hey, i don't mean to thread jack but this seems to be like the best place to ask this as i may need new calibers myself, im in the middle of changing my brake pads and rotor as both got destroyed, (one of the brake pads just disappeared and the piston was grinding against the rotor in the middle of an over 6 hour road trip). i may have striped the allens head, does this mean i need to get new calibers altogether?
Better Rear Calipers Suggestion Needed
- Thread starter MazdaSpeeder
- Start date
I'd say so if you've stripped the allen heads then you won't be able to retract the piston/adjust it.
I'd let others chime in before you take what I said.
OK,... I'm just guessing here but it may be possible that your calipers are still OK. It looks like (judging by the picture of the rear internals) that the main screw can completely unthread from the C-clip that threads onto it. (It's the big C-clip at the top of the picture)
Perhaps, if you add a bit of pressure to the piston while turning the allen screw it may start threading itself back on.
If your pad was missing, it's possible that the self adjusters threaded themselves off completely.
I have heard of people actually rotating the piston itself with a pliers to back them off. (on our P5's)
And,... I see no reason why we can't just apply the P-Brake repetitively to set the adjustment. After all, the brakes do adjust themselves for pad wear after replacement ???
It might take a whole bunch of brake lever pulls to set it but I see no reason why it shouldn't work ??? Two of my other cars worked that way.
Maybe there's your answer MazdaSpeeder,... use pliers to rotate the piston then pull the P-brake to tighten it up again,... you'ld never have to touch the allen screw again ???
Perhaps, if you add a bit of pressure to the piston while turning the allen screw it may start threading itself back on.
If your pad was missing, it's possible that the self adjusters threaded themselves off completely.
I have heard of people actually rotating the piston itself with a pliers to back them off. (on our P5's)
And,... I see no reason why we can't just apply the P-Brake repetitively to set the adjustment. After all, the brakes do adjust themselves for pad wear after replacement ???
It might take a whole bunch of brake lever pulls to set it but I see no reason why it shouldn't work ??? Two of my other cars worked that way.
Maybe there's your answer MazdaSpeeder,... use pliers to rotate the piston then pull the P-brake to tighten it up again,... you'ld never have to touch the allen screw again ???
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- Mazda Protege 5
Off topic question here. Is it possible for the rear calipers to be installed without the adjuster bolt? I ask this because about a year and a half ago i was without the means to repair a seized up caliper myself so i brought it to a shop and they replaced both rear calipers. Fast forward to now, I am replacing my pads first one goes in fine i get to the other side and go to loosen the adjuster bolt and i cant seem to get the allen key in the bolt it just kept spinning. I then took the whole caliper off to get a better look and to my suprise there is no adjuster bolt. What are my options here new caliper?
Well,... curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to find out if you need to tighten and then release the allen 1/3 of a turn.
I backed off my allen screw one complete turn and it did self adjust by pulling the P-brake handle.
At first it didn't seem to work but then I realized the rotating part on top of my caliper was sticking so I replaced my "helper spring" and it started going again.
(Yea,... I know,... really half assed)
It seemed to start working when I held the foot brake on while releasing the handbrake, then releasing the foot brake before applying the handbrake (like my old car).
I backed off my allen screw one complete turn and it did self adjust by pulling the P-brake handle.
At first it didn't seem to work but then I realized the rotating part on top of my caliper was sticking so I replaced my "helper spring" and it started going again.
(Yea,... I know,... really half assed)
It seemed to start working when I held the foot brake on while releasing the handbrake, then releasing the foot brake before applying the handbrake (like my old car).
I'm pretty sure your foot brake will work fine but your P-Brake won't work on that side. You can test this by rotating the connection point at the top of the caliper to see the brake starts to grab. You should have the other side still grabbing.
The previous post says you can get a new screw but I don't know how you would install it. The allen screw is just supposed to rotate in place to move the piston. It's not supposed to actually unscrew from the hole. It may have to be installed from the piston side by removing the piston first (but I don't know). I think it is held in place by one of the c-clips.
If you do leave the screw out, I'm pretty sure you have to make sure the bolt on the back of the piston (the one covering up the allen screw) is in securely because I think the full pressure of the brake fluid would push on it when the foot brake is applied.
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- Mazda Protege 5
How would i get the piston back with no screw?
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- aggressive auto culture
This is how ive adjusted rear brakes on the ~80 brake jobs Iv done. Works every time.
