-lug rear drum proteges. There will be some custom fabrication involved such as mounting points for the caliper brackets. Aside from that and maybe some wheel spacers I don't for see there being too many other troubles.

Parts That Will Be Used
-----------------------
Ford Escort GT/ZX2 Rear Rotors - $17/each - Wagner Brand
Ford Escort GT Rear Calipers w/ Brackets Loaded - $70/Each - Centric

Specification Information

EGT/ZX2 Rotor
----------------
Diameter: 251mm
Height: 35mm
Hub: 55mm
Bolt: 4x100

99-00 Brake Drum
-----------------
Hub: 55mm
Height: 58mm
Bolt: 4x100

Summary
So, As you can see the hub bore and bolt pattern are obviously the same and the height is different, however this is expected since they are entirely different designs for braking. If the wheel sits in any further than this can be adjusted with wheel spacers after the fact, they should not sit out any further though.

Unknown
If I will be able to make the current e-brake cable setup work. If not I will source an escort setup and we will find a way to make it work well.
Brake Line/Hoses I am unsure about as well, but it might be just as easy and swapping to 01-03 5-lug parts.

Expected Costs
$171 - Parts
$100 or less for Fabrication Materials and Friend's Time

So, under $300 Total, and once Done Rear Brakes Services Will be Roughly $15/pads and $25/Rotors.

Once I start moving forward with this I will be posting pictures and a general How-To.
 
Last edited:
badass.... subin to see this thread.... ive always wanted rear discs but didnt want to do the conversion to 5lug so if this works best believe im doin it...good luck man
 
Really right now the only progress has been the discussion i have had with my friend as to what type of brackets we should come up with for mounting the caliper and if it should be mounted on the front side of the rotor or back. or we could get creative as to the positioning. I will probably order the parts friday or some time next week.
 
have you thought about using the spindles off the 01 protege? i really don't see how mazda would replace the whole rear subframe just to do rear discs, you know?
i ran into the same issue when i had my mx-3 RS. it came with drums, and $200 later, and a s**t load of cussin and fuzzing, i got me disc brakes. i used the cables off the GS (v6 model with discs) along with the spindles and the whole subframe (just to make it easier) and it bolted right up. took me all of like 4 hours to do.
i already asked the mazda dealer about the subframe and they said it was the same. so i don't see why it wouldn't work.
Now, if i could get someone with disc brakes to "donate" his spindles, on a loan basis, i could bring it to the shop and tear my car appart and we'd find out for sure.
i actually considered the zx2 mod for my car too, after i saw one at a junkyard when i went to get the mx-3's rear end. they look identical.
Now, on the BJ chasis, according to mazda of wesley chapel in FL, the rear end changed 99-00 an 00.5+ and it remained the same for all protege, p5, msp, and mp3. i know the 1.6 01 has drum brakes, so my guess is: swap the whole rear end and it should work.
Once again, if someone who went from 4 to 5 lug has the old spindles and stuff at home, let me know and i can get it (loaned) i'll bring it to the shop and take lots of pics. if this works, it'll be a great add-on for the forum.
Any takers?
 
well the only differences in the rear ends are the swaybars, the 99-00 had a weird one with a bunch of bends, where the newer sedans came with a very simple one that was a bit beefier, the MSP has the racing beat 20mm bar. The subframe itself is the same on all 99-03 sedans, the MSP being different only for the mounting points of the swaybar bushing brackets. There is no difference in any model for rear trailing arms. However, the lateral links that go from subframe to the spindles are different from 4-lug drums to the 5-lugs with discs. I dont see how using spindles from an 01 4-lug is going to do anything. They are the same as the 99-00 with drums. I know with some cars its an easy swap with sourcing spindles/hubs from another car or even trim. However, I have no ambition of switching to 5-lug at this point so I am will not be swapping to 01-03 5-lug with disc spindles.

With the setup I am looking to do, the only thing that will need to be done is take off the drums, all the hardware, the backing plate. Then, my friend will be making some brackets to mount to the backing plate mount holes that will extend out and hold the caliper. Positioned in the right spot the stock drum ebrake cable should work, if not then I will source a solution for that.

