Help question - brakes

Hi. I changed the rear brakes in my 1996 Miata. The parking brake now does not work. The last time I had the brakes changed (someone else did them that time) I thought I remembered the parking brake taking time to adjust itself as the new pads settled in. Is this the case? Does it take time for the parking brake to start working again? It's been almost a week now with lots of driving and it still does not work.

Also, I left the shim out on the right rear brakes, as I could not get them in. The fitting in the calipers was too snug. Could this be a potential problem with the brakes in the future?

Thanks Brian

Reply to
Brian White
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You will likely need to go to the miata.net web site and look in the garage section (brakes or brake jobs). The rear brakes have an adjustment screw hidden under what looks to be a mounting bolt near the bleed valve. You will see similar bolt heads. If memory serves, the correct bolt is towards the front.

The real concern is that if you forced the caliper piston back into the caliper with the usual press method, you may have damaged the brake adjuster(s). The correct way to retract the piston is to apply light pressure to the piston and turn the adjustment Hex screw to pull the piston into the caliper.

Reply to
Chuck

I did that. I used the manual adjustment screw to retract the piston. Although, I did not put light pressure on the piston. I did not try to force the piston back with a C-clamp. If I have always had my brakes done by others, it may now be damaged I suppose.

How about the shims? Are they necessary for the rear brakes to work?

Reply to
Brian White

Did you then complete the procedure to move the piston back up to the point where you had light drag on the disc?

I would check to see that the parking brake cable is actually moving the levers at the caliper(s) could be a loose cable.

When yo do this, also check to see that the hydraulics are actually clamping down on the rear wheels.

It depends. The shims help to keep the pads floating in propper alignment and help prevent uneven pad wear but also they help to quiet the brakes by helping to damp out vibrations (whichi may alse increase due to uneven pad wear)

Reply to
Private

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