small "big" problem with rear caliper
 

At first it seems a very small issue but it's turning out to prevent me from putting my FD on the road right now.
The little bushing-like rubber, that goes on the tip of the sliding pin on the rear caliper, has torn and became unusable. I figured I'd simply call Mazda and ask them for a replacement. Well I was told the don't sell that little rubber. I asked if I could buy the whole pin, and he said they do sell the pin, but it comes without the rubber. At this point I'm thinking WTF? Isn't there any way to get that little piece of rubber about 3/8 of an inch? The guy at Mazda said something about some sort of kit at 80$+ but is not even sure what comes in it.
I tried local hardware and plumber departments but haven't found something that fits.
Does anyone know where I can find this little sucker?

Thanks,
Sam

You can probably find a semi-suitable replacement at any auto parts store. Just take the old caliper pin boot with you for comparison. Barring that, the kit he's talking about is probably a caliper rebuild kit. It'll come with the caliper pin boot but also comes with new seals, etc to rebuild the whole thing. Which you can do if you feel up to it. $80 seems like a lot for what you get with the kit. Did you talk with Ray Crowe? It may be way less expensive from him.

The issue I've been having with everyone is that they're stuck with the fact that this piece goes on the caliper's sliding pin. If they could look past that and simply try to find a similar piece of rubber, my problem would probably be solved.
My local Mazda dealer ordered the pin for 14$, it seems there is only ONE left in North America, somewhere in PA. WTF? I tried to ask what about the caliper rebuild kit but it seems these pins don't come in the kit.

If this pin doesn't show up from PA, I guess I'll have to order it from Japan and... well spend much of the summer FD-less.

I can't believe there's no other alternative.

dude im in the EXACT same position. i was doing my brake job and noticed that the driver side lower rear caliber had seized up. i needed a breaker bar to get the bolt loose. that tore my rubber piece in two. the bolt was pitted from rust so i sanded that and the inside smooth.

ordered a new bolt from ray and was surprised when it came without the rubber piece. so i called ray and same as you it only comes with the caliper rebuilt kit. 70 some dollars.

i put the old bolt back in with half the rubber piece and lubed it up well with brake grease. its no longer seized and its functioning well. not quite as "fluid" as the other side but im having no problems so far.

so now i have a brand new bolt on the shelf and iv been tring to locate the rubber. ive pm'd a bunch of people i know sell parts and every part out i see but have had no luck locating one.

call ray at malloy mazda he is excellent at getting stock parts for the car and he knows part numbers by heart 1-888-533-3400 not sure when he works tho.. but ask for ray and tell him your situation.. hope that helps

Yeah no pins in the kit. Just seals, boots, retaining rings, and grease.

Just encountered the same problem here in Halifax. The rubber piece only comes in the rebuild kit. I too ordered a new pin! I'm thinking of finding a few small rubber O rings to replace it and see how that works. Three or fours should fill the space.
For those of you who have used the brake without the rubbler piece--like I'm doing right now--does it make a sqeaking sound when you put on the brakes? Mine works fine but sounds like some sort of rubber bushing is squeaking. It only happens when I use the brake and doesn't seem to do so when braking in reverse. It's pretty strange!

Should've read your posts earlier lol. Received the pin, no bushing. haha. He, too, wanted to sell me the kit at 87$. He even called Mazda h/o and the said it's the only way to get the bushing (the rebuild kit).

Well, I took a vacuum hose, cut it the right length, and it fits perfectly. Haven't test driven it yet but I'm sure it'll do the job.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this issue, not very impressed with Mazda (that's not new though) about not actually selling the part.

So, if the vacuum hose trick works out, I'll let you guys know :D
I'll even try to post some pictures ;)

follow-up question here. What kind of grease do you use on those pins?

brake grease. its special grease. ask for it at your favorite auto parts store. brand i used was CRC

Size?

I thought the vacumm hose was a good solution--easier that finding O rings--and did that. I've been driving with it for two days and all seems fine. No more squeak! I just used a piece of the vacuum hose that is on most of the engine. Just compare what you have to the pin and select something that will not be much bigger. My hose is about .5mm when installed than the pin. Used a good brake grease too.

Have found here, aftermarket kits sell for about a quarter or less of the genuine rebuild kits and include the bellows for the sliding pins. The hose replacement idea sounds maintenance intensive, considering pin cost and apparent availability too.

As Nova7 said, the vacuum hose right out of the engine fits just fine. I had kept some of it from a few years back when I did the hose job.

So, the grease should be called "brake grease"? There's no technical name to it?

Sounds like they're jerkin the gerkin while letting loose in your face :op:

Anyway, seriously you should call Ray Crowe from Malloy Mazda in Virginia. He owns 2 FDs. Ontop of the discounts that he gets and the parts that he is able to locate that other mazda stealerships claim don't exist, you can always describe the part to him and he usually knows exactly what you're talking about.

Worst case scenario, you could always do something really crazy like looking up the part number in the FSM and go around with that.

No special name. I used Permatex Ultra Slick Synthetic Brake Lubricant because that's what they had on the shelf at Canadian Tire. If you're not sure just ask someone.