Also, to note the 99-00 4-lug hubs are the same hubs that the EGT uses in the rear, so rotor fitment will be a simple slide on and go.

Unless I had a parts car to 5-lug swap i will be spending about the same on this whole setup as I would on just rear spindles from a junkyard. Which would still leave the fronts as 4-lug making wheels more expensive to buy, and very hard to rotate tires.
 
Once the rotor is bolted up wouldn't it basically be welding on brackets for the calipers? Possibly getting adapter fittings for the lines. The hardest part is setting up the parking brake cables. If all else fail delete the cable and use a line lock...
 
yeah its really simple, however I am having brackets made by a friend on a CNC machine to bolt to the spindle, then have two bolt holes for the calipers to mount to. So a bit of easy fab work and it should be good. ordered the parts monday, so they should be here some time this week or early next week and i will post pics as things start to move forward.
 
using the spindles off the 4-lug disc brake setup would allow you to just bolt up from the trailing arms and it'll be done. i think you are not catching my drift...lol
 
I don't think that any 4 lugs came with disk rear. Even in 01. Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought all the disk rears were an es sedan or msp, p5, mp3. The 4 lug dx and lx were drum? Am I wrong?
 
yeah the 3rd gen didnt have 4-lug rear disc brakes so just go home. k thanks
 
japan did get a 4 lug rear disc setup on the cars that came with the zl-ve engine, ur method is cheaper though, i look forward to the fab.
 
well ok the USDM and canadians didnt, so that's all i care about for this, since for the cost to import 4-lug spindles from the japan or other markets would be more than just to convert to 5-lug and not to mention trying to even find them for sale. 5-lug spindles are hard enough to come by here in the US. I am looking for a solution where the initial cost is around $300 and then maintenance(new pads and rotors) will be just as cheap as the 4-lug drum setup.
 
I was looking on autopartswarehouse.com and seen that a couple of the rear disks said the height of the rotor is 35 mm? The rotor surface is 9mm wide making the wheel surface to rotor surface 26mm. I don't know if this will help you at all just throwin it out there
 
Why would you say anything if it were to you. You posted false info. No usdm 4 lug proteges had rear disks. Iukeineprotege (sp) usually knows what's up.
 
Yes, it was to you. I have no idea what you want to say. Unless you have proof using MX3 parts or other old model parts work on a 3rd gen protege then you have nothing. I did respond to you saying the rear end was changed. I also stated the changes that were made. Which still left the 4-lug proteges without rear discs. If you have some sort of information about a 4-lug USDM or Canadian Protege that from teh years of 1999-2003 by all means share thsi information with us. If you have such ins at some Mazda Dealer then please get part numbers for such spindles/hub setups for the rear end of a 4-lug w/ disc for 99-03 protege.

Just FYI dealerships are full of jack-offs, a few good ones or good employees out there, but for the most part if its anything older than the previous 3 model years they have no clue. This is usually do to constant changes in parts guys, mechanics, service writers, managers, etc... The mazda dealership near me is the reason i started working on my own car after they swapped my old 1.6 with another 1.6l because i hydrolocked the other one in a big puddle. They forgot to fill the transmission with fluid and when my dad picked it up and drove it 25miles home it was too late and the input shaft bearings were toast. Not to mention they forgot to hook up the Baro/MAP sensor on the passenger strut tower and told me the CEL it was throwing was for the MAF. Luckily, i knew the code from one time cleaning my engine bay i forgot to hook that back up. Also, once I tried to order front endlinks for the protege from them and they insisted the 99-00 had the same front endlinks as the 01-03 when in fact they do not. The 99-00 are almost the same length as the rear endlinks on 99-03 proteges.

/Rant

The point is, dont believe dealerships and if you have info that will help everyone share it on the forums or delete you account kthanks.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

I
Rear Disc Conversion for any BJ model (99-03), NO FABRICATION METHOD
Replies
1
Views
3K
Bloodymic
B
L
2019 CX-5 Rear brake pad uneven wear
Replies
9
Views
1K
LeSheep
L
C
2016 CX-5 Rear Caliper TSB
Replies
10
Views
2K
skid00skid0
S

Latest posts

Back