curlyrip

I have a white 91 LX with 168,000 miles. I am the original owner but I have never replace the rear pads myself. I understand it is quite simple but you do have to retract the caliper or something. I found detailed information on a Miata and it said to use a hex wrench to retract the calipers. Anyone who can provide detailed information on replacing the rear pads would be greatly appreciated. I have a repair manual, but I can't find it!!

Thanks again.

Davard

It's the same caliper as the Miata, I believe. Should be the same procedure. Pretty easy to do, although I didn't try to replace/resurface the rear rotors (they still looked pretty good).

I had to replace mine at 155k-not because they were worn out, but rather because the car was totalled and the shop wouldn't pass the car (for safety inspection) unless I replaced the pads. They were well within spec, but the guy didn't like how thin they were.

curlyrip

thanks Dave. I'm going to do the job this afternoon. Maybey I'll take a few digital pictures to post for others to see.

curlyrip

I did the rear brakes today and you are right, they were exactly like the Miata. The left rear break was immaculate. The hex screw back out smoothly retracting the caliber. The rotor was pristine and the pads still had a little left.

The right rear was a disaster. The hex screw was tough to turn and would not back out the caliper. It did eventually with some tugging but I still had to force the caliper back with a clamp to get enough clearance for the new pads. When trying to adjust the hex screw back in, it stripped out. Also the pads were worn very uneven on that side and the whole thing was a dirty mess.

My theory is that that caliper is just bad. The ruined hex screw indicated the caliper was trying to seize up. I got it back together for now but had to leave the hex screw out. The only problem is if I set the park brake it seizes that wheel.

Any thoughts? Will a new hex screw, I ordered one today, solve my problem or will I have to get a whole new caliper.

Thanks

Davard

I believe that a rusty rear caliper is a common problem with the 1st-gen Proteges (and EGTs) with the rear discs. A search would probably turn up something (without the snippiness of "Do a search" or "Check the FAQ") on this.

Being from sunny CA, rust isn't a problem I have to deal with.