I have also taken to spraying the boots with a rubber conditioner to try and stop the rubber petrifying.

 

Humm I'll have to try that sometime.

 

I bow in your presence dom. Thought I'd never see her again ....

 

So did I. So did I... But shes back

 

Thanks to everyone input on this thread, I was able to replace my rotors/pads without too much trouble.
Some tips:

-Removing the rotors can be tough. Once you free the two screws (I used a hand impact driver), screw it into the third hole. This will cause the screw to go against the hub, pushing the rotor free without crazy hammering.

-The 17mm bolts holding the calipers in place can come out pretty quick if you have a decent TQ wrench, I used the one that i use on my lug nuts, set it to 75 lbs and they came out without too much fuss.

 

Just a word to the wise....if you want that torque wrench to remain accurate do not use it for removing bolts.

 

Hey, everyone

What do you guys think of Raybestos ceramic brake pads? I just bought them yesterday at Schuck's auto part store. They're about 65 dollars a set. I did some research online and they've received some good feedbacks from users. A lot of people say they're as good as Hawk's ceramic pads. I was originally going to buy Hawk pads. But none of the store in my area carries Hawk pads. I didn't want to order online and wait...so I just went for Raybestos......let me know if anyone has used them...and what you guys think of those pads. alright??

 

Never used them. But I can say this I have used MS pads and they are the best IMO. I'll be going back to MS when the Hawk pads a dead.

 

Hey guys what is the ft/lbs. torque on the bolts with arrows pointing to them in my image, secondly is unbolting these going to cause any problems, I've noticed that in all the diy's on brakes that i've seen no one removes them..well I did, it made putting the pads in easier hopefully I didn't screw up anything.
I just wanted to change the rotors cause the pads in the rear where still very good However I did change the pads in the front.

And is there some sort of brake in process if you remove the two bolts I mentioned.
Front and rear?
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7...rakes1awe9.jpg

 

hey all i just got done changing my front pads, but when i went to put the bottom screw back in the 17mm nut kept spinning? i didn't have an open end wrench so i just kept twisting....anyways i manage to get it tight, but it still spins when i put enough torque....i was wondering if this was safe?

 

I just did the rear brakes for the first time. The dust boot on the piston got quite contorted while turning rhe piston back in. I did my best to straighten it out, but when repositioning the caliper, the boot must have caught and become crimped. There is now a tiny hole in it.

Its such a small slit, that I am tempted to try to repair it with a high heat glue. Any one know of a trick? Is the boot replaceable?

 

The piston boot and seal are sold as a set/kit, , part number F1Y1-26-46Z for the rear. Check with your local Mazda spares department.

 

From my experinece if the rubber boot gets stuck what you should do is take a flat head and push the boot in the oppisit direction your turning the piston. Turn the piston a little until the boot get contorted then use the flat head. Time consuming but it works.

 

Look here it has everyhting you need to know

http://www.myrotarycar.com/portal/fo...3le/index.html

 

Well, the contortion itself wasn't a problem. I got it straightened out OK. When I was put the caliper back over the rotor and pads, I made sure that it wasn't protruding past the edge of the piston, but I forgot about the small **** on the back of the inner pad, and that pinched the boot when seating into the groove, even though it was lined up. At least I'll never do it again.

 

THANKS!!

I imagine the old one just pries off?

 

Thanks for the tip about putting the screw into the third hole, that worked great!

 

Replaced my front rotors and pads today. Thanks to the info on the forum, wasn't too difficult once I figured out where everything was. Most time consuming was banging away at rusted parts and cleaning the wheel hub. Took it for a test drive and it makes a world of difference (you'll see why form this pic):



For anyone having issues with getting the screws out, mine gave fairly easy after hammering at them with a screwdriver and doing the following



Now I have a question. What's the proper procedure for bed-in of stock pads? On Tire Rack's site, for most vendors it just says to take it easy for a few hundred miles, but for some like Hawk, they have a procedure with a series of hard stops. Is that the best thing to do?

Thanks,
-D

 

Anyone have any links for a good dial gauge for checking runout?

Thanks!

 

Impact screwdriver is the tool for that ......

As far as bedding them in - I followed the Hawk proceedure and my brakes were really smelling afterwards - seems to be all ok though .

 

I didn't have one and this worked for me.. I'll probably get an impact screwdriver to do the rears, though...

Did the Hawk procedure also... Feel real nice now.

Dial gauge anyone?

 

I took the front pads off the other day and i noticed that the inside pad was considerably more worn than the outside pad (5% left on inside; 60% left on outside).

can anyone tell me why this is?

 

I didn't have this much difference but check the seals around the slides,I had found a tear in one of mine . I don't know if it related but it make sence.

 

I had similar uneven wear, but probably not quite as stark a difference.. probably more like 10% vs 30%. I can't tell you why though.

 

Mine too.