Rear Caliper Adjustment HELP

[WhiteOutP5]

Not sure if this is in the right section, but nonetheless, i hope it gets noticed, i usually dont post much here as i usually find all the answers to my questions via the search.

i'm replacing all the rotors and pads on my car ('03 Protege5)
fronts were a breeze
passenger rear was a breeze
drivers side rear...WTF!

i already know that in order to compress the caliper on the rears you have to remove a bolt to expose the allen key adjuster and turn it counterclockwise to compress the piston

no problem with the passenger side rear, so now i go to do the drivers side rear and theres no bolt covering the allen key adjustment

so im thinking okay maybe whoever touched my brakes before forgot to put it back...just like how i had only 1 "M" clip on the driver side front....weird stuff
i insert the 4mm allen key and its grabbing onto nothing, there is no allen key head in there!!

so now how the hell do it compress that piston?! its clamped onto the rotor pretty good so i can't even take the caliper off

I thought about removing the allen adjuster from the good side and transfering it. But then theres no gaurantees i can get the teeth to line up properly again if it in fact comes out. Even if i am successful at that, i dont know how i will be able to adjust the piston accordingly on both sides (because when i go to remove it and try it on the other side the piston will compress bringing me back to square one) prior to taking the car out to properly bed the pads and rotors in.

SO....
Any suggestions on how i can finish my pad/rotor install. I'm at a standstill and dont know how to go about this problem.

Any and all suggestions/comments/solutions are GREATLY appreciated!

 

[WhiteOutP5]

Not sure if pictures are necessary. But here are some of my situation.

The first 2 are of the bum caliper and the last is of the good one.

thanks again

 

[Kansei]

It's not as bad as you think. The allen key thing is just an adjuster, so here's what you do. Go to the side that still has one, unbolt the cover over it, and start undoing the allen screw and then wiggle the allen wrench and that adjuster will come out. It's just a cylindrical gear thing. Stick it in on the other side and you're all set, you'll be able to retract the piston as much as needed. Sucks that you are missing that piece, but you may be able to order it from protegegarage.com, mazdastuff.com, or the new vendor on the forums. I'm sure by morning (normal people morning, not 03:30 like it is now) someone will post more info on it, I'm sure you aren't the only person to have that missing. My guess is some shop lost it doing the brakes before.

 

[WhiteOutP5]

Go to the side that still has one, unbolt the cover over it, and start undoing the allen screw and then wiggle the allen wrench and that adjuster will come out. It's just a cylindrical gear thing. Stick it in on the other side and you're all set, you'll be able to retract the piston as much as needed.

Thanks Chris,
But if i do this i will not be able to adjust the piston on one side properly because i still only have one adjuster. According to the shop manual and the "How-To" on this board i should adjust the piston until the pads grip the rotor and then back off of it about a quarter turn. I wont be able to do this on both sides. Is this step necessary or will they adjust with use/time???

how-to thread, step 12

I have never done brakes on a car with this little gimiky adjuster crap. Always been, C-Clamp against old pad, compress, easy as pie, done!

 

[TheMAN]

holy rust batman!

 

[P-Funk!]

Use the available adjuster from the good side and then after adjusting the bad side - move it back to the good side for adjustment.

Get a replacement when you can. I would not wait too long - it sounds the old/bad caliper was not adjusting correctly. It should be more loose as the brake pads wear - not tighter...

 

[Kansei]

holy rust batman!

You think that's bad:

We all don't have the luxury of living in Texas. Damn it that 90% of the good tech schools are in the Northeast

But yeah, like P-Funk said, after you adjust one side swap it over to the other side and adjust that one. I think it might be ok to be without it, since it isn't like the adjuster locks in place, it rotates pretty easily so whether it is there or not the other gear can rotate.

I agree though that our rear calipers suck, and if it bothers you enough you cold always switch to the MSP (same as euro spec) rear calipers. On them, instead of having an adjuster, the piston just retracts as you rotate it.

 

[AznXstazy]

dam dude, u got rust at the bottom lol.

 

[Couz]

Pass. rear caliper adjustment (too tight)

First time user here..and desperate...

I changed the rotors and brakes on my 2002 Protege5. Front ones were easy. Back rotors and brakes are finally on HOWEVER I can't drive anywhere because the brake pads a rubbing on the rotor as if it were too tight. Even after adjusting the Allen Head Screw. I'm starting too think the brakes are too thick? Help!