hihoslva

......was about an hour ago.

Changed the front pads on the P5, as they were wearing thin. I have done probably 10-15 brake jobs in my life. Not enough to know it all, but enough to know what I'm doing. The P5 was BY FAR the simplest job ever. Literally took about 15 minutes per wheel, from the time I laid the jack under the car to the time I let it down and fully re-tightened the lugs. And this was using the stock scissor jack and tiny little lug wrench - a hydraulic jack and impact gun coulda cut me down to Indy pit stop times.... Awesome. It's so damn easy, I can't believe ANYONE would take the car to a shop and pay tons of money for this. So simple, they oughtta just include the 8mm Allen wrench with the lug wrench and jack, so anyone can change pads. Maybe I'm just a newbie to imports, but I couldn't believe how simple this was.

And yes, I DID use the Raybestos pads from Pep Boys. And they had lied to me earlier, saying it was $55 for the front and rear. It was $57 for the front only. But they seem to be fine pads - I notice no difference in feel from stock at all. Bite is fine, and so is modulation and overall feel. I'm satisfied.

And a quick tip for anyone who doesn't know this: NEVER add brake fluid to your master cylinder, unless you have a leak or otherwise open the system:

I knew my brakes were getting worn, but wasn't sure just how much. Then a few days ago, my brake warning light (!) came on during a few moderate stops when the car was cold (and brake fluid cold), and once during a moderately hard corner.

Our systems seem to be calibrated well enough, so that when the pads are getting near the end, and the extra brake fluid is now in the lines and caliper piston rather than the reservoir, the (!) light comes on. I noticed my fluid level was visually low. Since installing the new pads, and pushing the pistons back into the calipers, the fluid has been pushed back into the master cylinder, and the fluid level is within acceptable limits again. Doing the rear pads (soon) should bring the level right back up to "full". Though I've generally owned older cars my whole life, I have never seen a system so well calibrated, and never had a car that could actually WARN me my pads were low by the brake fluid level.

I know this seems like common sense info, but it IS nice to know that the warning system in the car is good enough that the reduction in fluid can signal the time for a pad change. And way too many people get the (!) warning light, see the fluid low, and just top the reservoir off - light goes away, problem solved - but not really. Plus, once you DO install new pads and push the fluid back, the excess will now spill all over the place.

Kudos to Mazda for making a brake system with good calibration, and pads that are as easy to swap as changing a tire.

~HH

b_real45

Do P5 pistons need to be twisted back in or just simply pushed in?

hihoslva

Just pushed.

I just use a big "C" clamp I've had forever.

Funny - on my Miata, there was a set-screw in the caliper that you needed an allen wrench to turn - turning it "pulled" the piston back. Of course, I had never seen anything like that, and to make things worse, the allen screw was inside the caliper, covered by a philips screw. I found it by chance - but man, was I frigging frustrated trying to push back those pistons with my trusty clamp. I was about to give up when I discovered that allen screw.

Luckily, all it takes is a push to get the P5 pistons back.

~HH

Bruce95fmla

protege front brakes are relatively simple brakes to change.

carguycw

The Miata's piston-retractor screw is on the REAR brakes, not the front. It's there because of the self-adjustment mechanism for the e-brake. The rear brakes on 2001+ rear-disk Proteges also use screw retractors, so you WILL need your Allen wrench to change the rear pads.

However, they're still easy compared to drums IMHO. I'm contemplating replacing my rear shoes soon and I'm not looking forward to it. I hate drum brake springs.

hihoslva

Thanks for the info about the rears on the Protege - this is the same on the P5, correct?

But - are you certain that only the rears of the Miata had the retraction screws? Mine was a '93, and I'm almost sure all four brakes had the retractors. *Almost* sure.

Bro - that's what digital cameras are for. Snap a pic of the brake assembly before digging in, print it out, then you have a guide to putting it back together.

Of course, there is always the old "take both wheels off and use the other side as a guide" trick.

No doubt - even if you know what you're doing, drum brake springs are a pain the ***. Too many times I've just about had one on, and then *ping*....and I'm searching in the neighbor's lawn for a damn rusty spring.

~HH

walight01

do you RB have any brake dust coming off of them. also which series did you get??

walight01

oh, and you should flush and bleed your system everytime you change pads.

carguycw

The brakes are the same; the Pro and P5 are mechanically identical except for the P5's strut brace and the P5's rear exhaust section is shorter.

Dunno about *all* Miatas, but my 94 had screw retractors on the rear only. I doubt that other Miatas are any different tho.

I'm not worried about forgetting how to put it back together... I'm pretty good at remembering that sort of thing. I'm mostly concerned about the damn things flying everywhere.

Maxx Mazda

The pads are easy enough to change, yes. Did you resurface the rotors? Not doing so will cause you to go through your new pads twice as fast. The pads are forced to make contact on an uneven rotor that is full of tiny ridges and grooves. Resurfacing lets the pads last alot longer, and it's good maintenence too.

Are the Reybestos pads pre-burnished, or did you have to do it yourself?

Should have gone with the OEM Mazda ones like Jesse said...

Maxx Mazda

Um, why?

walight01

its kinda like motor oil, when it gets old it turn from nice clear, to dark brown. you brakes need bleeded every 15kmiles anyways, just to make sure all the bubbles are out, but when is the normal brake pad change, around 30k-50k or so, for me its 70k. you are supposed to change all your fluids at 30k anyways,(ie: coolant, brake fluid, power steereing) i don't remember what interval is for the manual or auto tranny. it only cost 5 bucks(unless you use synthedic then its about 10 bucks) and it requires 2 people for a 15 min job. also, when you do the flush or bleed the system. check your clutch line aswell for bubbles.

Maxx Mazda

I was talking to Slva, but nice to hear your story!

hihoslva

In reference to the rotors and the fluid - there's no need to do anything to them unless something is wrong.

Since my pads had not worn down to grinding, the rotor is in fine shape. No need to resurface it. I do think one of them might be very slightly warped, as I have had a VERY slight shimmy under high-speed braking. But that has been for a while now - nothing to do with the new pads. And since I plan on taking this issue up with the dealer before the 50k warranty is up, I don't want to resurface the rotors and give them a reason to deny a warranty claim anyway.

And there is simply no need to change brake fluid. If it works, it works. As long as you don't open the system, there should be no bubbles. If there is something wrong with the fluid, you feel it in the brakes (or lack thereof ). Brake fluid doesn't simply "wear out" - and if it turns crappy brown, it's generally due to overheating. My brake fluid is fine, and still clear.

And although I've only done less than 150 miles of driving on the new pads so far, I don't notice any more brake dust with the Raybestos pads than with the stockers.

~HH

walight01

but with the eom pads there was no brake dust. so does that mean the RB have to brake dust ???