How to adjust rear brakes:
1) Stand on pedal with a good amount of force 2) Hold E-brake button and repeatedly pull up and down with some speed about 20 times. 3) Pull e-brake up as far as possible 4) Pump brake pedal with a good amount of force about 20 times.
Source: Im a mechanic, lol
Never ever swap calipers from side to side. You'll never get them to bleed properly.
How to adjust rear brakes:
1) Stand on pedal with a good amount of force 2) Hold E-brake button and repeatedly pull up and down with some speed about 20 times. 3) Pull e-brake up as far as possible 4) Pump brake pedal with a good amount of force about 20 times.
Source: Im a mechanic, lol
Never ever swap calipers from side to side. You'll never get them to bleed properly.
Our FSM says to turn the allen screw to adjust the brakes,... I never bothered until today to try the hand brake to adjust them.
(and yea,.. it works fine !!)
I would think as long as the bleeder screw stays at the top after swapping left to right, (not turned upside down or rotated vertically) then the air will bleed out.
I forget why Brian MP5T swapped the calipers but I think it was so that the bleeder screws would be accessible. (I really don't think Brian would have missed something as basic as the ability to bleed the brakes.)
So Protege03ak46,... what about rotating the piston with a pliers instead of using the allen screw ???
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I'm pretty sure the piston should just push in by hand or with a c-clamp,... there is no screw holding it. (Don't force the c-clamp in case I'm wrong)
EDIT,.. I might be wrong,... the FSM diagram seems kinda different than the picture,... I was assuming the big threaded screw in the middle of the picture had the allen head at the end.
However the FSM shows the manual adjustment gear (# 4) which is most likely the part with the allen head. That means the big threaded screw may very well still be inside your caliper. (your connecting link may have fallen out too ??)
I don't get how part # 11 connects with the internals ??? I would expect it to be splined to drive the self adjuster ?? It looks like it would just pull right out of the hole (no c-clip)
Too bad my shop wanted so much for a core charge,... I woulda kept mine to take it appart.
I'm still pretty sure you can rotate your piston with a pliers to turn it in,... Try to turn it from the inside surface of the piston so you don't score the piston's outer surface,... Try putting the head of a pliers in the piston and pulling the handles apart to grab the inside while turning (instead of squeazing the handles together)
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I think brian was talking about when you put *rear calipers from a mazda6* on a protege you'd swap sides to get the e-brake lined up *better (still needs a longer cable) or the bleeder easier to get to. (mazda6 calipers aren't the replacement this thread is looking for, just a nice upgrade if you can get a longer e-brake cable)
It does look like you could turn the piston instead of the screw doesn't it, i've never tried that. Of course... back when i had it, i loved the allen key thing- I thought it was super easy.
This idea needs some junkyard research
It does look like you could turn the piston instead of the screw doesn't it, i've never tried that. Of course... back when i had it, i loved the allen key thing- I thought it was super easy.
This idea needs some junkyard research
MazdaSpeeder
Member
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- Protege5 (5-spd)
Here's the thing...you may be able to get the piston to retract if the allen key is messed up, but you probably won't be able to readjust it after you are done. So, the ebrake won't work on that side.
Yea,... There is a lot of parts inside that all need to work to get the brakes working properly.
But if they are functioning properly, it looks like you can avoid the allen screw all together.
In fact it kinda looks like if the end of the allen screw is stripped, then you turn the piston then use the P-Brake to readjust it.
Using the P-Brake to adjust the brake will prove to you that the self adjusters are working too.
bigpturgeon may have perfectly functioning brakes without the allen screw at all ?? (just pull on the P-Brake to find out if they grab)
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- Mazda Protege 5
As it stands right now they do grab when i engage the parking break.
If it were me I'd try getting part #4 from the dealer,... it might just pop right in under the bolt ??? Either that or just try turning in the piston.
It's worth trying,... better than replacing the caliper.
on the mx6 forum there's an interchangeable parts thread where someone mentions the rear calipers from a 5-lug 3rd gen protege being an upgrade to the ford probe rear calipers. There's no mention of swapping rotors, just the calipers. They say it's an upgrade, but if you're looking to get rid of the allen key caliper maybe a ford probe/mx6 rear caliper would work? I don't know is the e-brake cable will need modification though...
MazdaSpeeder
Member
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- Protege5 (5-spd)
It is, but the problem is that if the caliper is stuck, you're just going to keep stripping them out when you try them, even if you put a new one in. I went through two of those trying to get a caliper to retract before I gave in and replaced the caliper. I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope with a new adjustment bolt...it might work, but when these calipers start to stick, they're pretty much done.
