Rear brake ?

[goldwing2000]

Possibly. Don't bet the rent on it, though. Unless you actually wear out the pads before 12,000 miles, you're pretty much out of luck.

 

[Rock]

Like goldwing said, don't even bet on it.
Sure the pads are s***, but as long as they are doing what they are designed to do and not causing failure during braking or some other defect, MAZDA won't bother replacing them. Personally, this is the only gripe I have about my mazda 3, but can be remedied with replacement pads.

 

[Bluesv]

yeah, too bad that nobody have pads for the rear except Mazda dealer, even the front are hard to come by, :bs:

 

[hfaze]

Retracting the rear caliper on the Mazda 3

Ok, I just went through this ordeal when trying to paint the calipers on my '04 Mazda 3 hatchback.

The calipers are PARTIALLY screw-down type. Screwing the piston in will only take it half way down. In order to get them to fully retract, I had to put a C-clamp on the caliper, and screw down the piston using an adjustable wrench. Using this method, the piston came down rather easily.

Mazda probably has some custom tool to do this in a snap, but these steps work out well for us shade-tree types... ;-)

 

[Protege52003]

Yeah, those two little holes in the piston are for turning it back into place with a rear caliper piston tool.

K-D tools makes a good universal one.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/KD-3163.html

Moved to Suspension section.

this is what i needed when i reset the calipers on my 86' saab many years ago.....was a PITA with the custom tool that i made.....

 

[AzMz3]

Ok, I just went through this ordeal when trying to paint the calipers on my '04 Mazda 3 hatchback.

The calipers are PARTIALLY screw-down type. Screwing the piston in will only take it half way down. In order to get them to fully retract, I had to put a C-clamp on the caliper, and screw down the piston using an adjustable wrench. Using this method, the piston came down rather easily.

Mazda probably has some custom tool to do this in a snap, but these steps work out well for us shade-tree types... ;-)

They are not a partially screw down type. You do not need C-clamps. You just need to screw them in clockwise while pushing the piston in.
It is very ease. I didn't even use the special tool, I don't see a need. I just used some needle nose pliers.
The tool is actully very simple it attaches to a socket wrench, so it is pretty much a socket with the two nipples on it.

 

[tsunami]

yeah, oil change 28$, brakes almost 300$, so yeah, thats a big difference, also I gat the car on 11/26/2003, and according to the dealer mine was the first one sold in the north america, but how do I check it out, dont know, plus i need that tool from the dealer to unscrew the filter, then pay another guy for used oil, takes too long and I would have to do it too often

you don't need a special tool, i bought one at like autozone or something... it was 3$ and then all you have to do is buy the filters at the dealer until some one else starts makin them, or you buy the spin on conversion....

just saw the date on this.... hahaha.... eh oh well, the info is there is if someone else thinks the same thing...

 

[mazda3zoom]

Yeah, those two little holes in the piston are for turning it back into place with a rear caliper piston tool.

K-D tools makes a good universal one.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/KD-3163.html

Moved to Suspension section.

Those tools dont work on our cars. When my rear brakes went out i had to change them and ran into the same problem this guy has. So i went and bought one of those little square things and not one side fit out pistons. I ended up just hammering the damn things back in cuz i got mad. I know thats not good cuz u could mess up the seals and whatnot but oh well, they work fine now.

 

[Bluesv]

that is what I did too, the hamer way on my first brake job, although i did bleed the system then, on my second try I used pliers, worked much better then the hammer, but still was a pain, next time Im renting a tool from the shop and see if it will fit, I dont know why they made it so damn hard on themselves, but then again that is why they charge almost 300$ do change them,

 

[krstofer]

OK, I have had this car jacked up for almost 2 hours and I can't get this damn caliper to colapse. I bought the universal adapter that doesn't fit. SO I tried the needle nose pliers. I even opend the bleeder valve. I've turned this thing over 20 times and nothing is happening. Can someone give me some advice? THe hammer didn't screw up anything?

 

[goldwing2000]

You have to turn and push in at the same time.

I wouldn't recommend the hammer method.

 

[Bluesv]

botom line is that there is no easy way to do the rear brakes on this car, pliers work the best but it does take time and patience. Hammer is a big NO NO it may damage the seals and you have to bleed the system, I did it, so it is possible but it is messy and maybe expensive down the road. universal tool and rental tools aren't really working on those holes, but at least when u rent the tools you have easier way to turn and push at the same time, u will see why when u get the tool from any car store that rents it, my best advice would be to buy good quality pads cause they will last longer I bought the green stuff and am very happy with them

 

[jhoak123]

it took me less than a minute with a pair of vice grips. just lockt them on then turn and push at the same time.