Hi Yer!
I am in the process of changing the brake pads on a mazda 626, front pads no problem, but I am unable
To push the rear brake piston in far enough to gain enough clearance to insert the new pads, it seems to
Come to the end of its travel when hitting the hand brake mechanism . Should I remove the rotating spindle
That’s part of the handbrake mechanism from the cylinder housing ?. Any help would be appreciated.


Regards Lin (UK)

Hi!

You didn't specify what year the car is, but based on my past experience it should be done like this (hope it helps):

1. Remove handbrake cabe
2. Remove upper bolt and turn the caliper down
3. Remove pads
4. check seals and clean caliper
5. The piston should be turned clockwise to get them pushed in
6. When you reach the bottom turn back the piston so that the two grooves roughly line up with the hub. You could imagine a line trough the grooves and this line should go trough the hub when the caliper is in place.
7. Put it all back together with new pads ofcourse...

I'm guessing that the procedure described in point 5 caused your problem because the front brakes can only be pushed in, but rears have to be turned.

Good luck!

Many Thanks Jake for you response to my 626 brakes problem. If you are ever in Britain please look me up,
I am usually under the car in a lay-by .


Again many thanks lay-by Lin 28 single 36,24,36

Okay.. next time I'm over there I will keep my eyes open for people under their car in a lay-by..

Anyways did my post solve your problem? Not exactly knowing if the info applied to your specific model because I'm not a pro and only have "wrenching" knowledge of the cars built before 1995. If the car is newer there could be another trick to it. "All knowledge is good knowledge.."

J

Same thing happened to me and I couldn't figure out what the hell was up!!! Well, it seems that Mazda makers are a crazy bunch, but this is what you have to do (see the link and # 7):

"...Removing pads from brake calipers (rear)

3. Locate the upper caliper guide bolt, the end is dust-cap'd by a small black plastic cylinder. The calipers hinge on the lower bolt when this upper bolt is removed by a 14mm socket or 7mm allen key.

4. The Calliper guide bolt is chromed and should be lubricated with a high temp grease (copper antiseize). If the chrome is heavily peeled and your brakes are wearing unevenly (rear calipers not pre 5-Jan-95) then replace the caliper guide bolts. If the caliper can't slide on the bolt effortlessly then braking will be on one rotor side only resulting in reduced braking performance.

5. Swing the caliper out of the way, you will see two wide V-springs (wire based) and guide plates (convoluted metal clip). They are designed to maintain pressure against the pads as kick-back springs.

6. Brake pads themselves snap into the Guide Plates, first remove the V-springs and the pads should unclip with light levering. From each pad remove the shim and note their orientation on the brake pad pegs. If your new brake pads do not have these shims (available from Dealers) you can re-use the old ones. Place a thin coating of copper antiseize between each of the shims and the brake pad, taking care not to get any on the rotor or brake pad surface.

7. Before fitting new brake pads the caliper piston will need to be screwed back into the caliper by an allen-bolt hidden under a hex-bolt at the rear of the caliper. The piston can not be forced back into the caliper by using C-Clamp like the front brakes.

8. Snap the brake pads into the clliper and replace the V-springs. Ensure the pads are seated fully and the shims haven't slipped (hence the antiseize grease). Swing the caliper/brake-pads back onto the rotor, ensuring the pads will pass the rotor edge. Then refit and tighten the caliper guide bolt to the correct torque, 34-39Nm, 25-29lb/ft.

9. On completing the pad change, verify the master cylinder is at the appropriate "Full" mark with fresh brake fluid."


Hope this helps!!!


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/p_m5.htm