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Im trying to do a basic brake pad change here and im stuck. I cant get the rear left caliper off. Ive followed all the stuff on miatanet like relaxing the hex bolt and removing the lower bolt but the thing is still stuck firm. Am i missing something really obvious? (handbrake is off)

Try tapping the caliper assembly with a rubber hammer or a block of soft wood to see if it will free up. How was the right rear caliper?

Ive given it a good wack with a rubber mallot. The top pin seems to be well and truely stuck. Apart from further thumping with the mallot, what else could i try.
(sorry, i meant to say that it is the rear right which is the problem. Havent gotton to the rear left yet)

Identical problem to andrew. Inside pad appears to be well, not there, while the outside pad has some meat to it. I guess its down to wd-40, rubber mallot and beer.
http://www.mx5cartalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=29626&highlight=seized+caliper

drown both the rears in WD40 & walk away from them for the night

AJ wrote:drown both the rears in WD40 & walk away from them for the night

I did this for 5 successive nights with no joy. Took it to a brake specialist, and a couple of dollars later it was all free.

Casey wrote:

AJ wrote:drown both the rears in WD40 & walk away from them for the night

I did this for 5 successive nights with no joy. Took it to a brake specialist, and a couple of dollars later it was all free.

[smartarse off]Is this a problem for all NB's??............i only ask because maybe someone has come up with a reliable fix that could be posted for anyone who comes across it, & obviously the rears aren't working properly while they are jammed like this if one pad is wearing out & not the other??[smartarse on]

Sorry Jimmy. Just remembered you are in Canberra

ACT Brakes at Belconnen (Nettlefold St) - I think Steve was the man. About $60 to unstick one caliper and overhaul both rears. Plus I got a big tube of the proper PBR grease off them to stop it ever happening again.

AJ - its a common problem for single piston sliding calipers (all model MX5s, not just NBs). The brake guy told me BMWs and Pajeros were the worst, but with regular servicing (ie greasing) it should never be a problem.

I think the NCs have an identical design as would 99% of the cars out there so expect it to be an ongoing problem

Flawed design? Possibly. Cheap to make? Definitely.

*makes a note for the next service* check slider pins on rears for binding, grease as necessary.
obviously on a car that doesn't do big k's, i'd expect the problem would be exacerbated

yes it is a common problem, my NA rears got jammed up recently and wore the inside pad out - lucky for me they didn't bind like described here tho, we were able to get them apart and regrease the sliders.

AJ wrote:*makes a note for the next service* check slider pins on rears for binding, grease as necessary.
obviously on a car that doesn't do big k's, i'd expect the problem would be exacerbated

Yep - that was my problem. You would usually do it each pad change, but when the first pad change happens after 6 years you will have a wee problem.

I reckon I will grease the pins from now on every 6 months. The last time I was at Wakefield I would have been braking with only three wheels Did a PB though - there might be something in this. Think of the weight saving by removing a whole rear brake assembly

LOL................i don't like using the brake pedal............it slows me down

When I saw that half eaten rotor fatty I went home and greased my rear calipars the next day. Preventative maintence...

thanks for the input lads. Ive just spent that time hitting, smacking, abusing, spraying wd-40 at everything, swearing, drinking and throwing stuff at the damn pin, then mum called me in for dinner, then i went out again and greased, drank, hit etc but its not budging
Thanks for the recommendations Casey, its going to ACT Brakes first thing in the morning. I took a look at the rear left as well and the pin is completely rusted. Guess its time for a caliper overhaul. But at least they can remove my broken speed bleeder Makes me think that ive only been using the fronts for as far as i can remember...

Lesson for the Kids: Grease your rear (and front) caliper pins OFTEN.

Is the nb brake the same as the NA? So to take it off you just take out the bottom bolt and rotate the caliper upwards, then you can slide it off, otherwise its just pushing into the brake pad.
So you've tried rotating it upward or hammering it upward? A twisting force might be better than a longitudinal force to break any rust since you have leverage on it. Make sure you get some brake pin silicone grease from repco. And brake cleaner to absorb all the wd40 or you'd find you wont stop when you put it all back together.
Good luck

Oh and I bought the 3 different \"tooth\" brushes, one steel brass and plastic, that helped me clean up all the pad sliders to be almost like new.