After dealing with a bent caliper pin on the front brakes, I decided to replace all of the brakes with rebuilt calipers. In fact, I wasted a bunch of cash on new red powder-coated calipers thinking they would look cool. But in retrospect this was probably not a good move. Since the calipers will periodically need to be rebuilt, I will be forced to continue using the same vendor for red rebuilt units or rebuild the calipers myself to keep the full red look.
Anyway, they do look nice…
Last night, I tried changing out the fluids in the brakes, transmission, differential, and engine. I got 3 out of 4 done but could not get the fill plug off the transmission and had to let that one go until another day. The bolt is on solidly and won’t give way. I’m going to let some Liquid Wrench soak in and give it another try tomorrow.
Fluid-wise, I used Ate Super Blue for the brakes, Redline 75W90 for the differential, and Mobil-1 10W30 for the engine. Afterwords, I continued cleaning up oily bits of the chassis and engine — focusing on the differential, brake lines, oil pan, and area around the oil filter. I’m doing this partly to make it easier to spot any leaks but also because working in all the dirt/grime drives me crazy.
Finally, I also installed new towing hooks, a radiator screen, and changed out the fuel filter.The fuel filter was a serious pain. The “quick” release fittings on the fuel lines are VERY hard to disconnect. What finally worked for me was to use some surgical clamps I use for electronics work. With these, I was able to more easily squeeze the release tabs.
As part of my car refurbishment for racing in SCCA’s Spec Miata class, I thought I’d start with a new set of rotors and pads. I chose CarboTech rotors and pads based on readings from various Miata sites and also Dave Wheeler’s Spec Miata Constructors Guide.
This job took a lot longer than I thought it would. The fronts weren’t too bad as the caliper assemblies are pretty familiar from pad replacements I’ve done on other cars. The rear rotors were a different story though.
I found the caliper assemblies to be a real pain to deal with the parking brake cable attached. I probably should have disconnected these to make things easier but didn’t. I also found it a bit tricky getting the pads and clips in place for mounting. On several occasions, I had clips flying through my garage.
The biggest surprise I found during this job was a bent pin on one of the front calipers. This has got me thinking I should rebuild or replace the front and rear calipers. The front brakes are obviously critical to stopping, so it makes sense to start racing with the calipers in a known good state.
Rear Rotor and Caliper
A common brake upgrade for Spec Miata is replacement of the standard rubber brake lines with braided stainless steel brake lines. Upgraded lines are both safer and are said to give better brake response. While working on the rotors, I took the opportunity to upgrade all the brake lines.
Front Rotor with Stainless Steel Brake Line
Changing out the brake lines didn’t add much extra time to the job though I will need to bleed all four brakes before I hit the road again. While I’m at it, I’ll be replacing all of the brake fluid with ATE Super Blue. Super Blue has a higher temperature threshold than standard brake fluid and also absorbs less water. These are both important properties for going racing.
