P. Rallycross Miata Brake Replacement
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Rallycross Miata
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Brake Replacement
My son and I replaced the brakes today. The rear driver's side caliper was leaking. Instead of just fixing the one caliper, we rebuilt all of them and installed new pads on the rear. The pads on the front were almost new so we left them on the car.
I ordered most of the parts from Autozone. The caliper kits for the rear were Duralast 60176 kits. This is the kit to order since it has all the seals including the dust seal for the parking brake lever and the O-ring for the adjuster.
We found out that if the C-clip on the adjuster is not properly installed, the O-ring does not seal and a major leak will occur. We had to remove the driver's side caliper again and re-seat the C-clip.
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We also painted the calipers Orange to match the wheels. We used VVT caliper paint. The paint would melt if brake cleaner got on it so we had to be careful after the calipers were painted.
We had a hard time at first getting the rubber insert into the bracket below. First we tried using brake fluid to lubricate it and push it in. That did not work. Then I tried the brake grease and it worked well.
Once the rubber is lubed and twisted almost all the way in, I used the back end of the drill bit that I rounded off to push the rubber insert all the way in. I tore the thin bellows off an insert one time by trying to twist it in all the way. So, using the drill bit was much better.
After bleeding the brakes and adjusting the rear brakes mechanically, we took turns test driving the car. The engine runs great! The steering is mushy and is making some noise. We will look into that before we go to the Rallycross.
We also found a check engine light. I could not get the code reader to work. It will not power up. I will trace the power source and see if that is the problem. I would like to know what the code is to be sure the car is ready to run.
The problem was the ROOM fuse was blown for some reason. The wiring diagram shows this is the fuse that feeds the Data Link connector number 2 that the code reader uses. It is a 10 amp fuse on the fuse panel under the dash. I replaced it and the check engine light went away and the code reader was able to function showing no codes.
We also finished installing the interior carpet and seats today. So the car is almost ready to race!
11/30/2013