mustang rear brake pads

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:13 am

In getting ready for this weekend’s HPDE, I installed my track pads on the mustang last night and I must say, this is THE most hateful job I’ve had to do in a while. The front pads are a non issue, straight forward stuff. The rears are another story. This setup uses the pads for the e-brake and you have to turn the piston clockwise to have it reset into the caliper. What a PITA. 2 ½ hours to do the rear pads. I tried using the generic “cube”, but it wouldn’t fit. Wound up buying Advance Auto’s new loaner brake kit for 55 bucks. Even w/ that, it was painful. I saw on the forums that the pass side rear was difficult and they weren’t kidding. After an hour of wrenching by hand, I finally broke out the pneumatic ratchet, and putting my hip on the ratchet to help apply pressure into the piston, I finally got it to engage and retract.

All that said, if anyone needs to borrow this brake tool kit, you’re welcome to use it in return for a decent 6pack of beer. I was equally surprised that at 52k miles on the mustang, the rear pads where just about gone w/ only about 1/8 of an inch left.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:18 am

RodneyWright wrote:

I was equally surprised that at 52k miles on the mustang, the rear pads where just about gone w/ only about 1/8 of an inch left.

What surprise? After only 5 hours we ran our rear pads down to the backing plates on the Prelude at the last Lemons race.

After that we drove another TWO hours ON the backing plates! :shock:

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

Rodney, you need one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-piece-d ... 97143.html

Or you can always borrow mine. Its worth the investment IMO.

MarcusMcRae · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:31 am

RodneyWright wrote:

All that said, if anyone needs to borrow this brake tool kit, you’re welcome to use it in return for a decent 6pack of beer. I was equally surprised that at 52k miles on the mustang, the rear pads where just about gone w/ only about 1/8 of an inch left.

It might use the rear brakes as part of the traction control.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:41 am

MarcusMcRae wrote:

RodneyWright wrote:

All that said, if anyone needs to borrow this brake tool kit, you’re welcome to use it in return for a decent 6pack of beer. I was equally surprised that at 52k miles on the mustang, the rear pads where just about gone w/ only about 1/8 of an inch left.

It might use the rear brakes as part of the traction control.

FYI My 2001 shop manual says that rear brakes are used at low speed traction control "events". Maybe to help the traction lok? Since I'm very rarely into traction control my rear brakes are worn only slightly more than the barely worn fronts . . . at 80K mostly highway miles. However, the one track day event on Carbotechs in 2002 wore the rears more than the fronts even with no significant use of traction control (a few wet corners just to try during one slightly wet session). Almost all my traction control use has been in snow/ice conditions here and in the Northeast.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:00 am

BriceJohnson wrote:

Rodney, you need one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-piece-d ... 97143.html

Or you can always borrow mine. Its worth the investment IMO.

That's what I bought last night and while it was great to have the correct tool to use, the pistion simply wouldn't engage. That's my frustration point.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:02 am

Every rear set of disc brakes I've ever done where you have to twist the piston back into the caliper, I've just taken a set of needle nose pliers spread open and used that to spin the piston back in.

Sounds like the Mustang must be different. What was the issue? Very high torque to spin? Many spins to get it to go back in all the way?

I've actually always wondered about how these calipers work. So you spin the piston to get it to retract, but then when the brakes are actuated, the piston does not spin back out, it just goes straight out.

So I guess there must be a 'ratchet' within the caliper that allows the piston to retract by spinning, but then extend by just fluid pressure.

I might need to go to the junkyard and get a caliper and take it apart

.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 12:17 pm

On the Hondas I've owned, a 3/8" drive extension on a ratchet fits into the piston very well. Well enough that I can get it back into the caliper that way, anyway.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 12:51 pm

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf

That doc is pretty awesome at explaining how this mechanical parking brake system coexists with the hydraulic brake system (see page 4).

So it has a tightly wound spring that acts as a clutch so if spun in one direction, it loosens and the sleeve nut can spin freely but if spun in the other direction, it stays tightly clamped to the sleeve nut so that the two items move as one. Pretty cool.

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:43 pm

Thanks for the tip Rodney. I've worked with this system before on Hondas and it never gave me grief (although on hondas the rear calipers are generally shitty and freeze or do nothing). I'll have to remember this if I they don't introduce a new mustang in a few years with a few hundred more horsepower so I get to 50k miles this time.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Oct 14, 2010 2:35 pm

JamesShort wrote:

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf

That doc is pretty awesome at explaining how this mechanical parking brake system coexists with the hydraulic brake system (see page 4).

So it has a tightly wound spring that acts as a clutch so if spun in one direction, it loosens and the sleeve nut can spin freely but if spun in the other direction, it stays tightly clamped to the sleeve nut so that the two items move as one. Pretty cool.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this link!!! After reviewing the diagram, I saw were there was a stop post on the back of the brake pad to keep the piston from rotating. I also wondered why the brakes felt weird after installing the pads. Turns out the post on the pad was not engaged into the slot on the piston and was twisting the piston during braking. I have now realigned the post on the brake pad w/ the slot on the piston and now the brakes feel normal again.

Lesson learned.... make sure you line up the pin on the brake pad w/ the slot on the piston!!

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Oct 14, 2010 2:53 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

JamesShort wrote:

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf

That doc is pretty awesome at explaining how this mechanical parking brake system coexists with the hydraulic brake system (see page 4).

So it has a tightly wound spring that acts as a clutch so if spun in one direction, it loosens and the sleeve nut can spin freely but if spun in the other direction, it stays tightly clamped to the sleeve nut so that the two items move as one. Pretty cool.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this link!!! After reviewing the diagram, I saw were there was a stop post on the back of the brake pad to keep the piston from rotating. I also wondered why the brakes felt weird after installing the pads. Turns out the post on the pad was not engaged into the slot on the piston and was twisting the piston during braking. I have now realigned the post on the brake pad w/ the slot on the piston and now the brakes feel normal again.

Lesson learned.... make sure you line up the pin on the brake pad w/ the slot on the piston!!

Yes, that is vital for this system to work!

By the way, some Mustang folks say if you take the 'cube' and grind off 2 nubs on one of the 6 faces, that it fits perfectly in the groove on your pistons. Might be worth a try next time.

That is, if there is a 'next time'. You might buy an NA or NB Miata before you need to do another brake pad change......you do know what that is right ?

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Oct 14, 2010 4:21 pm

JamesShort wrote:

That is, if there is a 'next time'. You might buy an NA or NB Miata before you need to do another brake pad change......you do know what that is right ?

NA/NB? Yeah, got my education last night, thanks

. As for the brakes, got to put the stockers back on after CMP...

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

He's talking about cars us tall people can't even dream about Rodney. . .

NA=1st gen miata
NB=second gen miata
NC=3rd gen, tall person compatible miata

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Thu Oct 14, 2010 4:43 pm

BriceJohnson wrote:

He's talking about cars us tall people can't even dream about Rodney. . .

NA=1st gen miata
NB=second gen miata
NC=3rd gen, tall person compatible miata

Made a fool of myself at the meeting last night asking what a NA and NB was, but hey, if you don't know, you don't know.

As for NC, I know Mike Miller drives one, but talk about snug....

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