So the driver's side rear caliper on my "89T2 started leaning fluid when the parking brake is applied. Leak looks like its coming from the casting itself, under the parking brake spring mechanism. Odd thing is pedal feel is fine; and brakes work great otherwise - it leaks when sitting in the garage with the parking brake applied. BUT it needs to be fixed and the only fix for this problem is a new or rebuilt brake caliper.

Anyway, reason I'm posting this is to let you all know that I'm finding that rear brake calipers for my FC (i.e. 5 bolt wheels, vented rear disks) are becoming impossible to find! New calipers are NLA from Mazda, and I had zero luck thus far finding rebuilt calipers for both sides online or locally. Last time I replaced these rear calipers with rebuilt parts was in 2010, and supply was plentiful back then.

 

Try rockauto

 

I noticed that too. You might want to try Napa auto parts. They were able to get me a rebuilt LF caliper last year when nobody else had one in stock.

 

Thanks, but I tried both Rockauto and my local Napa shop, neither one had it - or can get me one anytime soon. And my local Napa guy is one of those few remaining parts retailers that is really good at finding unobtainium parts. I also contacted a couple of national rebuilders directly, Cardone & Centric, who only sell to retailers and major shops directly. They both told me the issue is the stock of rebuild cores has dried up; and these guys won't do one-off rebuilds (i.e., send in yours, wait for them to rebuild & return it) because there's no guarantee that the core you send them will be good enough to rebuild.

 

I experienced the same issue awhile back when converting to the 5 lug wheels.

The only solution was to get several cores (all of which were rusty) and take the best pieces from each to make a good set of calipers. Unfortunately in your case the casting is leaking, but maybe you can find a good used set in local classified ads and rebuild them.

 

Yeah, I hear you loud and clear with these parts becoming scarcer and scarcer. Looking for parts on Ebay and prices are going through the roof!

 

I reached out to Ray Crowe, and once again he saved my ***! Ray can still get the Mazda OEM parts I'll need to DIY rebuild both calipers. There's a seal kit, which includes the piston seals, boots and the internal seals for the parking brake mechanism - this is most likely where mine is leaking from (kit is about $35, does both sides), plus the needle bearings which wear out and should be replaced (about $19 per caliper). So for < $80, I should be able to rebuild both calipers myself.... unless I find a nasty surprise like a cracked casting when I disassemble them and get them cleaned up.

 

Must be going crazy in my old age as I looked on RockAuto before I posted and found the rear calipers along with pictures.
Must have been wishful thinking as they certainly aren't on their site now.

 

They show up, but when you add them to the cart, it says they are not available. I'm going through the same thing on mine, my rear drivers is bad, but I ordered a seal kit and a needle bearing, gonna attempt to rebuild it myself, doesn't look that bad to do honestly

 

Might check with Rineharts Auto Parts. They are an all rotary scrap yard parts supplier. I’ve bought several parts from them recently, can recommend highly.

 

I checked out the Rockauto website the other day and I too didn't see any rear FC caliper listings at that time.

 

I replaced all the calipers last summer and rebuild calipers were still available at napa...but out of the 4 calipers... I had to exchange 2 of them because of poor quality cores they used for rebuilds (corroded /beaten up )and luckily the very last rear caliper they could find worked. it wasn't a happy experience and sadly the end of the barrel for finding rebuilt calipers I'm guessing.

 

Sometimes you're taking a risk when buying used calipers. I changed all of mine a couple, three years ago with rebuilts I bought at Rockauto. I think either Cardone or Raysbestos supplied the rebuilts. The rebuilt LF caliper had a very slow leak where the two halves bolt together. After about 6-months -- getting tired of constantly refilling the brake fluid reservoir every couple weeks -- I decided to replace that caliper. Rockauto nor anyone else had a LF caliper replacement, but I was able to order one through Napa auto parts. The quality of Napa rebuilt caliper was very good.

 

So I got my caliper rebuild kit & new bearings from Ray Crowe and started the disassembly process. Everything was going easy until I got to the bearing removal part -- FSM tells you to remove it with a blind hole puller, which I have (same one I use for that pesky pilot bearing on the E-shaft), but the damned thing won't budge. That same puller will whack out a pilot bearing with one or two blows. WTF? Marinated it with PB blaster and went back to it an hour later and it still won't budge. I was thinking of heating up the caliper area around the bearing with a torch (all I got is butane), and trying again but I don't want to risk damaging the caliper....

Out of ideas otherwise, what do you all think?

 

I'd use a torch only as a last resort. Torching it would probably destroy the roller bearing cage, which is most likely a polymeric material. Once the bearing is destroyed than you're committed to removing it.

For a part that small and intricate, I wouldn't recommend an impact type blind hole bearing puller as you've used. I'd use a regular pilot bearing puller such as . You'd need to use some ingenuity and fab some sort of plate to support the "U" part of the puller. Maybe you can put the caliper under the jaws of a vice, if it'll fit, and use the top of jaws of vice to support the "U" part of the puller.

 

A slap hammer (impact) type blind hole puller is literally the kind of puller shown in the Mazda FSM as the special service tool (SST), so I doubt it will do any damage to the caliper when used properly. Excerpt from the FSM below - this is exactly how I'm doing this.




As an alternative to heat, I'm going to try localized freezing of the bearing race just before giving it a whack - If I spray computer duster at it with the nozzle upside down, the stuff comes out as a super cold refrigerant, freezing anything it touches. Thought there is the bearing surfaces will contract a bit more than the surrounding caliper metal, which might help break it loose.

UPDATE: VICTORY!!! The quick freeze idea above didn't work, but with a little heat from a propane torch and a few more hours of PB blaster marination, I finally busted that bearing loose. The caliper casting cleaned up well, and all the internal surfaces and parts are clean and undamaged. Failure mechanism was the O-ring on the parking brake screw shaft. It's the only seal that keeps brake fluid away from the adjuster mechanism. Once that seal was breached, brake fluid found its way to the shaft seal, which is just a dust seal that is not intended to be a brake fluid seal.

 

The same thing actually happened to me when I bought my FC back in November. I was lucky to find a perfect set for $130 off the Facebook Group. Rebuilding my old ones on the side though.

 

i just looked up most of the parts in the Mazda EPC, and the good news is that almost everything is still available, the bad news is that Mazda USA doesn't have much.

QPC = Quantity per car, Mazda = Mazda USA, and AMA is https://www.amayama.com/en

 

I went through the same issue just this week when searching for a passenger rear caliper. When I called Mazda Comp, I was told the rears have been discontinued for some time and even the reman companies have discontinued them. In the end, it seems they've ceased to exist and we're only finding out now (as all parts stores still list them online, but can't get them).

I ended up rebuilding mine myself, as it was in good shape.

 

see above, it turns out that Mazda USA stopped buying them, to do remans, but Mazda Japan still has plenty of new ones, although they are $$$$$$$

 

Yep. Saw that, no way in hell am I paying $600.00 for a rear caliper unless I have no other alternative. For now, time to start buying used cores